Gird your loins, American Horror Story fans: the first images from season nine of the horror anthology series have landed and they are (summer) campy as all hell. The new season, subtitled 1984, appears to take place at a summer camp in the 80s. This is clearly an homage to the classic summer slasher flicks of the time, like the Friday the 13th and Sleepaway Camp film series. This genre filled with horny teens and men in shorty shorts has since been spoofed in countless films, from Wet Hot American Summer to The Final Girls.
Now it seems that Ryan Murphy and company are taking a stab at the beloved genre. In an Instagram post, Murphy wrote “To celebrate the first day of filming the NINTH Season of AMERICAN HORROR STORY, here’s the official 1984 cast announcement along with some amazing 80s lewks. Enjoy!” He then posted a series of camera tests featuring the cast:
The cast includes a mix of AHS veterans and newcomers, who dance and pose to Dan Hartman’s 1984 hit “I Can Dream About You”. The returning players include Emma Roberts, Cody Fern, Leslie Grossman, and Billie Lourd. They are joined by newcomers Matthew Morrison (Glee), DeRon Horton (Dear White People), Angelica Ross (Pose), Zach Villa (Shameless), and Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy, who bears a striking resemblance to Richard Madden.
The gang all appear in a variety of 80s looks with nods to the archetypes of the day: Emma Roberts as the preppy good girl, Billie Lourd as the bleached blonde rocker chick, Kenworthy as the jock. A lot of camera time is given to Morrison’s prominent crotch bulge. Not much is known about their characters aside from Ross, who is wearing a stethoscope so I’m assuming she’s the camp nurse. John Carroll Lynch also shows up looking like a murderer, but I would expect nothing less from the man who gave us Freak Show‘s terrifying Twisty the Clown.
Conspicuously absent are AHS all-stars Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters, who have appeared in every season of the series. Paulson is supposed to have a dramatically reduced role, in part to her headlining Murphy’s upcoming Netflix series Ratched, which will tell the origin story of the infamous Nurse Ratched from One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. There’s no word yet on whether or not Peters will make an appearance.
Sadly, AHS’s queen bee Jessica Lange will not be involved, as she has retired from the show. While she reprised her Murder House role in Apocalypse for a cameo, she has no plans to return. Still, if these first looks are anything to go by, we’re in for a campy, darkly comic season of AHS, aka my favorite version of the series.
American Horror Story: 1984 premieres on September 18th on FX.
(via The Hollywood Reporter, image: FX)
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