‘American Horror Stories’ delivers five uniquely alarming tales of terror that tackle liminal spaces, clones, gnomes and more.

“You know, we invented hell.”

There was a lot of promise in it American horror stories – an episodic anthology horror series – when it was first announced as a companion piece American horror story correct. American horror stories’ The first season was a mediocre effort that felt strangely forced to tie up the stories needlessly American horror story. The the second season ironed out a lot of these kinks and while they’re still not perfect, there are some real gems in the mix, like the Twilight zone-aping “Facelift.” The the third season was an even bigger improvement with arguably no duds in the mix (although the AI ​​assistant, “Daphne”, is a bit derivative). More importantly, American horror stories seemed to finally find the right rhythm and creative team to do this series justice. In addition, season 3 overshadowed the modern seasons of American horror story and felt like the purest version of what Ryan Murphy should do with the horror genre. Not only do the remaining five episodes of the new season build on this success, but they are also some of the best episodes the anthology horror series has ever produced – and the perfect Halloween binge.

Both American horror story series’ have tackled almost every horror subgenre and trope you can think of at the moment, but this series American horror stories episodes boldly tackle the more recent fascination with liminal space horror – particularly the Backrooms phenomenon that came to life on 4chan and was popularized by YouTuber Kane Parsons’ short films. Parsons is tapped to direct a feature film adaptation of the film Back rooms for A24but it’s exciting to see American horror stories defeat them and create your own creepy take on this surreal, hostile purgatory.

“Back rooms” is a tragic story about obsession, directed by David Gelbwhich is not a complete newcomer to horror, furthered the polarization of 2011 The Lazarus Effect – but his main role is that of a documentary maker, with food as his field of expertise. This makes Gelb a particularly unique choice American horror storiesbut his skills as a documentary filmmaker help give ‘Backrooms’ some extra spice. The strong episode can really lean into the cinéma vérité faux-reality angle that is essential for these types of stories. It’s a gamble that’s truly worth taking, and it’s satisfying that one of the first mainstream celebrations and adaptations of “Backrooms horror” is such a success, rather than soullessly chasing a viral trend.

This collection of episodes continues the theme of missing people, broken families, and a slipping sense of self with “X,” “The thing under the bed,” And “Clone.” Matt Spicer directs ‘X,’ a striking black-and-white film about a medical conspiracy and a nurse’s attempts to locate a dangerous missing patient, but the situation becomes considerably more supernatural. Spicer is yet another voice for the American horror stories family, having previously worked on dark-edged poppy titles such as Doll face, About Becoming a God in Central FloridaAnd Ingrid goes west. Spicer thrives in this environment and proves that he has very natural impulses as a horror director. There are several sequences from the episode that feel like they are straight out of an episode George A. Romero film.

“Clone” is the kind of story that takes two steps away Black mirror and feels like the weakest of these five new entries. The Max Winkler-focused episode has the regular American horror story employee explores the potential of a tech billionaire who creates a robot clone to replace him after he is unable to perform his duties following a harrowing accident. What begins as a privileged life hack quickly becomes a protracted struggle for survival, as its robotic counterpart argues for autonomy and supremacy. There are shades of it M3GAN, Scaredand the many other tech-based horror films released in recent years. “Clone” finds strength in its central questions of identity and how it aligns more with a horror-oriented version of Multiplicity than it is a riff Ex Machina.

Just as ‘X’ and ‘Clone’ deconstruct familiar ideas, ‘The Thing Under the Bed’ and ‘Leprechaun‘Subvert fairly standard story styles that zigzag just when you expect them to zigzag. “The Thing Under the Bed” begins as a melancholic bedtime story that continues to peel back its layers and turns into a nightmare that proves that monsters lurk in many more places than just under the bed. ‘Leprechaun’ is perhaps the most unhinged and surprising entry of the bunch. A textbook bank robbery becomes infinitely more complicated when the titular creature is unleashed. There’s a lot of seasonal horror American horror story And American horror stories failed to address this and this is honestly one of the most creative takes on a Leprechaun story that either series could approach without being unnecessarily tied to St. Patrick’s Day.

“Leprechaun” and “Backrooms” were both written by Joe Baken (the latter of which was co-written with Jon Rabin Baitz). Baken and Baitz are the co-creators and co-writers of Ryan Murphy’s Big question (as well as Dr. Odyssey), but Baken also wrote the two strongest episodes from the first half of American horror stories’ third season, “Bestie” and “Tapeworm.” Baken’s scripts continue to shine and it would be a shame if this were the case American horror stories’ ends because he’s someone who really understands the right tone and energy for a pulpy horror anthology series that’s still deeply disturbing.

It also doesn’t hurt that these episodes continue either American horror stories’ tradition of absolutely stacked casts. Some of the guest stars from these five episodes include Michael Imperioli, Henry Winkler, Victor Garber, June Squibb, Debby RyanAnd Jeff Hiller. Everyone is clearly having a lot of fun here, but Winkler, Garber and Hiller all give particularly memorable and elevated performances that understand the brief. Imperioli, while not quite as over-the-top, gives a rich, pained performance that becomes the necessary emotional anchor for “Backrooms.” If nothing else, American horror stories delivers consistent delights with its guest stars, even if the horror and storytelling from these episodes may be disappointing for some audiences.

American Horror Stories Season 3: Part 2 is a surprising highlight of the Halloween season, packed with tricks and treats. It’s everything horror fans want from an anthology series that’s completely lacking in the standard Murphy smarts and excess that tends to drag down its series. These five episodes are filled with gripping images, rewarding surprises, and shattering conclusions that will leave audiences wanting to return to these twisted stories repeatedly.

All three seasons of ‘American Horror Stories’ are available to stream on Hulu.