A trailer for American Horror Stories, an anthology series spun off from the FX show American Horror Story, shows more details about what the show will be about and Danny Trejo as an evil Santa. Ryan Murphy's horror series American Horror Story premiered in 2011 and is well known for its twisted stories, repeat castings, and Easter eggs that connect each seemingly stand-alone season. Now that the show is poised to reach its 10th season, which will be subtitled "Double Feature", the franchise is being expanded in a unique way.
Though some teaser trailers and posters for the anthology series teased a return to season 1's Murder House and the infamous Rubber Man back in June, the plot of American Horror Stories has been kept tightly under wraps, with little information being given to fans about what to expect. American Horror Story star Sarah Paulson signed on to direct at least one of the 16 episodes that will begin premiering on a weekly basis in mid-July on Hulu. Also recently announced is the cast for the series, including Paris Jackson, Aaron Tveit, Riverdale’s Charles Melton, and Trejo.
Now, a new trailer has been released by FX Networks, diving back into Murder House and giving a better idea of what will be included in the series. One character describes Murder House as "Amityville Horror on crystal meth," before a series of seemingly unrelated shots give flashes of the horrors that await. While the trailer shows some new characters, others are more familiar like the rubber-suited figure that descends from the ceiling and a killer with a pig head. Trejo even makes an appearance as Santa Claus, a character that was previously played by Ian McShane in American Horror Story: Asylum.
While it might seem at first like this could be any other season of American Horror Story, the trailer helps to further justify the anthology by giving it a clear setting and introducing so many new actors to the mix. Showing the title American Horror Stories at a drive-in theater also hints that this is how each episode could be introduced. American Horror Stories plans to introduce new characters that will hopefully be as memorable as those in American Horror Story, but FX is surely betting on already established characters and setting to pull in viewers. As for Trejo, it's unknown if he is playing McShane's Leigh Emerson from Asylum or a different version of Santa.
For die-hard fans who can't wait to see what American Horror Story season 10 has to offer, the American Horror Stories anthology could be a nice change of pace as well as something to keep them satisfied while waiting for the August release of Double Feature. This will also be the first time something from the American Horror Story franchise has been released in nearly two years, meaning there is a lot of anticipation for both American Horror Stories and American Horror Story season 10. American Horror Stories might feature storylines that aren't big enough to be made into a whole season of American Horror Story, but this trailer indicates that each episode will still have something unique to bring to the franchise.
Source: FX Networks