AMERICAN HORROR STORY: Guts and Gore in Prime Time

In 1988, legendary horror magazine FANGORIA published a spin-off called GOREZONE, in an attempt to, supposedly, quench the thirst of more blood-thirsty fans.

It was a very niche segment of a niche.

Given the hysteria of “the devil made me do it” crimes during the 80s, not to mention the general shunning of violence in media, it’s no wonder the magazine folded after only 27 issues.

27 years later, however, the current renaissance of Television Horror series would have you believing a healthy “gore-hound” community exists.

After last week’s episode of AMERICAN HORROR STORY: FREAK SHOW, I would also argue our desensitivity to blood and guts on Prime Time Television is at an all-time acceptable high.

It’s hard to remember that there was a time when movies like Raimi’s original EVIL DEAD or Romero’s DAY OF THE DEAD were extreme, sometimes forgoing the MPAA rating and sometimes even being banned in some places (UK’s “Video Nasties” for a start).

But there it was in bloody red, black and whatever color fleshy guts are (Crayola, that’s your cue) this past Wednesday on FX.  A manic magician named Chester, played with gleeful delight by sort-of magician Neil Patrick Harris, flipped his lid and sawed a woman in half.  For reals.

Chester pulls apart the separated blood dripping box to reveal, every disgusting detail pouring out of poor Eric Robert’s daughter.  It was disgusting, shocking, kind of funny and ultimately disturbing.

It was quite possibly the most graphic (albeit cartoonish) on-screen, made-for-television death to date (though last season’s HANNIBAL and moments over the course of TRUE BLOOD rival it).

But I’m not about to get on an anti-violence tirade.  Though, I am shocked every time something this graphic ends up on basic cable (or even broadcast TV), it’s more out of awe.

And, especially for horror fans, there’s a lot of awe to be had in AMERICAN HORROR STORY‘s now four “seasons.”  Admire the constant love song the show sings to its genre.

The first episode of the first season alone pays homage to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Shining, Poltergeist II, The Amityville Horror, Vertigo, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Eyes Wide Shut, The Strangers, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, The Changeling, Heathers, Insidious, Orphan, Rosemary’s Baby, Kill Bill Vol. 1, The Others, and A Nightmare on Elm Street.

I might have missed a few.

The awe in last week’s episode (the second to last of this current season) doesn’t come from the multiple references to Tod Browning’s banned masterpiece Freaks (and trust me, there are plenty).

Instead, the horrific magic act, and his hallucinating, damaged master of ceremonies, is right out of the grandest of grand guignols – the “Godfather of Gore” Herschell Gordon Lewis.  More specifically, The Wizard of Gore, his lesser popular 1970 splatter film, serves as a role model.

Should we be shocked a this point though?  Back in the day, the only way I even knew anything about that film was from John McCarty’s “Splatter Movies.” It wasn’t years later that I could get my hands on a VHS of the actual movie.

As long as the blood keeps flowing in Prime Time, I’ll remain in awe, maybe even with a hint of envy.