At its best, American Horror Story makes you fear for its characters. At its worst, it tries to make you fear in a much vaguer sense, by throwing creepy images and creepy figures in ghoulish make-up and hoping they'll stick. When the show first began with Murder House, it took time to establish its characters and their relationships before gradually building up, episode by episode, to the truly eerie stuff. Many fans consider Asylum to be the best blend of story, characters and horror, with the balance shifting gradually during subsequent seasons. Before it aired, many hoped American Horror Story: Hotel would be a return to form. Long-time star Jessica Lange was leaving, paving the way for an exciting reinvention. Though the season hasn't finished (we've reached episode ten, with the remainder of the season set to resume in January) it seems it's already showed its hand. Hotel is all style and no substance. It's flashy, and so concerned with frightening the audience that it never manages to first make them care. At this point, the show has had plenty of time to establish its main players. If we don't care much about them now, we certainly won't in the last few episodes.
