I’m sure everyone will disagree with my rankings of the seasons of American Horror Story, and that is totally fine by me! It’ll be fun to get some great conversation going on about a series that has polarized audiences for the past 12 seasons. Spooky fodder isn’t just for Halloween anymore!
My list is based on the entertainment value of a season for me, personally. I’m not a professional filmmaker or TV commentator or reviewer of any kind. Just a regular mom eating popcorn! Because of this, assume spoilers are ahead and this is your warning!
12. Apocalypse
I really feel that this season was lacking in the acting strength and character development department. I enjoyed how it was a continuation of the connected storylines throughout the seasons. However, it seemed anti-climactic compared to the much better drama build up of Murder House, where it had its origins.
11. Delicate
I enjoyed watching this one and loved the premise. However, the execution left much to be desired. The psychological tension and build up drew me in for every episode. However, it signed some checks that it didn’t deliver. As a mother, I found myself often rattled and triggered by the babies dying, turning into witches and demons, and discussion of miscarriage and infertility in a space that didn’t feel safe to explore those issues. I thought there was an interior message about female empowerment but by the end, I realized the males still called the shots on the actions of the witches and others. Kim Kardashian did a fine enough job in a role that didn’t seem far from the truth and potentially wasn’t much of a stretch for her, considering she often does say things to get attention or say sensational things to leave you shaking your head.
10. Freak Show
This one was so weird that I couldn’t watch the whole thing. Not being a Sarah Paulson fan (sorry, unpopular opinion!), I couldn’t get on board with her being a two-headed twin. Not my fav. The scary clown was undoubtedly the scariest thing the show has ever produced and I couldn’t bring myself to watch too much of that. I enjoyed the general theme of “Who is a freak?” where clearly the freaks were the more redeemable characters, but that didn’t entice me to watch it.
9. Cult
I couldn’t stand to watch this one when it first came out; however, upon a rewatch, I recognized this season’s importance in showcasing cult behavior and mindset in a digestible, understandable way. Many factions and cults today operate similarly. We’re all left wondering why some very loud idiotic male ever became the figurehead of such and such cult. In this season, you get to see why. I could see the relevance shown from the perspective of that specific time in America, where it felt like some people had a fanatical love of a political figurehead. The season helped deconstruct how violence can emerge and cults can become torn down by their own membership.
8. Coven
I do believe that this season was another seminal, defining season, which set a precedent for all other seasons. It delved into typical horror fodder of witches and the hierarchical structure of a coven. To me, it felt like the dark Harry Potter or something like that. Again, not liking Sarah Paulson, I couldn’t get on board with her storyline, which became the most important in that season. I totally loved Cathy Bates here as well in another defining role, arguably her best in the entire series. I also admired how her character harkened back to real-life serial killer, making it another season where the viewer is left understanding that the truth is more horrifying than fiction.
7. Murder House
Most reviewers I have read put this one as #1 unequivocally. It set the stage, it had a subdued spookiness throughout that built up into a conclusion that defined the entire scope of what is American Horror Story. Personally, I didn’t really remember it that well because some of the other seasons clearly had features that I enjoyed more, but it is still a great season for sure.
6. 1984
I probably should put this higher on the list, honestly, because it’s the only season I have watched several times. I loved the refreshing campiness here and the celebration of the 80s, which to me was the greatest era (at least, it looks so on film). The camp was similar to the hotel in Hotel because the souls are tied to those locations, which still fit in to the greater scope of the series. I appreciated the Easter Eggs and fun throwbacks to other 80s slashers. It was the most fun season!
5. Asylum
I enjoyed the supernatural aspects here. As a person who was raised Catholic, those themes spoke to me, and I enjoyed how they further expounded on the battle between Good and Evil. To me, this was Jessica Lange’s best season. I loved how they alluded to many other prominent horror films and, in my opinion, brought something valuable and new to the table.
4. Hotel
I thought this one was a very freaky season and again something very much tied to actual American history considering the various plot lines and historical reference to an actual “murder hotel.” The tortured aspects to the characters drew me in, and I cried over the hopeless story of a family lured into darkness. Lady Gaga shined so brightly and was the perfect fit for her role. I loved seeing her so prominently featured and felt amazed at her ability to perform well having not done much acting until that point in time.
3. Double Feature
Some people I know really hated this one, but I totally loved it! I happily gobbled up an adult Maculay Culkin playing a vulnerable flawed, but likeable, character. I’m honestly not a fan of Sarah Paulson (sorry, unpopular opinion!) but to me, this was her most unrecognizable and real character. The thirst for fame shown as a literal blood thirst did it for me. My real favorite thing about the season, however, was the Part 2. Seeing men giving birth tickled me to no end. I enjoyed everything they were trying to portray in that moment about gender differences and the aliens’ view of who was a “supreme being.” As a history buff, the playful way they introduced the aliens having been involved in historical events again really delighted me and I honestly felt everything they said made sense, maybe more sense than what actually happened in history!
2. Roanoke
I personally enjoyed the story-within-a-story motif. I loved seeing the actors and “real life people” in a crazy Hunger Games situation with actual supernatural creatures. Cathy Bates was at her finest and I loved every minute of it. The history of the Roanoke colony intermixed with a modern story was really what I expected when I first heard of AHS (I was hoping for some historically-based horror that is uniquely American). I thought the obsession with media and attention-mongering spoke to the many problems our nation has with people of all ages disregarding safety and quality time spent with family for “more views.”
1. 1984
I think this season had some great messages about the AIDS epidemic and love between human beings. The acting was superb, with an almost entirely new cast that I thought couldn’t have been better. There were some weird subplots but rarely have I cried so much! Certainly never before for an AHS season. I loved how AIDS was portrayed as the villain of the season because for the nation in that era, it was the most real and threatening American Horror Story of all – loved ones, celebrities, and others succumbing to an insatiable disease no one understood. The paranoia from everyone impacted how people treated each other. It’s horrifying to consider the very real fear and how it changed the landscape of history. The other seasons of AHS were clearly fiction but this one was based in reality.
