I understand that I am slightly late to the party on this season of American Horror Story. The latest season to come out is season 8, but like many, I have rid my world of cable TV and stick to whatever Netflix throws at me, even if it comes a year after original release.

Anyways, Season 7, Titled “Cult”, revolves around the modern day political mess that seems to be plaguing all of America. Taking place right after the election of Donald Trump, the main characters revolve completely around the political spectrum, with actors Alison Pill, and Sarah Paulson taking roles as anti-Trump liberals, who feel as though the world is crumbling down around them. Returning cast member Evan Peters, on the other hand, plays a Trump loving, hardcore reactionary, who tries to bring himself into power while taking anyone who opposes him down in the process.

At first, the political aspect of the season threw me for a loop, and almost pushed me away from it, because I want to see some genuine terrifying things. If I wanted to see all the political nonsense, I could look at the news. By the third episode in this eleven episode series though, I could tell that my original assumptions were wrong. What made me consider this, was the use of clowns. Clowns that look like they came straight out of John Wayne Gacy’s happy place are introduced rather quickly into the show and they really sell the fear. Kai Anderson (Evan Peters) uses the clown people to eliminate people who he sees as a threat to gaining his power and try to induce fear into his own people in the process.

Towards the middle of the show, while still revolving around politics, it starts to link a multitude of characters together, who are all greatly acted out, and in the process, the story grows bigger and bigger, with many unseen twists and turns throughout the road. By this point, the show becomes less of a horror show, and more of an adventure in a way, through the psyche of many of the characters, as well as their fears.

By the end of the show, you can tell that one of the main plot points of the season revolves around women’s rights, and centers around equality, while also giving a shock factor of the conservative side of things. I thought that this was a good message displayed through quite a unique way, as it was not something that I was going into the show thinking that I was going to hear about. It does, however, trade the fear factor in about halfway through the season in order to more effectively convey this message while becoming almost a sort of gory drama show. Out of a show called American HORROR Story, I don’t know if this would have been the best thing.

This season of American Horror Story, is the latest to arrive at Netflix, I thought was very unique and strong, standing out more than most compared to the other seasons, and although it was only really scary for about two episodes, I thought the message broadcasted throughout was a good one and they handled it well. I give this season of American Horror Story a 7/10.