The episode introduces Elsa Mars who runs one of the last remaining freak shows in the United States in the hamlet of Jupiter, Florida, and her recruitment of conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler. It also introduces the rest of her traveling performers, and the murderous clown known as Twisty.[2] This is the first episode of American Horror Story to break the anthology format, which includes the character Pepper (Naomi Grossman), who was previously featured in American Horror Story: Asylum (2012-2013).[3]
"Monsters Among Us" is the second longest episode in the series' history, at just over one hour without commercials. It received critical acclaim and positive reviews from critics who praised the characters, acting, setting, its horror elements, and the story's tone. Critics noted the character buildup, particularly that of the Tattler Twins and Elsa Mars, and Elsa Mars' performance of David Bowie's "Life on Mars?" as the episode's highlights. The episode obtained the highest ratings of any episode in the series, and is currently the most-watched American Horror Story episode.[4]
Jyoti Amge, currently the world's smallest living woman, has her American TV debut in this episode.[5][6]
In Jupiter, Florida, in 1952, conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler are taken to a hospital after a milkman finds them injured in their home, near their mother, who was brutally murdered. News spread of the twins' existence, leading local carnival freak show owner Elsa Mars attempting to recruit them to join her troupe. Although skeptical, the twins agree. Elsa's troupe of freaks include Jimmy Darling, a boy with syndactyly, and his mother Ethel Darling, a bearded lady.
Twisty, a killer clown, murders a teenage girl's boyfriend and a young boy's parents and imprisons the young boy and teen girl in an old bus. Jimmy kills a detective after he threatens to arrest the twins for their mother's murder. Elsa's group puts on their first show with Bette and Dot as "The Siamese Twins," there are only two attendees, a wealthy but shallow socialite Gloria Mott and her dangerously disturbed son Dandy. Dandy bargains with Elsa to buy Bette and Dot, but the twins refuse. Elsa later tells Ethel that she brought the twins aboard to get more attention for the show and boost her fame. As Elsa prepares for bed, it's revealed that she is an amputee, legless below the knees.
Reception
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2022)
"Monsters Among Us" was met with critical acclaim, and received praise from numerous television critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes holds an approval rating of 92% based on 12 reviews. The critical consensus reads: "Freak Show sets the template for a compelling character-driven narrative with thoughtful pacing and creepy scares."[7]Looper ranked the episode twenty-sixth in their "30 Best American Horror Story Episodes Ranked" list.[8]
Erik Adams of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B+.[1]IGN reviewer Matt Fowler gave the episode a 7.6 out of 10, praising the setup of the characters and the killer clown, although he felt that the introductory elements with Elsa and the twins was overlong.[9] Critics have also praised the performances of the cast, particularly Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson. Verne Gay of Newsday wrote: "Paulson's performance is so memorable that it's not a completely incidental question. Then, of course, there's Lange."[10]
Ratings
The episode received a total audience of 6.13 million viewers, making it the series' most watched season premiere and the series' most watched episode ever.[11] As a result of these particular high ratings, the show was immediately renewed for a fifth season.[4]
References
^ abAdams, Erik (October 8, 2014). "Review: American Horror Story: Freak Show: 'Monsters Among Us'". The A.V. Club.
^Lovett, Jamie (October 1, 2014). "American Horror Story Trailer Introduces Twisty The Clown". Comic Book.
^Weber, Lindsey; Abell, Tara (December 18, 2014). "What We Learned Last Night About American Horror Story's Expanded Universe". Vulture. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
^ abStack, Tim. "'American Horror Story' renewed for fifth season after setting ratings record", Entertainment Weekly, 13 October 2014.
^"Meet the World's Shortest Woman (and American Horror Story: Freak Show Star!)". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
^Eggertsen, Chris (August 13, 2014). "Newest American Horror Story Co-Star Is the World's Smallest Woman". HitFix.
