FX enters the horror genre with American Horror Story, which premieres Oct. 5 at 10 p.m. ET. The following are reviews from TV critics around the web, compiled by B&C.
“While it’s faithful to the horror-film tradition, right down to lights that flicker off at precisely the wrong moment, American Horror Story cheerfully integrates Hitchcock-style psychological horror with old-school ax murders.” — David Hinckley, New York Daily News
“From the cheesy porn come-hithers of Moira to the seemingly endless succession of murders committed in the house, American Horror Story is frantic in a way that diffuses rather than intensifies the goose-bump factor.” — Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times
“It has pretensions of depth and ambition, but really all it’s about is whatever cool thing [Ryan] Murphy and [Brad] Falchuk wanted to do next, hurled at the screen with such reckless abandon that none of it works.” — Alan Sepinwall, Hitfix
“And yet for all its faults, I will probably watch every episode of American Horror Story, at least its first season. Partly because while it is a disorganized, unbelievable mess, it’s often disorganized and unbelievable in an interesting way.” — James Poniewozik, TIME
“I’m not exactly a walking encyclopedia of horror movies. So if I say American Horror Story felt to me like a 10-car pileup of themes and ideas I’d encountered elsewhere, true horror fans should read that as an indication that there’s a terrific drinking game premiering on FX tonight.” — Ellen Gray, Philadelphia Daily News
