American Horror Story - Hotel

AHS in einem Art-Déco-Hotel? Ich bin dabei. Hotel ist so eine entspannende Staffel, alte Freunde haben neue coole Fetische und seltsamerweise stört auch Gaga nicht. Es wird also eine rundum erfreuliche Saison werden. Liebe, Blut, Freude... Und eine zarte Verbindung zu Murder House und Coven. Und die Handlung mit Rambo und Valentino ist absolut zufriedenstellend. Das hat dem Ganzen keinen Abbruch getan, aber es war ein interessanter Ausflug in die Welt des unerfüllten Glücks. (16.10.2015)

The series season has begun, and with it came another season of American Horror Story - Hotel, and it's incredibly ironic that the pilot could be called the best horror movie of the year. Huge hotel, lots of weird people (more or less no positive characters, just a cop), stylization, visuals, sex, grittiness, brutality, perversity, and gore at the absolute highest level possible. The detective line is reminiscent of Se7en, the brutality film is reminiscent of Inside. What more could you ask for? Around nine people have already died in the first episode, which in some shows doesn't even take a whole series to do. For me, it was a fantastic orgy, I was bursting with bliss. Lady GaGa does a perfect job here. We'll see how the next episodes go, but if the rest of the season takes a similar direction, we have a revolution here. Story 7/10, Atmosphere 9/10, Gore 10/10, Visuals 10/10, Action 7/10, Entertainment 10/10. (Compared to this A Serbian Film is like a Disney movie) 100% (15.10.2015)

It's as if, when Jessica Lange left the position of the perennial main character, they were looking for a new face. Not an acting face (which Ryan Murphy found immediately thanks to the phenomenal Lady Gaga), but the face of the entire show, because this year takes everything possible from previous years. It is closest to American Horror Story: Murder House, borrowing characters and atmosphere, from American Horror Story: Asylum the pervasive atmosphere of goosebumps, and from American Horror Story: Freak Show the storytelling pace with an endless number of supporting characters and detours. However, American Horror Story: Hotel has a crucial advantage over the last mentioned, as it remains gripping, focusing on the same storylines at the beginning and end, and more than ever before, it benefits from a delightful soundtrack. Even this time, the script cannot avoid certain mistakes, and for example, the civilian approach to John and his family's story feels last-minute, just like the reveals from his detective work. The contrast between the suffocating and fresh mood, the captivating performances of Denis O'Hare and the always brilliant chameleon Sarah Paulson, are such seductive temptations that the stay at the Cortez hotel became the second best season. (20.02.2016)

The beginning was great, somewhere around the middle I lost interest, but I finished the second half of Hotel, and I’m satisfied. For me, in fact the second best season of AHS (after Asylum). It helped a lot that Jessica Lange took a break (in the last seasons she was playing always the same character and it was boring already), and instead of her, Lady Gaga brought her own special aura. Hopefully, Murphy won’t make the same mistake and won’t let us pass the next season, like Jessica. I would also bring in some positive characters, though I could develop a taste for this panopticon of eccentricity. (18.01.2016)

American Horror Story isn’t usually my go-to, so it took me a while to finally dive into the Hotel season. Lady Gaga’s big debut as an actress was the main draw, and she definitely proved she’s more than just a great singer (even if Leo DiCaprio had a laugh at the Globes). But after watching, my main takeaway is that Lady Gaga is genuinely talented. As for the show itself, Hotel embodies everything that makes the series what it is. It feels like I’m watching a wild fever dream in a setting that reminds me of The Shining, but with characters so out there that delivering any of their lines must have had the crew in stitches. When they brought in vampires, I found myself questioning if Ryan Murphy is a genius or just completely off his rocker. Visually, the show is stunning, and I can’t help but wonder if maybe Murphy is wasting his talent on something so bizarre. But considering most people seem to love it, I’ll admit the issue might be more with me than with the show. Trying to find logic in this season is a lost cause — the opening scene sets the tone for all the madness that follows. (18.01.2022)