Reviews
[TV Review] “American Horror Story: Cult” Explores the Nightmare That is Reality to Inspired Effect
‘American Horror Story’s’ latest season finds the fear in an oppressive reality where we are the boogeymen
“It’s the politics of fear. It always works.”
What frightens you the most?
Is it serial killers? Unrelenting ghosts? Murderous dolls? American Horror Story has been able to sustain itself for seven seasons by indulging in those fears of the things that go bump in the night. Moments into this latest season, right after Donald Trump is shown winning the Presidential election, a character remarks, “It’s the politics of fear. It always works.” This statement is met with many people commenting on how the “impossible” has suddenly happened. You think vampires, zombies, or aliens are impossible? You think murder houses and witch covens are impossible? This is the impossible. You’re living it.
This is a bizarre time when someone in a red baseball cap with four simple words on it can be just as terrifying of a sight as someone wielding a machete or chainsaw. AHS: Cult is all about tapping into that energy. Scenes of racist Trump supporters feeling empowered and validated so they’re able to prey on minorities because “their guy” is in power are put into great effect. These scenes are just as threatening and imposing as if an actual monster were attacking these people.
Cards on the table, American Horror Story is a series that I always want to be enjoying a lot more than I am. I admire the hell out of its ambition and the recent world-building it’s been doing, but it’s almost always a series that loses steam ¾ of the way through the season where the final episodes are a messy slog to a conclusion. Asylum is the one year that I think was actually able to properly contextualize all of its “everything and the kitchen sink craziness” (seriously, that season zips from Nazi body horror to Murder Santas to aliens, yet somehow makes it work), but it’s a series that always seems to have the best intentions.
Last year’s secretive, unique bifurcated approach for Roanoke was the right sort of idea and showed that this series was still capable of being innovative, but still ultimately crumbled under its own weight in a lot of ways. This season has gained a lot of attention already for not only being the first non-supernatural season of the show but that it’s also basing itself around last year’s tumultuous presidential election. Real life is scary enough at the moment, so why not dig a little deeper into that idea? In a lot of ways, this weird freedom allows the show to feel the most rejuvenated that it’s been in a long time and the series certainly has my attention in a way that it hasn’t had for years now. While it’s still entirely possible that this year could screw things up later down the road, AHS: Cult kicks off to a strong start that bodes well for where things are heading this season.
This season is really all about the people that are reacting in the most extreme manner to the results of the election. This puts Sarah Paulson’s Ally Mayfair-Richards and Evan Peters’ Kai Anderson right in the spotlight. Right from the beginning, the two are juxtaposed against each other in an effective manner that speaks to their power dynamic for the season. Kai celebrates boisterously, thrusting his pelvis at his television screen while praising, “The revolution has begun,” as Ally suffers a complete and utter breakdown. These moments might feel a little on the nose at times, but it doesn’t reduce any of this of its power. It’s a strong, obviously relatable way to launch the new year.
Both Ally and Kai and their opposing point of views are very much the guiding forces through this season and every scene that Paulson and Peters share is tense, electric stuff. One scene sees Ally and Kai having a tense chat about safety and power while metal bars between them keep them separated and really hits the point home. Kai essentially wants to use fear to “liberate” people and then use this power to lead everyone into a new age. Kai basically wants anarchy and with Trump leading the country he thinks that this is now possible. In a very twisted way, Kai is empowering others to act up in the same way that Trump has done with him. He wants to “make the world wrong” with his Project Mayhem-like cult, which seems especially focused on distressing Ally.
On the other side of things, Paulson’s Ally is a very damaged, vulnerable person and Trump becoming president has triggered all of her bad habits to return. While clearly meant to be the audience surrogate in a lot of ways, she seems to be somebody that puts a tremendous amount of stock in politics and the world around her. It’s rather telling that after every bad thing that happens to Ally, she continues to fall back on everything being even worse because of the election. It becomes her catch-all for everything and her go-to excuse.
One of Ally’s aforementioned triggers is her intense coulrophobia, the fear of clowns. This unfortunate fear of hers begins to attack her in what begins to feel like almost every other scene. Ally’s breakdowns are beginning to ruin her marriage with Ivy (Alison Pill) and her relationship with their son, Oz. Things need to improve for her, but Ally continues to become increasingly frayed and weak. As ridiculous as moments like Ally’s supermarket clown onslaught may be, they gain a lot more weight when hinting at the broken women and the truth that’s hiding behind it all. Plus, that Three-Faced Clown and Shocked Lady Clown are all sorts of freaky.
If American Horror Story: Cult does anything right in its introductory episodes, it’s that I already care about these characters a whole lot more than I have for the characters from other seasons, and that’s as soon as episode one of this year. It’s the most empathetic, human season of the series in years and that greatly helps in its favor. It’s surprising how much AHS: Cult gets accomplished in the premiere alone.
