American Horror Story Asylum Recap – Episode 5: I Am Anne Frank (Part 2)

I Am Anne Frank (Part 2)

So, where to start? In episode 5 of FX's American Horror Story Asylum, we find out our dear Anne Frank (Franka Potente) is just delusional - or is she? Well, we won't find out now since she was returned to her dear husband. He was concerned enough to search and locate her. He was even worried enough to divulge a whole heap of back story. Then, after only a short amount of time, he has her recommitted to Briarcliff!

And this is really the first time we start to feel that maybe Sister Jude (Jessica Lange) isn't as bad as we first thought. She pleads with the husband of Anne/Charlotte and begs him to look after her, even offering advice as to how he should go about it. The husband can't cope and agrees to let Dr. Arden (James Cromwell) perform a lobotomy on his wife - WHICH HE THEN PROCEEDS TO WATCH! Anne becomes Charlotte after that and it's a 'Leave It To Beaver' moment.

Sister Jude is convinced her job is over after not only losing patients during the storm (and let me get to Pepper later on), allowing Anne/Charlotte to go home after shooting Dr. Arden (who says he will press charges against Sister Jude for this) and then (as the last straw) finding out Lana (Sarah Paulson) is missing. She returns to her previous life as a result. Hello hooker!

Speaking of Lana, she has managed to escape the evil clutches of Briarcliff by ending up in the evil clutches of Dr. Thredson (Zachary Quinto). He takes Lana back to his house and it's obvious as soon as he turns on the nipple lamp and offers Lana a brain mint from the skull bowl that he's Bloody Face. Lana catches on just as quickly, Dr. Thredson is smarter than that though and Lana ends up in a secret room that can only be described (to use another horror movie plot yet AGAIN) as something out of Saw. Just when you think it can't get any worse for Lana, she discovers Dr. Thredson has been saving up her girlfriend, Wendy (Clea Duvall). Imagine what it feels like to wake up to the defrosting corpse of the person you love? Then Dr. Thredson gets all super creepy and announces it's time for necrophilia - all in the name of aversion therapy though. Man, is HIS back story gonna be interesting!

What about the good Sister Eunice-Devil (Lily Rabe)? Well, she seems to covering up for Dr. Arden and hides Shelley (Chloe Sevigny) the Nymphomanical-mutant-monster in the woods (or so the Doc thinks). She give Kit (Evan Peters) a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card by announcing he'll be avoiding sterilisation, but then lets Grace (Lizzie Brochere) know she will still be going under the knife and getting sterilised. I'm starting to think that maybe she isn't the devil any more, just a well placed alien plant.

Yes, you heard right. We're back to the alien story line in this episode. After her surgery, Grace is convinced that Kit's wife is still alive and we even see snippets of alien probing going on. Of course this is no help to Kit who has been promised amunity from the electric chair by Dr. Thredson. Well, guess who's a liar? Yep, Kit is arrested and will be tried as a sane person.

Now, what about Shelley, you ask? Well, (and this is why I think maybe Sister Eunice may be nicer than we first thought) Sister Eunice 'hid' Shelley in the stairwell of a school. She has been discovered, so it will be interesting to see how she helps on the outside.

And, finally, I want to know what is going on with Pepper (Naomi Grossman). She went missing during the storm and has been unaccounted for since. This is an intriguing little mystery that will no doubt play out later on in the season. On a side note, is it just me, or was anyone else wondering what the actor who plays Pepper looks like in real life? Well, here's one of her professional shots from IMDb:

Does anyone else think the show feels like it's peaked too early? We're only 5 episodes in after all.

(Photo Credits: FX and IMDb.com/Vanie Poyey)

American Horror Story Asylum Season 2 Recap - Episode 3: I Am Anne Frank (Part 1)

Episode 4: I am Anne Frank (Part 1)

So, who thinks maybe Anne Frank (played by Franka Potente) being alive and 'well' in Episode 4 of FX American Horror Story Asylum just a little more than they can bite off and chew? Me too. Although, the paranoia it brings to the whole cast when she accuses Dr. Arden (James Cromwell) of being a Nazi war criminal almost makes it worth it. Sister Jude (Jessica Lange) is, naturally, eager to usurp the lofty position Dr. Arden holds by bringing these suspicions to the Monsignor's (Joseph Fiennes) attention (and who missed the opportunity last week for Sister Jude to don 'Ravish Me Red' for the Monsignor's benefit, hey FX?) Of course, he's onto her motive and is quick to point this out. Once Sister Jude leaves, however, we discover that maybe the Monsignor is not a godly man as he rings Dr. Arden and warns him to tie up any loose ends. All I can say is; Poor Shelly (Chloe Sevigny). Speaking of the nymphomaniac, the three escapee/returnees from last week are under the assumption (thanks to Sister Jude's announcement) that Shelly really did escape from Briarcliff. The poor little dears are so excited to hear this.

