The Cutprice Guignol

Wow! It’s American Horror Story-o-clock already? Yes, the first trailer for the next season, subtitled 1984, is here, it’s probably pretty queer, and it’s going to be going ahead without Evan Peters. And hey, as your local cynical American Horror Story scholar, I think it’s only right that I take a look at it, right? To the teaser!

Alright, so it’s clear that the 1984 in the title is in reference to the year of the release of the horror classic Friday the 13th rather than anything, you know, more dystopian. And honestly, in a lot of ways, I think that’s a good choice for the show to make. Roanoke was one of the better seasons of American Horror Story because it took a genre and picked it apart, piece by piece. Not to mention the fact that Hotel pretty much displayed the show has a passion for the eighties that will never die – unlike, you know, most of the cast.

Do I think that means we’re safe from Ryan Murphy’s hot take on George Orwell’s novel starring Lena Dunham? Of course not. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see both meanings of that famous date (as the height of the slasher horror era, and as a synonym for science-fictionally grim future) wrapped into this story, which I would find interesting if I didn’t already have great, great reservations about this show taking on anything that isn’t just Evan Peters being a bit of a maniac.

The soundtrack is also by Bille Eilish (the song is Six Feet Under, if you’re keen to find it ), and I fully expect her latest album – which is basically a straight horror soundtrack contained on a CD – to be on heavy rotation both in this season and in pretty much every other postmodern horror (though, ain’t that all of them these days?) trailer out this year.

These short trailers are usually pretty oblique, so I’m likely wrong about everything, but really, I’ll take any chance to prod the odd televisual blancmange that is AHS. What did you think of the teaser? Will you be watching the next season? Let me know in the comments below.

(header image via TVLine)