Devil’s Night on American Horror Story Hotel Is Killer
Much has been made about Lady Gaga’s seemingly endless trysts during her American Horror Story tenure thus far, and her list of lovers grew by one more in the latest episode, “Devil’s Night”. But for once, Gaga’s bloody kisses were not the main event. That distinction belongs to another monster: Aileen Wuornos.
The notorious murderer, whose story was the basis for a 2003 film for which Charlize Theron won an Oscar, is one of several departed death dealers inhabiting the halls of the Hotel Cortez on the night before Halloween — “the event of the season,” according to Cortez mainstay Liz Taylor.
Can we take a moment for how well @AHSFX depicted Aileen Wuornos? pic.twitter.com/2BXWj4dEQx
— Derryl Kinnell (@itsDerryl) October 29, 2015
“Halloween is plastic pumpkins; Devil’s Night is when the real ghouls come out and play,” Liz explains to Detective John Lowe at one point.
The soiree comes courtesy of James Patrick March, the undead murder maestro who built the Hotel Cortez, played to evil genius heights by AHS staple Evan Peters. (Already, with only a small handful of appearances under his belt, Peters has turned March into his most memorable Horror icon yet.) The guest list includes some serious serial-killing showstoppers, like Seth Gabel as flesh-hungry Jeffrey Dahmer, John Carroll Lynch as John Wayne Gacy (and, for a minute, reprising his role as Twisty the Clown from Freak Show), and the aforementioned Wuornos, who was executed in 2002 and played here by Lily Rabe, the erstwhile Sister Mary Eunice.
March views them all as equals, and yet, he seems especially infatuated with a man who quickly becomes the guest of honor: John Lowe, the detective living in the hotel, looking for the elusive Ten Commandments Killer. There’s no obvious reason for Lowe to attend the event, beyond March’s apparent curiosity toward the man.
“I’ve watched you, and it makes me sad,” March says, his words twisting and turning as they leave his lips. “Greatness is about vision, and you have made yourself blind to everything that your eyes can see.”
It would be a honor to be screamed at by Mr.March #AHSHotel @tweetsonurface pic.twitter.com/93II5fkIpD
— Jazmin (@Jaisrainbows) October 29, 2015
At first blush, March seems to be talking about the horrific wonders of the Hotel Cortez, a place where real ghouls really do come out and play. But a deeper examination of his words, combined with a quick look at the guest list, collide in one possible reality that both viewers and Lowe might need to consider: Does he have more in common with the Devil’s Night diners than he’d care to admit?
For now, Lowe remains in the dark, fueled by multiple martinis and a healthy dose of absinthe, waking up from the nightmarish dinner with vivid memories of ethereal killers carving up human meat as appetizer and dessert alike.
Hypodermic Sally is there to see him through his hangover, assuring him: “You have to trust me. I’m your protector.” But as she escorts him away from the evening, we see the room come alive again, March literally chomping his teeth at the lingering scent of Lowe — a meal, and maybe a murder, for another day.
Another Day, Another Vampire
While Lowe trips down the devil’s rabbit hole, his soon-to-be ex-wife Alex undergoes a transformation of her own.
In last week’s episode, Alex reunited with her long lost son Holden during a chance encounter at the Hotel Cortez. But this week, we saw that the reunion wasn’t so happy — especially not for the Lowe family’s dog, killed and drained by a very thirsty, very vampiric Holden.
Holden brings his mystified mother back to the Hotel Cortez to meet his “other mommy”, Countess Elizabeth, who explains the rules of vampirism in terms that Alex, a pediatrician, can appreciate.
“Holden has contracted an ancient virus,” she says. “It’s a blood disorder. The effect of the disease is health, vitality and everlasting life.”
Doesn’t sound so bad when you put it that way, does it? Alex is resistant at first, but by episode’s end, she becomes the latest mortal to kiss the Countess’ bloody bosom, becoming another one of her loyal lovers — and taking one more step toward an eternal reunion with her long lost lavender-scented son.
Now that Chloë Sevigny’s Alex has turned, following Kathy Bates’ Iris’ transformation last week, five of the ten American Horror Story Hotel series regulars are now afflicted with vampirism.
So, the obvious question is: who’s next?