We also learn Grace's (Lizzie Brochere) story this week. Or so we think. She tells a tale of mistaken identity and as a result, Kit (Evan Peters) and her get hot and heavy in the kitchen -SMOKING! Or it is until they get busted and wind up in Sister Jude's office. Uh-oh, can anyone say 'fifty shades' quicker than Sister Eunice (Lily Rabe) can pull a cane out of the cupboard? Looks like it's sterilisation for the pair of them until Sister Jude is interrupted by the two detectives that are hot on Dr. Arden's heels about the 'rough up' he gave the good-nun-hooker. While Kit and Grace count their blessings, Sister Eunice messes with Kit's head. Later on, he asks Grace about her back story and we discover another version of it, a not so 'poor me, I'm innocent' tale. Kit still thinks she's hot none the less.

Lana (Sarah Paulson) and Dr. Thredson (Zachary Quinto) are developing a 'friendship'. Either the good doctor wants Lana to expose the goings on at Briarcliff or he is falling for the lesbian journalist but it's not clear which yet. Although, after Lana undergoes aversion therapy (possibly the most humiliating television viewing I have ever seen) to 'cure' her homosexual tendencies, the audience is just left thinking that maybe Dr. Thredson is a perverted voyeur.

Dr. Thredson is also hard at work with Kit. He doesn't want Kit go to the electric chair, but to pronounce the man as insane will leave him locked up in the care of Sister Jude for the rest of his natural life. Hello Rock, meet Hard Place.

Getting back to Anne Frank and Dr. Arden, we finish this episode with Anne making a five finger discount purchase off the two detectives as they leave Briarcliff. She then confronts Dr. Arden about his past. It get ugly. Anne pulls the detective's gun on Dr. Arden and shoots him in the leg. She threatens to shoot him again unless he hands over the keys. The bad doctor does this and Anne opens a door. We are confronted with this:

Is anyone getting the feeling Bloody Face is actually based on one of those 'based on a real story' horror movie characters? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

And while you wait for next week's episode, why not check out The Ring of Lost Souls on Amazon or iTunes?

(Photo Credits: FX)

American Horror Story Asylum Season 2 Recap - Episode 3: Nor'easter

Episode 3: Nor'easter

Thank you, thank you , thank you FX for making this episode of American Horror Story Asylum SO much better than the last! This week is like holding a torch up under your chin and telling ghosts stories around a camp fire until someone pees themselves with fright.

Episode 3 (entitled 'Nor-easter') opens with the classic ghost tale (set in the present day abandoned Briarcliff and the two horny but unfortunate honeymooners) of the killer who turns out to be a copycat and then gets killed by the real deal! Needless to say, poor Leo (Adam Levine) and Teresa (Jenna Dewan Tatum) are deader than dead. Sadly, this is the only time we find the cool time change stuff occurring, although there was PLENTY of opportunity for it!

So Sister Mary Eunice (Lily Rabe) is possessed by the devil, and my what a wonderful job she does of playing the role. Not only is she deliciously creepy, but she is messing with Sister Jude's (Jessica Lange) head. It seems the devil knows all about Jude's hit and run fifteen years earlier (another great ghost story to tell by the fire) and is hell bent on reminding her of this fact. Sister Jude, as a result seems to be 'coming apart at the seams' (as the horrible Dr. Arden (James Cromwell) so eloquently puts it).

She is not the only one loosing it though. Dr. Arden himself gets seduced by Sister Devil Eunice and flips out; one statue gets tarted up with lipstick and smashed as a result. In his more lucid moments though, the good doctor pokes and prods Kit (Evan Peters) in an attempt to introduce conspiracy theories into American Horror Story Asylum - you can't have a nut house without at least a few of these!

Speaking of Kit, he is still attempting to escape with Grace (Lizzie Brochere). When a movie night is planned during the freakish storm that is ominously working it's way through this episode, they realise it is the perfect time to try again. Shelly the nymphomaniac (Chloe Sevigny) wants in and eventually convinces them to let her come with them. Even Lana (Sarah Paulson) gets a second chance once she has words with Dr. Thredson (Zachary Quinto) and realises that her girlfriend, Wendy (Clea Duvall), may be in danger. She also realises that maybe Kit isn't the serial killer Bloody Face. Oops, hopes she apologises for the caning he got as a result!

We also start to learn more about the creature that Sister Devil Eunice keeps feeding in the forest. In fact, we discover there is more than one of them and apparently they only need to be fed over winter. These creatures turn out to be a crucial plot point this week. not only does one of the patients (who identifies the fact that Sister Eunice is possessed by the devil) get fed to them, but when Kit, Grace and Lana attempt their escape (with the help of Shelly, but more on that later), they encounter these creatures and as a result end up back in the very tunnel they used to escape through! Sister Jude also uses the (now noticed) escapees as a reason to get rid of a few other missing patients by claiming SIX people have escaped instead of only four.