It’d also be impossible to touch on AHS: Cult’s heavy clown obsession and not mention that Twisty from the show’s Freakshow season is back! This is exactly the sort of “season stitching” that I want from the show. If anybody has to return, it should be this guy. His scene in the premiere tries to go against expectations while then shamelessly giving into them. It’s the sort of thing that feels like weird fan service at first and that it must be some sort of dream, only for it to eventually pull the rug out from under the viewer once more. It might feel indulgent, but it also leads to the reveal of Ally’s pivotal fear in the first place. With some of the other jesters that show up this year, Twisty almost looks like Krusty the Clown in comparison.
Clowns are creepy, sure, but a lot of the rest of this season’s irk factor comes from the way in which Kai manipulates his disciples. Kai puts into practice these pinky-to-pinky honesty interrogations that certainly take a page from out of Scientology’s auditing sessions. They’re moments where he gets to brainwash and learn everything about his followers. Watching him program Winter (Ryan Murphy putting his Scream Queens stand-out, Billie Lourd, to great use) to infiltrate Ally and Ivy’s life as a babysitter for Oz is really upsetting.
See, this is truly terrifying stuff. To have a psycho being in charge of someone’s child and in turn conditioning and brainwashing them against their parents is the real stuff of horrors. That messed up sort of behavior in plain sight goes on all the time and it hits a whole lot harder than some of the bigger horror set pieces from the past. Winter and Oz’ relationship is seriously unnerving, dreadful stuff. It’s very difficult to watch these moments. There’s a scene where Winter forces Oz to watch actual murder footage, insisting that it’ll make him stronger and “better.” It’s maybe the most disturbed I’ve been over this show in a long time, and this is still early on into things. Winter and Oz’ bond is certainly the most interesting and troubling aspect of the season so far.
Lourd is captivating in this role though and every scene with Winter is incredibly tense as you’re never sure what she’s really up to. Watching Ally get forced to become more and more dependent on Winter, who is just manipulating her, is also powerful stuff. Everyone is bringing their A-games with the acting this season, with Paulson especially getting pushed to the brink. That being said, her episodes become a little more reductive the more that they happen and hopefully the entire season won’t just be Paulson breaking down and being helpless.
There’s also an interesting development through all of this in the sense that Oz also suffers from night terrors (which lately seem to be filled with killer clowns) where he doesn’t have a firm grip on what’s reality and what’s a dream. With Ally going through an extremely similar type of trauma with her coulrophobia, the idea of having two characters that are unclear on whether what they’re seeing is real or not is a bold, but effective move. As long as it’s not run into the ground
On top of everything else, this season coasts off the idea of everyone being so convinced that they’re who’s right, which is pretty analogous for where things are heading. This season reduces graphic murder scenes to race-related issues and excuses to bring up deportation. The horror isn’t the blood on the walls, it’s in the police’s line of questioning. It all helps add to the overwhelming feeling that Ally is experiencing about the world falling apart along with her. Eventually, the issue of gun ownership is brought into the season’s discussion, with the results being highly inflammatory. AHS: Cult has fun with putting the “Stand Your Ground” law front and center and literally positioning one of the characters to be called a “lesbian George Zimmerman.”
Around the edges of all of this are Billy Eichner and Leslie Grossman as the judge-y neighbors next door, who certainly fit like a glove amongst Murphy’s stable of actors here. There’s also some evil chemical company spraying green gas everywhere that seems to have the season dipping into mind control or other crazy conspiracies, but we’ll see where all of that goes.
American Horror Story: Cult kicks off to a strong start, but there are still telltale signs of the show possibly falling into its old, frustrating patterns. There’s a strong, genuinely disturbing foundation to this season and Murphy and Falchuk’s dark, hyperbolized slant on reality fits perfect for a season like this. As long as things don’t become too repetitive and characters’ flaws aren’t hammered into the ground, then this could result in one of American Horror Story’s best seasons yet. Or as the president would say, it could be ‘uge.
This review is based on the first three episodes of ‘American Horror Story: Cult’s’ eleven-episode season.
‘American Horror Story: Cult’ begins on September 5th at 10 pm on FX.
Reviews
‘Hungry’ Review – Finally, a Film Brave Enough to Call Out Hippos for the Monsters They Truly Are
When it comes to the animal attack subgenre of horror, there’s a hierarchy of sorts with the wildlife in question. Killer shark movies are easily the most ubiquitous, while alligators/crocodiles, dogs, bears, and snakes probably lead the rest of the pack.
It’s often worth paying attention, though, when a filmmaker targets a more atypical animal threat, including the likes of Jonathan King’s Black Sheep or Juan Piquer Simón’s Slugs. A new contender rumbles its way onto the screen this month, and while we all grew up thinking hippos are rotund cuties, the truth is far more frightening – this hippo is Hungry.