monsters, among, premiere, episode, fourth, season, anthology, television, series, american, horror, story, which, premiered, october, 2014, cable, network, written, creators, ryan, murphy, brad, falchuk, directed, murphy, american, horror, story, episodeconjo. Monsters Among Us is the premiere episode of the fourth season of the anthology television series American Horror Story which premiered on October 8 2014 on the cable network FX It was co written by creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk and directed by Murphy 1 Monsters Among Us American Horror Story episodeConjoined twins Bette and Dot TattlerEpisode no Season 4Episode 1Directed byRyan MurphyWritten byRyan MurphyBrad FalchukFeatured music With My Eyes Wide Open I m Dreaming by Patti Page Down at the Beach by The Pentagons Auf Weidersehnn by Les Baxter Kiss of Fire by Georgia Gibbs Life on Mars by Jessica LangeProduction code4ATS01Original air dateOctober 8 2014 2014 10 08 Running time64 minutesGuest appearancesJohn Carroll Lynch as Twisty the Clown Skyler Samuels as Bonnie Lipton Naomi Grossman as Pepper Erika Ervin as Amazon Eve Jyoti Amge as Ma Petite Mat Fraser as Paul Rose Siggins as Legless Suzi Grace Gummer as Penny Major Dodson as Corey Bachman Christopher Neiman as Salty Benjamin Woolf as MeepEpisode chronology Previous The Seven Wonders Next Massacres and Matinees American Horror Story Freak ShowList of episodesThe episode introduces Elsa Mars who runs one of the last remaining freak shows in the United States in the hamlet of Jupiter Florida and her recruitment of conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler It also introduces the rest of her traveling performers and the murderous clown known as Twisty 2 This is the first episode of American Horror Story to break the anthology format which includes the character Pepper Naomi Grossman who was previously featured in American Horror Story Asylum 2012 2013 3 Monsters Among Us is the second longest episode in the series history at just over one hour without commercials It received critical acclaim and positive reviews from critics who praised the characters acting setting its horror elements and the story s tone Critics noted the character buildup particularly that of the Tattler Twins and Elsa Mars and Elsa Mars performance of David Bowie s Life on Mars as the episode s highlights The episode obtained the highest ratings of any episode in the series and is currently the most watched American Horror Story episode 4 Jyoti Amge currently the world s smallest living woman has her American TV debut in this episode 5 6 Contents 1 Plot 2 Reception 2 1 Ratings 3 References 4 External linksPlot EditIn Jupiter Florida in 1952 conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler are taken to a hospital after a milkman finds them injured in their home near their mother who was brutally murdered News spread of the twins existence leading local carnival freak show owner Elsa Mars attempting to recruit them to join her troupe Although skeptical the twins agree Elsa s troupe of freaks include Jimmy Darling a boy with syndactyly and his mother Ethel Darling a bearded lady Twisty a killer clown murders a teenage girl s boyfriend and a young boy s parents and imprisons the young boy and teen girl in an old bus Jimmy kills a detective after he threatens to arrest the twins for their mother s murder Elsa s group puts on their first show with Bette and Dot as The Siamese Twins there are only two attendees a wealthy but shallow socialite Gloria Mott and her dangerously disturbed son Dandy Dandy bargains with Elsa to buy Bette and Dot but the twins refuse Elsa later tells Ethel that she brought the twins aboard to get more attention for the show and boost her fame As Elsa prepares for bed it s revealed that she is an amputee legless below the knees Reception EditThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it September 2022 Monsters Among Us was met with critical acclaim and received praise from numerous television critics Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes holds an approval rating of 92 based on 12 reviews The critical consensus reads Freak Show sets the template for a compelling character driven narrative with thoughtful pacing and creepy scares 7 Looper ranked the episode twenty sixth in their 30 Best American Horror Story Episodes Ranked list 8 Erik Adams of The A V Club gave the episode a B 1 IGN reviewer Matt Fowler gave the episode a 7 6 out of 10 praising the setup of the characters and the killer clown although he felt that the introductory elements with Elsa and the twins was overlong 9 Critics have also praised the performances of the cast particularly Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson Verne Gay of Newsday wrote Paulson s performance is so memorable that it s not a completely incidental question Then of course there s Lange 10 Ratings Edit The episode received a total audience of 6 13 million viewers making it the series most watched season premiere and the series most watched episode ever 11 As a result of these particular high ratings the show was immediately renewed for a fifth season 4 References Edit a b Adams Erik October 8 2014 Review American Horror Story Freak Show Monsters Among Us The A V Club Lovett Jamie October 1 2014 American Horror Story Trailer Introduces Twisty The Clown Comic Book Weber Lindsey Abell Tara December 18 2014 What We Learned Last Night About American Horror Story s Expanded Universe Vulture Retrieved August 12 2023 a b Stack Tim American Horror Story renewed for fifth season after setting ratings record Entertainment Weekly 13 October 2014 Meet the World s Shortest Woman and American Horror Story Freak Show Star PEOPLE com Retrieved 16 October 2014 Eggertsen Chris August 13 2014 Newest American Horror Story Co Star Is the World s Smallest Woman HitFix American Horror Story Freak Show Episode 1 retrieved 2021 11 25 Roe Owen Kristi 2021 10 13 30 Best American Horror Story Episodes Ranked Looper com Retrieved 2021 11 25 American Horror Story Freak Show Monsters Among Us Review IGN 9 October 2014 Retrieved 11 October 2014 American Horror Story Freak Show review Creepy creatures Newsday Retrieved 16 October 2014 Kondolojy Amanda October 9 2014 Wednesday Cable Ratings American Horror Story Tops Night South Park Teen Mom II The Daily Show Key amp Peele amp More TV by the Numbers Archived from the original on October 11 2014 Retrieved October 9 2014 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Monsters Among Us Speculative fiction Horror portal Television portal Monsters Among Us at IMDb Monsters Among Us at TV Guide com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Monsters Among Us amp oldid 1170000958, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
