American Horror Story: Apocalypse Premiere - 5 Ups & 1 Down From 'The End'

4. The Tone

With the exception of Roanoke, American Horror Story has a quintessentially campy tone, which is one of the show's most attractive qualities. However, much like other aspects of the FX series, the tone has been hit and miss over the years. As any TV viewer would know, the tone of a show can truly make or break a series, which is why Cult ultimately failed. The previous season of AHS was too aware of its own campiness, and as a result, it often came off as a comedy series more than it did a disturbing horror series.

This doesn't appear to be a problem with Apocalypse, however. The beautifully bleak cinematography and the direction lend themselves wonderfully to the storyline, and the dark colour palette couldn't be more appropriate for the themes explored in Apocalypse. As always the score is spectacular, and aids in building tension throughout the 45-minute opener. Murphy and Falchuk have returned to the original tone of the series for Apocalypse, and it couldn't be more perfect.