Justin Louis Reviews the Freakiest New Show on TV, “American Horror Story”

When I think about it, I've always liked odd TV shows. I was a big fan of The X-Files back in the day. These days Dexter is one of my can't miss shows. And then I saw American Horror Story.

American Horror Story just premiered last month and makes The X-Files look like Little House on the Prairie. I was a little behind but when I heard people talking about it, I decided to catch up and watched the first 4 episodes over 2 evenings.

I can honestly say that it is the single most disturbing show I have ever seen on TV. Briefly, it's about a family who move from Boston to Los Angeles to get a new beginning. The husband, Ben (Dylan McDermott) was involved in an adultery scandal and the wife, Vivien (Connie Britton) had to deal with a miscarriage in addition to her husband's infidelity. And of course there's the moody teenage daughter (Taissa Farmiga). So they moved cross-country to a gorgeous mansion in LA (the exteriors filmed at the Doheny Mansion, pictured above)...which just happened to be on the market for much less than you'd think (the first sign that something isn't quite right...oh yeah, and local tour buses pass by and refer to the property as "Murder House", another clue that something juuuuuust may be a little off).

Over the first few episodes we're introduced to the strangest cast of characters ever gathered in a single TV show; there's the maid, Moira who has been with the house "for a long time" and appears to Vivien as an aged domestic helper who has obviously seen better days, but to Ben she appears as a comely, flirty, 20-something temptress. The busybody next door neighbor, Constance (a ready to crack at any second has-been actress, perfectly played by Jessica Lange with twitchy creepiness) clearly knows more than she's letting on. And then there's Rubber Man...I have no idea what to say about Rubber Man.

I would describe the show as a mix of the soapy twisted domesticity of Desperate Housewives with the bizarre paranormal tilt of The X-Files, and a touch of Stephen King and Alfred Hitchcock thrown in for good measure.

Fair warning, this is not a show you're going to sit down with the whole family and watch. Eat dinner together, enjoy Glee with the kids, have a laugh with Modern Family, then send the little ones off to bed and give yourself nightmares with American Horror Story.

By the way, here's the kicker of the whole thing...believe it or not, the duo who gave us the singing, dancing, happy go lucky kids on Glee, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, are actually the team we can thank for this freaky hour of television.

So what do you think, have you seen American Horror Story?