“American Horror Story” Goes Stephen King: “AHS Double Feature” [Review]

Easing into autumn means three things: pumpkin spice flavored everything, kids go back to school, and most importantly, the return of “American Horror Story!” And this year, we needed AHS more than ever.

We won’t lie, it did seem like “American Horror Story” had lost its footing for a bit there with “Apocalypse” and “1984“, but it seems as if show runners Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk are back on “the Muse” (wink) with “Double Feature,” because this season is shaping up to be fantastic.

Speaking of fantastic, the acting in this season thus far is just…wow. You can really feel Doris’s (Lily Rabe) frustration and fear of the situation and Harry’s (Finn Wittrock) uncertainty, as they try to find success by relocating to an East Coast Cape town with their young daughter, Alma (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) so that Harry can work on his pilot and Doris can redesign the rental home. It doesn’t take long before things take a turn for the little family, and they are attacked by a strange man resembling a methed out vampire.

Things continue to go awry as Harry befriends fellow writers Belle Noir (Frances Conroy) and Austin Sommers (Evan Peters) in a local pub. We won’t spoil it all for you, but those two are up to no good.

There are (not so) subtle nods to the works of Stephen King everywhere, from the East Coast setting, to the writer’s blocked dad, and the hulking bald vampiric creatures. But it doesn’t feel tired. It all feels fresh. And we can’t wait to see more.

Tune in to FX on Wednesdays at 10pm (EST) for more “American Horror Story.”