American Horror Story: Season 9

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Generally favorable reviews based on 48 Ratings

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6.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 48 Ratings

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American Horror Story

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Season Details & Credits

FX | Season Premiere Date: September 18, 2019

Summary: Season eight subtitled 1984 is inspired by the slasher movies of the 1980s.

Genre(s): Horror

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Season 9 Episodes

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Critic Reviews

Dan Fienberg

Sep 19, 2019

The season's plot is intentionally thin. ... There are hints of cleverness in the dialogue, but just hints. It's only in the Night Stalker stuff, perhaps fodder for a Quentin Tarantino-esque rewrite of history, that I got much hope for anything fresh. Read full review

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User Reviews

anto13

Dec 28, 2019

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. an amazing story and i love the connection with Murder House and Hotel Cortez... there is really something going on!!… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

joaotekiaware

Jun 26, 2022

This season had everything to be stupid, but it was one of the most specials of the show. The way Ryan used a 80s formula worked so incredibly with the aesthetic of the epoch and all it's references. The rising, transformation and changes suffered by the characters got me surprised andThis season had everything to be stupid, but it was one of the most specials of the show. The way Ryan used a 80s formula worked so incredibly with the aesthetic of the epoch and all it's references. The rising, transformation and changes suffered by the characters got me surprised and satisfied at the same time, and this isn't about the narrative, it's about the drama construction behind. I couldn't've imagine that I'll be so involved with the story. There's so many plot twists and a emotional ending for a bloody season. It's from far one of best points of the whole show. Ryan was a genius and insightful.… Expand

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Jmario

Sep 21, 2019

Eu estou apaixonado por esse episódio,Ryan como sempre entregando um ótimo trabalho, o elenco nem se fala senti falta de alguns mas o que estão nessa são ótimos.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Dsros96

Oct 23, 2021

Despite the fact it distances itself from previous seasons & the vibes it has, it's unexpectedly good. My main issue is the plothole with other season of AHS.

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Bertaut1

Jul 20, 2020

The funniest season yet, and the best since Asylum

A pitch-perfect homage to summer-camp slasher movies, AHS/1984 is, for me, the best season of American Horror Story since Asylum. However, it's divisive, and AHS purists probably won't be overly impressed that it's a dark and camp comedyThe funniest season yet, and the best since Asylum

A pitch-perfect homage to summer-camp slasher movies, AHS/1984 is, for me, the best season of American Horror Story since Asylum. However, it's divisive, and AHS purists probably won't be overly impressed that it's a dark and camp comedy before it's a thriller or a horror. However, it's consistently hilarious, it doesn't take itself seriously, and it elicits quite a bit of empathy for several of the characters. And the soundtrack, wardrobe, and hairstyles have more '80s cheese than you could ever imagine.

LA, 1984. Montana (Billie Lourd), Xavier (Cody Fern), Chet (Gus Kenworthy), and Ray (DeRon Horton) are heading to work as counsellors at newly reopened Camp Redwood. When Brooke (Emma Roberts) is attacked by Richard Ramirez, aka the Night Stalker (Zack Villa), she decides to join the others. At Redwood, they meet Margaret (Leslie Grossman), who survived a massacre there in 1970 and who now owns the camp; Rita (Angelica Ross), the nurse; Bertie (Tara Karsian), the chef; and Trevor (Matthew Morrison), the activities director. Meanwhile, Benjamin Richter, aka Mr Jingles (John Carroll Lynch), former groundskeeper at Redwood and perpetrator of the 1970 massacre, escapes from a nearby mental facility with murder on his mind.

Not quite a post-modernist reimagining of the slasher genre, the season could stand as a respectable slasher in its own right, and in this sense, the tone is pitch-perfect. Take the opening credits. Whereas previous sequences have been unnerving, the opening to 1984 is a thing of tacky '80s beauty – shot on VHS in 1.33:1 (complete with tracking lines), the credits are made up of shots of aerobics, tape decks, gaudy fashion, dodgy '80s video graphics, VCRs, Ronald Reagan, and roller skates. Meanwhile, the unsettling AHS theme music is here reproduced on a synth. It's horrible, cheesy, about as unthreatening as you can imagine, and awesome.

The show hits classic genre markers such the campfire scene used to provide exposition, the chase scene where the girl being pursued keeps tripping, the characters continually splitting up for various (dubious) reasons, and the plethora of pseudo-POV shots from behind trees. Having said all that, however, there are certainly elements of postmodern deconstruction; the girl with the huge breasts becomes the guy with the huge penis, the black characters survive beyond the opening act, the quintessential shower scene upon which someone is spying involves not women but men, and there's a pseudo-meta defamiliarisation of the notion that serial killers in slasher films are notoriously difficult to kill.

