Correction Appended.
Some people think American Horror Story is too scary, while others may think it isn’t scary at all. Long story short, you’ll never get a straight answer from anyone if you ask, “What’s the best season of AHS?” With Netflix’s upcoming Tuesday release of Apocalypse, this is how the other seasons compared.
Here’s a list of the American Horror Story seasons from the absolute worst to best:
8. “Cult”
Set in the Michigan suburbs, viewers are placed into a liberal household reeling from the results of the presidential election and facing harassment from a local cult that induces psychedelic experiences onto the characters.
Episodes are choppy, never focusing on specifics for too long, and are a puzzle towards the end of the season. Details from the very beginning of the season to the irrelevant tangents the show went off on in the last two episodes finally made sense.
7. “Hotel”
This season had everything that you’d expect in a show called “American Horror Story” but with a lot of elements that were poorly executed or scenes that didn’t quite fit with the plot. There were several redeemable qualities such as the immaculate set, the various actors that had been cast as both major and minor roles such as Kathy Bates, the camerawork and the historical relevance. However, the story line jumped to multiple viewpoints, sometimes dragging on for several episodes and created a negative viewer experience as a whole.
6. “Roanoke”
If someone were to think about the missing American settlement of Roanoke, “Croatoan” is likely what comes to mind (thank you, second-grade American History).
This season encapsulated the mystery behind the Roanoke colony while also breaking the fourth wall in a non-traditional way. The horror element was present throughout the entirety of the sixth season, but scenes were bumpy with the first-person point of view camerawork, and many viewers aren’t always a fan of that style of filming.
5. “Freak Show”
If you want the definition of “creepy clowns,” look no further than season four. With Jessica Lange’s ringleader role, finding the misfits of the 1950s has never been more convenient and commercialized. With Sarah Paulson at the forefront for the entirety of Freak Show, viewers can travel alongside her characters, Bette and Dot Tattler, who are conjoined twin sisters. The 2014 installment of AHS is plenty entertaining with aspects of horror and the 1950s hostile southern hospitality.
4. “Apocalypse”
The most recently completed season brought mixed reactions from audiences worldwide, as over 5.7 million people tuned into the premiere in September 2018. This season glued almost all of the previous seasons together and had characters the viewers hadn’t seen since the very first season. Apocalypse was the talk of the entertainment industry, as actors would play both current and past characters seemingly flawlessly. Each season gives viewers an “aha” moment, and this one had the most significant.
3. “Coven”
Think of this season of AHS as, “Salem Witch Trials meets Mean Girls.” The sense of a main character wasn’t clear as it often shifted from episode to episode, but it strangely worked in building the viewer’s relationship with the characters themselves. This season ranked higher because it was not what people were expecting out of a horror show, but it was oddly wholesome in the end.
2. “Murder House”
OK, viewers either love the first season or completely despise it for a variety of reasons, whether the reasoning is disliking the unsettling ending or enjoying the Romeo-and-Juliet dynamic between the characters. However, this was the introduction to the entire show, where actors and directors gave their best effort. As pieces of the storyline fell into place, Murder House set the expectation for seasons to come.
1. “Asylum”
This season was pure horror, no doubt about it. The visuals throughout the episodes were engaging and immersive, and actors kept the audience on the edge of their seats at all times. Asylum supplied heartbreak, pure terror, historically relevant plots (strangely enough) and protagonists that fully embody their roles.
A previous version of this report incorrectly stated the release date of Netflix’s release of Apocalypse. The article has been updated to reflect the most accurate information.
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