7 Horror Shows You Must Watch This Halloween

3) American Horror Story: Hotel Season 5

American Horror Story started out so well. The first two seasons of the anthology show contained genuinely horrific scares, something few TV programs have ever managed before, but then the cracks in Ryan Murphy’s formula began to show.

Coven was strong, but some episodes seemed aimless, and it became clear that too many plot threads threatened to unravel the direction of the overarching narrative. Next came Freakshow, which contained some of the best characters yet seen on American Horror Story, but the uneven quality put many fans off for good.

The news that series mainstay Jessica Lange would be leaving lowered expectations for the fifth season even further and the announcement of Lady Gaga’s casting was divisive to say the least. That’s all well and good, but now that Hotel has actually premiered though, what’s the verdict?

Well, the plot revolves around the Hotel Cortez, a place no one in their right mind would ever want to visit. In the first episode alone, children were kidnapped, mutilated people ripped their way out of mattresses, vampires engaged in a blood-sucking orgy and a drug addict was violently raped with a dildo. That had a drill on the end of it. By a demon.

The darker direction that Hotel has taken could be extremely hard to stomach if not for the fascinating characters, and even if you’re still dubious, Hotel is stunning to look at stylistically. Fans of the previous seasons should tune in to see how characters from previous cycles will be tied into the current run. Also, Matt Bomer.