American Horror Story Double Feature Unearths a Haunting Origin for Its Monsters

American Horror Story: Double Feature Unearths a Haunting Origin for Its Monsters

American Horror Story: Double Feature introduces terrifying new monsters called Pale Men. Like other classic monsters, their origin is also tragic.

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American Horror Story Double Feature Unearths a Haunting Origin for Its Monsters

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for American Horror Story: Double Feature Episode 1, “Cape Fear,” and Episode 2, “Pale,” which aired Wednesday on FX.

The advertisements for American Horror Story: Double Feature’s “Red Tide” segment did a great job keeping its true monsters hidden. Aside from sharing the poster space with an alien, the “Red Tide” monsters showed sharp teeth and pale skin, all while resting by the water. At a glance, the creatures seemed more like murderous mermaids or fish hybrids than anything else. However, once the season gets started, its first two episodes paint a much clearer picture.

When the Gardner family arrives in Provincetown, they quickly learn that things aren’t as quaint as they seem. This becomes evident when Doris (Lily Rabe) and their daughter Alma (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) encounter a bald, pale man with sharp teeth who moves similarly to a zombie, and who ends up chasing them. Almost immediately it becomes clear that the creatures of the story aren’t mermaids or zombies. In reality, they are something more traditional, but still equally dangerous. These creatures also represent the tragedy that comes with those who don’t achieve success.

American Horror Story Double Feature Unearths a Haunting Origin for Its Monsters

Doris’ husband, Harry (Finn Wittrock), is a screenwriter struggling for inspiration. Upon meeting author Belle Noir (Frances Conroy) and playwright Aaron Sommers (Evan Peters), he learns that there’s a way to find his muse. Sommers tells him that there is a black pill he can take that awakens his creativity. At first, Harry believes it’s a drug like Speed, but Sommers assures him it’s nothing like that. Once Harry takes it, he finds his inspiration, but he quickly learns that it comes with monstrous side effects.

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After hours of writing, Harry finishes his screenplay, but finds he can’t eat normal food because it has a horrible taste to him. The only thing that cures his hunger is blood. When he confronts Sommers about it, he finally gets the full story behind the mystery drug. Apparently, someone named The Chemist developed the pill while creating crystal meth. While it does create inspiration, it deprives the blood of four crucial minerals that must be replaced in huge doses. Essentially, those who find inspiration, also become a vampire of pharmaceutical origins. Sadly, the pill only works best with those that have talent.

In contrast, those who lack talent but take the pill become the monsters that chased Doris and Alma when they first moved in. According to Sommers they become “flesh phantoms that are always thirsty, never satisfied or employed.” Devoid of their humanity, they look more like an homage to Nosferatu than the more traditional look of Dracula.

This isn’t the first time vampires have appeared in American Horror Story, as they were first introduced in Hotel. In that series, vampires like The Countess were infected with a blood virus that made them immortal, but still left them with the thirst. However, the big difference is that their ailment was more easily hidden, whereas “Red Tide’s” black pill makes the unlucky few far more animalistic.

American Horror Story: Double Feature aims to show the addictive and destructive qualities of success and how it can become an addiction. While these creatures share a tragic origin, they also call back to the early years of monster movies. The vampiric writers are more akin to Dracula, while the “untalented,” violent and primal Pale Men are more like Nosferatu. With the story still unfolding, there is surely more to uncover in regards to the franchise’s modern twist on vampires and the many comparisons that can be made.

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American Horror Story: Double Feature kicked off the season by dropping two Season 1o episodes. New episodes air each Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on FX.

Link Source : https://www.cbr.com/american-horror-story-double-feature-unearths-a-haunting-origin-for-its-monsters/

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