Holiday Gift Guide 2015: American Horror Story: Freak Show

American Horror Story: Freak Show

The Complete Fourth Season

Starring: Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Sarah Paullson and Michael Chiklis

Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Release Date: October 6, 2015

Retail: $59.99

ASIN: B00OQUZP96

Running Time: 647 minutes

Rating: Not Rated

Buy Link: DVD, Blu-ray

Product Description:

Step inside American Horror Story: Freak Show, the terrifyingly twisted reincarnation of TV’s most shockingly original series. Jessica Lange leads an extraordinary, award-winning cast that includes Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Sarah Paulson and Michael Chiklis. Lange plays Elsa Mars, the proprietor of a troupe of human “curiosities” on a desperate journey of survival in the sleepy hamlet of Jupiter, Florida, in 1952. Her menagerie of performers includes a two-headed, telepathic twin (Paulson), a take-charge bearded lady (Bates), a vulnerable strongman (Chiklis) and his sultry, three-breasted wife (Bassett). But the strange emergence of a dark entity will savagely threaten the lives of townsfolk and freaks alike.

Billy's Thoughts:

I recall watching the original "Murder House" season a few years ago on FX, but I tuned out quickly during the second season, "Asylum", and I haven't returned to the American Horror Story since. Well, this is until I heard about the Blu-ray release of American Horror Story: Freak Show: The Complete Fourth Season. After hearing good things about the "Freak Show" season, I thought I would feature it in this year's Holiday Gift Guide.

Set in Jupiter, Florida in 1952, American Horror Story: Freak Show, centers on Elsa Mars (played by Jessica Lange) and her freak show, Fräulein Elsa's Cabinet of Curiosities, which is one of the last ones left in the United States. She recruits her newest attraction - Bette and Dot Tattler (played by Sarah Paulson), conjoined twins that were accused of killing their own mother. The twins are completely different for each other. Bette likes receiving the attention from the other freaks, but Dot doesn't like the fact that they're being exploited. When a detective arrives to arrest the twins for their mother's murder, Jimmy Darling "Lobster Boy" (played by Evan Peters) leads the other freaks into stopping him, which leads to a murder. Elsa's performers always protects one of their own.

Dell Toledo (played by Michael Chiklis), a strongman, arrives at the freak show, along with his three-breasted hermaphrodite wife Desiree Dupree (played by Angela Basset) looking for work. Elsa agrees to hire the both of them as Dell could provide extra security. However, Ethel Darling, the bearded lady, (played by Kathy Bates) doesn't trust Dell, who happens to be the father of her son, Jimmy.

Things take a twisted turn when Maggie Esmerelda (played by Emma Roberts) comes looking for a job as a medium, followed by the arrival of Stanley (played by Denis O’Hare), who claims to be a talent agent and will make Elsa a Hollywood star. The truth is that both Stanley and Maggie are both con artists, whom are planning on killing a few freaks, so they can sell their bodies to a museum.

To make matters worse for Fräulein Elsa's Cabinet of Curiosities, there is a serial killer, Twisty the Clown (played by John Carroll Lynch), on the loose nearby. Plus, there is a rich boy psychopath, Dandy Mott (played by Finn Wittrock) who has an obsession with Bette and Dot.

Special Features on the 3-Disc Blu-ray are: Getty Freaky: A Peak Inside the Tent, Two Heads Are Better Than One: Learn More About Bette and Dot Tattler, Twisty: Behind the Mask of Terror, Freaklore: The Spectre of Edward Mordraker: The Mystery of the Two-Faced Man, American Horror Story: Freak Show Extra-Ordinary Artist: Interviews with the Real-Life Cast "Freaks" and The Premiere: The Red Carpet Premiere with Cast.

American Horror Story isn't for the weakhearted, as it's a horror anthology made for adults (aka, nudity, language, graphic violence and other adult themes). Though it's not strictly an anthology as the character Pepper (played by Naomi Grossman) ties in with the second season, Asylum), as well as the cameos from Lily Rabe and James Cromwell in their Asylum roles.

AHS: Freak Show is surrounded by excellent performances from Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters. Of course the real star of the series is Twisty the Clown, who unfortunately doesn't make it pass the the fourth episode. While special effects were used for a few of the characters, others were played by actors that have special medical conditions, such as Paul the Illustrated Seal (played by Matt Fraser), Ma Petite (played by Jyoti Amge) and Legless Suzi (played by the late Rose Siggins).

Overall, I enjoyed watching AHS: Freak Show, though it's not exactly perfect (too many unneeded storylines), I found the series to be entertaining and disturbing at the same time. The picture quality on the Blu-ray is crystal clear and there are plenty of special features on the Blu-ray to satisfy any AHS fan.