Stream It Or Skip It: ‘American Horror Story: Double Feature’ on FX, a Bloody Good Time with a Lot of Horror

After roughly two years, one of the wildest shows on TV is finally back. For its 10th installment, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk are throwing all the rules out the window. American Horror Story: Double Feature will tell two stories across its 10 episodes: Red Tide over the first six episodes and Death Valley for the remaining four. Over the course of its two-episode premiere, we dove into one sleepy off-season beach town that’s hiding a bloody secret. But should you stream it… Or SCREAM it?

AMERICAN HORROR STORY: DOUBLE FEATURE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Over the course of its 10 seasons, American Horror Story has never played with an ocean setting. Right away Red Tide, the first half of Double Feature, seems set on remedying this oversight. The camera opens on some sandy Provincetown dunes, shot in this season’s signature blue-tinged filter. A little girl, Ryan Kiera Armstrong’s Alma, sits in the back of a car and quietly counts to herself. Her parents, Finn Wittrock’s Harry and Lily Rabe’s Doris, are too distracted talking about how wonderful their rental will be to notice what Alma is counting. Finally, Doris asks.

Alma is counting roadkill. And when she sees a deer brutally murdered in the middle of the road, she makes it to 10.

Harry gets out of the car to inspect the deer, which gives us some truly graphic shots of this animal’s destroyed throat. That’s when this show’s legendary opening credits play. This time around they’re filled with lots of footage of hands cutting meat, blood-soaked coffee, pills, and manic violins. American Horror Story: Red Tide has officially started, and it may be this show’s most creatively contemplative installment yet.

The Gist: It’s The Shining but in Provincetown and with faux vampires. When the Garner family first arrive, they only have two goals in mind. Harry wants to finish his screenplay, a move he hopes will cure his writer’s block, and Doris wants to do a good job redecorating their vacation house. But instead of an off-season beach resort, they meet a town filled with animal carcasses, meth heads, and creepy cloaked men who jerk their bodies into increasingly disturbing positions.

Harry also finds something else in this New England haunt. While out exploring the town, he meets two more writers: three-time Tony winning playwright Austin Sommers (Evan Peters) and romance novelist Sarah “Belle Noir” Cunningham (Frances Conroy). As he spends more time with his newfound idols, they offer him the cure for his writer’s block. But that relief comes at a steep cost.

Our Take: Though it’s called American Horror Story, it’s been a while since this show was actually, well, horrifying. 1984 was a bloody fun slasher, and Apocalypse was a crossover event that was designed to please fans rather than scare anyone. Compared to these recent installments, Red Tide feels more like Cult, Roanoke, or even Asylum. It doesn’t care about making you stan characters. It just wants to keep you up at night.

Based on this first episode, it seems like Double Feature may deliver on this goal. Every time one of the Provincetown Pale Men appear, they’re good for a jump scare. From their erratic jerky movements to their sharpened teeth and ghostly complexions, these creatures rank among the creepiest threats this series has ever produced. Then there’s the acting.

Both Rabe and Wittrock are bringing their A-games, making them completely believable as a couple craving a recharge. It’s easy to imagine Harry becoming more unhinged à la Jack Torrence while Rabe perfects her final girl gasps as Doris. And they’re just the grounding forces of this sinister world. Evan Peters and Frances Conroy are instantly captivating as Austin and Sarah. Ever since Hotel, Peters has shown us that he has a gift for over-the-top accents and cartoonish characters that somehow feel believably disturbing rather than laughable. Similarly, the ever-fabulous Conroy has always had a knack for blending the obscene with realistic terror, making them a pair that feels refreshing yet inevitable. Even Leslie Grossman feels perfectly cast in her role as Harry’s agent, Ursula. A fast-talking, tell-it-like-it-is agent fits Grossman to a T.

That doesn’t mean that “Cape Fear” is a perfect opening. Any American Horror Story fan will likely be surprised by the slow pacing of the first two episodes. This choice feels very much intentional; you can’t dive into this particular brand of somber horror without a slow build. But anyone used to AHS’ breakneck pacing will likely be caught off guard. On that note, Harry and Doris make some truly awful decisions, like choosing to stay in a town filled with unhinged monsters and a shoreline riddled with bodies. Staying there with your child makes no sense. But almost any entry in this genre inspires similar complaints.

Sex and Skin: Shockingly, there’s very little. The closest we get to anything steamy is Sarah paying Mickey (Macaulay Culkin) for his company in the middle of the night. But once she opens up a vein, it’s clear that it’s not sex she’s after.

Parting Shot: After learning that Austin and Sarah are only prolific writers because of their magical pills, Harry vows to never take them. That resolve holds until his editor calls him, demanding new pages. In the final moments of the episode, Harry takes a pill. The blank page that’s been haunting this entire episode is suddenly filled with words. Harry has made his choice. But what did it cost?

Sleeper Star: Obviously, Sarah Paulson is a standout. Though she’s mostly a secondary character, Paulson’s depraved take on Tuberculosis Karen is as vulgar as it is manic. But this time around we’re highlighting Macaulay Culkin’s Mickey. It really feels as though Culkin is channeling his brother Kieran with this one. His sex worker Mickey feels as unapologetically sexualize yet smug as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’s Wallace while also being as bratty as Succession‘s Roman. Nice to know it runs in the family.

Most Pilot-y Line: This one goes to our cop, Chief Burelson (Adina Porter). After Harry and Doris are attacked by a Pale Person, Chief Burelson says, “I worked Oakland P.D. for 15 years. Quit last spring, took this job. Do you know why? It’s boring.” There’s truly never a bigger flag in a scary show then a cop saying that nothing is wrong.

Our Call: STREAM IT. If you’re into American Horror Story for the horror, you’re going to have a blast. If not, then Double Feature has some killer performances from your favorites that you won’t want to miss.

Where to stream American Horror Story: Double Feature