Sistine (Madison Davenport) and her best friend, Hannah (Olivia Bernstone), are enjoying a vacation in New Orleans, hoping to drown out their troubles back home. They sign up for an early morning bayou tour known for its alligator sightings and are joined by four other tourists and the boat’s skipper, Rodrigo (Michel Curiel). An uneventful trip sees Rodrigo take the group off the beaten path, but when an animal in the water capsizes their boat, the group finds themselves trapped in the swamp by something unexpected and deadly.
It’s a hippo. There’s a hippo in the bayou, and it’s not happy about all these pesky people.
From Joy Houck’s Creature from Black Lake to Walter Hill’s Southern Comfort to Adam Green’s Hatchet, the movies have warned us time and again not to go into the swampy bayous of Louisiana. Those cautionary tales are appreciated, though, as bigfoot, inbred hicks, and undead serial killers are a very real threat. But hippos? In the bayou? Well, that just seems silly.
And yet, Hungry plays its blubbery, big-toothed threat with deadly seriousness, and it’s all the better for it. “But Rob,” I can already hear some of you saying, “just yesterday you reviewed the new shark attack film, Chum, and said it suffered from taking itself too seriously. What gives?” For one thing, you’re misquoting me, but more importantly, the reference there was more of an observation on the animal attack subgenre successes as a whole. The “fun” ones tend to succeed more often than their more serious counterparts, but a dramatic and thrilling time can still be found with filmmakers who know what they’re doing.
Chum may be serious, but it’s also poorly written/performed, lacking in any degree of tension, devoid of personality, and so on. By contrast, Hungry lets its suspense build on the backs of engaging characters, good performances, and believable writing. Only one of its ensemble is obnoxious – a major feat for this kind of film – but even then, their motivations are both well-written and understandable.
The rest of the characters are people you’d be happy to see survive the night, and rather than looking forward to the next kill, director James Nunn and his cast leave us uncertain and nervous about who’s going to go belly up. The nervous business traveler wanting to get back to her kids? The family of three celebrating lost loved ones while on their vacation? Joaquim de Almeida’s Walker, an old hunter, is introduced saying, “The only cute hippo is a dead hippo,” so you pretty much know where he’ll end up.
To that end, the film teases out its hippo’s first appearance until well into the ninety-minute running time. We get ripples and splashes, but it’s only around the midway point that we get our first real look at the beast, and it looks fantastic. Nunn goes on to show the hippo in all its glory, and it’s a convincing antagonist brought to life through practical prosthetic effects and digital work. From the ear twitches to the beast’s giant maw opening wide with awe and malice, the hippo’s presence feels part of the action. There’s a tangible nature to it, something practical effects excel at while digital effects sometimes fail to convince of, and both succeed here with quality work from all involved.
While we get brief exteriors early on and some visually appealing drone shots, the bulk of the film unfolds on what looks to be a highly believable, set-dressed water tank (but could very well be an actual location, in which case, kudos to the team). It’s wholly convincing as a section of the bayou, complete with shoulder-high water and arching, twisting trees emerging into the sky. The film was shot in Malta, which is, coincidentally, where Chum was filmed as well.
Nunn, who also wrote Hungry, is now ten films deep into a fairly interesting career as a genre filmmaker. He’s made four movies with Scott Adkins, three of which are certified action bangers (with 2016’s Eliminators in particular being an underrated gem). He dipped a toe into the animal attack subgenre back in 2022 with the aforementioned Shark Bait, and it’s clear he learned some lessons from that endeavor, as its first hour is an engaging, attractively shot feature that sinks fast as soon as its poorly rendered shark becomes a lead character. Hungry improves on every aspect of that film, with its biggest step up being in regard to the effects.
If there’s an area or two where Hungry lacks bite, it’s in both its gore and its ending. There are numerous kills here, but the nature of the attacks and the choices made by Nunn mean none of them result in gory assaults or outcomes. We’re shown the torn apart corpse of an alligator early on, but most of the human kills see them attacked and dragged underwater, leaving nothing but a blood spill behind. Similarly, while the ending encounter satisfies, it still feels like it should have been a bigger confrontation. Neither of these aspects really hurt the film, but a bolstering of the gore and ending antics would have definitely upped the film’s ultimate entertainment value and rewatchability.
When all is said and done, Hungry is a genuinely solid animal attack film that succeeds in making its creature threat thrilling, entertaining, and, dare I say, educational? Title notwithstanding, the film acknowledges that hippos are vegetarians, meaning the five hundred or so people they kill every year – a true fact! – are slaughtered not out of hunger, but out of spite, self-defense, or a desire to play “land orca” while tossing around us fragile humans like we’re little more than seals in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Characters are grounded and engaging, the film moves well between suspense, character beats, and action, and the effects used to bring the hippo to life are highly effective and never feel like distractions. Drop those expectations of a Hungry Hungry Hippo romp, and settle in for a terrific little survival thriller about an angry, angry hippo instead.
Chomp chomp.
Hungry releases in select theaters today, June 3, before arriving on VOD on June 23, 2026.
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