A vital element of any season of AHS is humour, and 1984 is no different. Usually, the best laughs come from the earnestness of the characters, who are blissfully unaware of how ridiculous they sound. So, when Brooke meets Xavier, he tells her, dead-pan, "I trained with Stella Adler. I'm method". Later on, he discusses the dangers of being in a coma by referencing the song, "Coma Chameleon". After one of the characters is badly burned, an argument breaks out and when someone tells this character to breathe, they proclaim, "I have breathed the fire of a thousand white-hot suns". Discussing Billy Idol, a character points out, "You can't sing "Rebel Yell" and not be a rebel".

Thematically, the most obvious issue is media commodification of serial killers. Whether it be by making a movie or putting their face on a magazine, serial killers and mass murderers sell, and there's something inherently wrong about that. As with previous AHS seasons, we also look at gender issues. Here we see a critique of the notion that female victims of male serial killers are celebrated as "feminist heroes", and there's a nicely written reformulation of the serial killer trope whereby women are often not believed as they fight male monsters.

In terms of problems, on the one hand, there is too much time spent on explaining things the audience already knows. On the other, there is a disorienting and not entirely successful time jump between the penultimate and last episode, and it feels almost like there was an episode skipped between the two, especially as the finale ill-advisedly introduces a new character. Some viewers will also undoubtedly find the humour too camp and too frequent, whilst some will find the references nothing more than pastiche, intertextuality for its own sake.

All in all, I enjoyed this season of American Horror Story. It's not the most thrilling or unnerving, but it is the funniest. Strong characters, tremendous acting, and some genuinely heartfelt moments combine with great costumes, foolish hair, and a great soundtrack to produce a season that might mean little to those born post-1989, but to the rest of us is an ode to the achingly familiar.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

truerock

Nov 26, 2020

I'm not a fan of the slasher genre - but, I'll try to keep my review as objective as I can. The acting and technicals of the 9th season of American Horror Story are good. This season is premised on a 1980s period recreation and I found it to be quite accurate in that respect and that wasI'm not a fan of the slasher genre - but, I'll try to keep my review as objective as I can. The acting and technicals of the 9th season of American Horror Story are good. This season is premised on a 1980s period recreation and I found it to be quite accurate in that respect and that was somewhat interesting. The slasher genre tropes were accurate and well done. Given its objective I would say that season 9 is artistically successful within that context. If you like slasher video I would think you would enjoy season 9 of AHS.

Regardless, I can't bring myself to rate season 9 higher than 6 and I really couldn't make myself watch more that 1 and one half episodes - but, again - I don't enjoy watching slashers and that is just my point of view and doesn't necessarily mean others might not enjoy it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

daebu_char

Sep 22, 2020

The final nail in the coffin of once unrivaled anthology series. What initially started as pure horror with amazing writing and multifaceted characters has sadly deteriorated into a cheap teen drama with a lot of meme worthy moments. I actually had to double check whether I'm really watchingThe final nail in the coffin of once unrivaled anthology series. What initially started as pure horror with amazing writing and multifaceted characters has sadly deteriorated into a cheap teen drama with a lot of meme worthy moments. I actually had to double check whether I'm really watching American Horror Story because what I was witnessing onscreen felt more like a spiritual successor to Scream Queens than anything else. I think Ryan Murphy needs to nip his obsession with teens in the bud before it starts ruining the legacy he's built for himself.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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Seasons & Episodes

65

Series Overview
Season 11

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- Season 11 Overview
  Air Date: October 19, 2022
Season 10

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- Season 10 Overview
  Air Date: August 25, 2021
Season 9

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- Season 9 Overview
  Air Date: September 18, 2019
- No episode information is currently available for this season
Season 8

63
- Season 8 Overview
  Air Date: September 12, 2018
Season 7

66
- Season 7 Overview
  Air Date: September 5, 2017
Season 6

72
- Season 6 Overview
  Air Date: September 14, 2016
Season 5

60
- Season 5 Overview
  Air Date: October 7, 2015
Season 4

69
- Season 4 Overview
  Air Date: October 8, 2014
Season 3

71
- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: October 9, 2013
Season 2

65
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: October 17, 2012
Season 1

62
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: October 5, 2011