Clowns and Phobias: American Horror Story Cult 702 review

American Horror Story Cult is doing a great job keeping us afraid of clowns, but where is it going? Let’s discuss “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark.”

I can’t put my finger on it, but there is more than meets the eye in American Horror Story Cult. The only way I can put it in words is to say that there has to be so much more to all of this. It just hasn’t happened yet.

However, a lot happened in episode 702. We’re starting to see that young Oz might have the same night terrors as Ally…or does he? Evan Peters is taking Kai to a whole new level, and the clowns keep coming. Let’s break this all down!

“If you’re not sure, just ask.”

One of my favorite moments from this week’s “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” is the moment when poor Oz wakes up and sees a clown in his room. He’d had a conversation with Winter about the seemingly blurred lines between dreaming and reality, so she tells him to simply ask when he’s not sure whether or not he’s dreaming.

When the clown shows up in his room, he follows her advice and asks the question. He’s rewarded with confirmation from the evil clown that he’s still dreaming, so he lays down and goes back to sleep as the clown quietly closes his door.

This is a really interesting moment because poor Oz has been suffering from the same night terrors about clowns that Mama Ally has been dealing with. But we know that there are clowns in the house, so are they leaving him alone on purpose? Twisty and the clowns in his dreams were coming after him, but the real life clown in the house closed his door quietly, almost gently. That has to be significant.

Kai as Kane

Did you notice that the interaction between Ally and Kai at the door was almost the exact same as the one from Poltergeist 2 when JoBeth Williams’ Diane comes face to face with the devious and insane cult leader Reverend Kane?

In Poltergeist 2, Reverend Kane shows up and wants to come inside the house. He says that they’re all going to die in the house if she doesn’t allow him inside to help her understand that the end is here. He also needs her daughter, Carol Ann, to help guide his followers into the light. And we all know how that ends.

Kai does the same song and dance with Diane, only he plays upon her blossoming fears about the world around them. While she finds him to be an awful person already, she can’t deny that he has a few valid points. He scares the crap out of her, but he also confirms some of her biggest fears.

When Is it Too Much?

Two episodes in and I’m very much intrigued by American Horror Story Cult. I’m really impressed by all of the ways Ryan Murphy has been able to poke at just about everything. This week’s highlights included Etsy crafters and Soul Cycle enthusiasts.

But can the season keep up this pace? Is it too much?

The creepy clowns can just keep coming. They’re doing a great job putting the Horror in American Horror Story. But will the intense, boiling-over emotions prove to be too much after a while? Will the show’s lines blur from moral-of-the-story entertainment to in-your-face morality lessons? Can the latter be done in a way that isn’t so brusquely in-your-face? Can they keep up the Ally-Is-Terrified-Of-Everything story?

Or is this just all just a red herring?

I’d like to think that they’re building up to something huge, especially given the final scene in “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” in which Ally does the unthinkable and Pedro pays the price. There’s a lot happening and it really seems like the clowns and Ally’s phobias are just the tip of the iceberg.

More from Bam Smack Pow

Stick around. Things are really getting interesting on American Horror Story Cult.

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