So, Shelly wants to escape. She actually stops thinking about sex for long enough to act as a look out. Her favour with the male staff is definitely to her advantage and we find her back on the sex bandwagon as soon as needed. Once Carl the orderly is distracted, Shelly realises that her need to escape is more important than her need for sex, so the poor man is left wanting. Unfortunately it is too little, too late and Shelly jumps straight out of the frying pan and into the scorching flames of hell (read: Dr. Arden). It seems the poor doctor is still toey. Shelly is actually forced to put out. Or at least until Dr. Arden has a 'little accident'. Shelly finds this hilarious, as a result, Dr. Arden gets pissy and poor Shelly also meets with a little accident.....

Sister Jude is not coping well and as a result gets completely inebriated. She staggers around the abandoned halls in search of someone only she appears to see. Now would have been an awesome moment to put in a time change. The other would have been when Kit, Lana and Grace are escaping back INTO Briarcliff, but these small details were the only set backs in this episode.

Although, if you were to speak to Shelly in the last scene, she may disagree, since we find her minus the lower half of her legs and still in the care of Dr. Arden.....

Can't WAIT for the next episode!

Was this week as good for you as it was for me?

American Horror Story: Asylum vs. Australian Horror Story: Larundel

So, who watched the premiere episode of American Horror Story: Asylum? Besides the fact that there appears to be an even level of sex and gore in this show, I am finding other things interesting too. Having only watched the first ten minutes so far, I already am making comparisons between the institution that inspired my novel, The Ring of Lost Souls, called Larundel and the one in the show called Briarcliff.

American Horror Story Asylum: Briarcliff

So lets have a look at the similarities so far:

• Both were built at the start of twentieth century. Briarcliff in 1908 and Larundel in 1938 (but the larger facility it belonged to, Mont Park, was founded in 1912. However the oldest buildings which were built around 1911, now officially belong to the Larundel section)
• Briarcliff was originally a tuberculosis centre. While Larundel never housed tuberculosis sufferers, the buildings that did, were situated in the very next suburb
• Larundel housed the criminally insane. People like serial killer Peter Dupas spent time there. These 'locked wards' have now been demolished, but there are plenty of stories on the Internet that claim the houses built over that area are now haunted.  Briarcliff converted to a centre for the criminally insane in the 1960s
• Even the name forms a coincidence. While Larundel is in the suburb of Bundoora, a mere three suburbs away is one called Briar Hill
• Bloody Face the serial killer. As I said in an earlier point, Larundel housed serial killers. While Dupas was not known by any fancy serial killer tag, he was known to mutilate his female victims in a bloody fashion
• Dr. Arthur Arden performs torture on his patients in an attempt to discover the meaning of madness. While there have been no actual reports of behaviour like this at Larundel, there have been plenty of unsubstantiated rumours
• Graffiti - both places have tons of it! Not to mention the mess! People just don't seem kind to old asylums :-/ 

Australian Horror Story Asylum: Larundel

All this and so far I have only watched a small portion of American Horror Story: Asylum!

Let me know if I have missed any.

American Horror Story: Asylum Season Two Starts October 17th!

Now I didn't get the chance to watch Season 1 of FX's American Horror Story, so I can't comment on how good (or not) it was. I have had a whole pile of friends tell me I should check it out though. Season 2, however, has got me waiting, perched precariously, on the edge of my seat!

Considering one of my books, The Ring of Lost Souls, is based in a disused mental asylum, the storyline for Season 2 of American Horror Story has gotten me all excited. Jessica Lange will play the sadistic Sister Jude and several of the cast from Season 1 will be returning. Maroon 5's front man, Adam Levine  is playing a character called Leo and HBO's Big Love actress Chloë Sevigny will not be a closeted second wife, but Shelly the Nymphomaniac!

Some of the imagery released for the FX channel show is fantastic, there promises to be a hydrobath, a bloody face, strange stairwells and the 'hellovator'. Besides the uber creepy image above, the one below is probably my fave:

This poster shows the possibility that it will tie in closely with the storyline I chose for The Ring of Lost Souls. While I steered clear of the clichéd evil nun (although I am sure Jessica Lange will be brilliantly eerie), I did use a time frame that promoted the Larundel asylum as old and abandoned. I get the feeling that there may be some time travel involved in American Horror Story: Asylum as well. Maybe not to the extent that I used it, but it will be interesting to see how they play around with the fact that the story line is based in the 1960's.

So, what are you expecting from this season of American Horror Story? Are you sad to see the old characters go? Or excited to see where FX will take the next season?

And while you're waiting for October 17th, why not check out my book, The Ring of Lost Souls? 

It's available on:

 Amazon Kindle 

iTunes

Angus & Robertson

Lulu

and 

Smashwords