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The Following Padlet presentation is designed to suppelement a formal television critique of American Horror Story, season two, episode three, through the use of media. The document containing this critique is embedded below.

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The story of Sister Jude.

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Sister Jude wins an Emmy

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American Horror Story Emmy winner Jessica Lange took a firm no comment on whether the FX series would have been better off competing in the drama category, noting backstage Sunday that the anthology feels more like doing different films.
Emmys 2012: THR's Instagram Photos From the Red Carpet
"I felt we had told that story in the first season and to return to it and revisit it was less interesting to me than starting fresh with a whole new place, time, characters, story, circumstances," Lange told reporters backstage of the series co-created by Glee's Ryan Murphy. "I'm actually enjoying it, it's like doing a different film."

AHS, following its 13-episode freshman run, was revealed to be an anthology format -- rebooting itself with a different location, theme and plot every season. In a controversial move, the series was submitted in the miniseries and movie category, where it was shut out in the major awards save for Lange's acting win. (HBO's Game Change collected the miniseries/movie Emmy.)
Emmy 2012: Red Carpet Arrival Photos
Asked directly if she thought Horror Story would have fared better had it been submitted in the drama category, the two-time Emmy winner (her first was for HBO's telepic Grey Gardens) played it safe.

"I don't know. That's an area that I wouldn't be able to speak to," she noted of AHS, which tied with AMC's Mad Men with 17 overall nominations.

Lange, who's returning for season two, played nosy neighbor Constance Langdon in the first season of AHS, which explored infidelity and adultery. Season two, she noted, will explore faith and madness with what she called "bigger themes."

American Horror Story

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Emmys 2012: Jessica Lange Says 'American Horror Story' Like 'Doing a Different Film'

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American Horror Story Emmy winner Jessica Lange took a firm no comment on whether the FX series would have been better off competing in the drama category, noting backstage Sunday that the anthology feels more like doing different films. Emmys 2012: THR's Instagram Photos From the Red Carpet "I felt we had told that story in the first season and to return to it and revisit it was less interesting to me than starting fresh with a whole new place, time, characters, story, circumstances," Lange told reporters backstage of the series co-created by Glee's Ryan Murphy.

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AHS Season 2 official trailer.

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American Horror Story Asylum Season 2 Trailer

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A combo trailer of the best bits released from American Horror Story.

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AHS Season 2 Interesting Facts

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You are not alone on this.

For sure, a lot of people are hooked!

From Murder House to Asylum and still they want to view more. American Horror Story season 2. . .

Is it also scary, twisted and make you scratch your head pondering, "what is going on?"

You see, when I first viewed American Horror Story: Murder House that is all about infidelity (and here I mean the full episodes in season 1), I couldn't wait to watch American Horror Story season 2.

I was hooked! I don't mean to exaggerate, all I can tell you now is that every episode of season one had a great storyline that kept whetting my appetite for the next episode.

It is unpredictable! Why?

Because, for instance, American Horror Story season 1 tells a different story from that of American Horror Story season 2. Even if each season of the series has its own story to tell, they're all connected.

Truth be told, American Horror Story is an anthology TV series that is cleverly written. It is very twisted and surprising. In fact, its storyline tackles some dark and sensitive subjects such as homosexuality.

Of course, some of the scenes will leave you in suspense while other scenes are scary just the way a horror is supposed to be. Such scenes are actually the ones that make this anthology TV series interesting to view.

Gorey Insane Asylum

American Horror Story is a novel idea in television series. Why? This is because each one stands on its own and is separate from preceding and proceeding seasons, though there are multiple seasons.

Each year the creators (Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk) will use a different story, setting and set of characters though many of the actors may return for multiple seasons having new roles to play.

Those whose characters were enemies in American Horror Story season one will now find themselves cast as friends or allies and vice versa. Just take a look at the American Horror Story season 2 cast and you'll realize what I'm talking about.

Be warned as disturbingly gruesome as the previews are, they do not hold a candle to the experience.

13 Facts That Make American Horror Story Season 2 Interesting

How often have you watched an interesting or entertaining movie or television series and found later that a few juicy facts would have made the viewing that much more pleasurable?

Learning after the fact that a movie was based on a true story or it contained historical elements can enhance your viewing pleasure immensely.

In other cases, a little back story or understanding of the time frame can make otherwise confusing commentary or events in an episode or series make more sense.

Here we will look at 13 interesting facts you should know about American Horror Story season 2, Asylum.
1.) Briarcliff = Willowbrook And Cropsey
In the early 1970s, a very young practically unknown reporter stumbled upon the story that would launch his career, you know him better as Geraldo Rivera.

A disgruntled former employee took the reporter inside Willowbrook to expose the horrific conditions inside. Children and adults were kept in horrific conditions.

Some were nude lying on the floor in their own vomit or urine, and this was just the beginning of the atrocities that were discovered in the Willowbrook State Children's School.

In addition to the very real conditions in this "Snake Pit" (according to then Senator Robert F. Kennedy), the neighboring community of Stanton Island had their own urban legend of Cropsey.

This was a mythical figure said to haunt the grounds of the abandoned Willowbrook State School looking for the opportunity to snatch young children.

Descriptions of the "boogeyman" Cropsey included a gruesome hook or ax-wielding fiend. Of course, the real monster behind the stories, some believe was Andre Rand a man convicted of abducting and murdering five children between 1972 and 1987.

Did truth and fiction become inextricably wound together or did the fear over five missing children send an innocent, albeit insane man to prison?

There is still much debate about the guilt or innocence of the man who was once an attendant at Willowbrook.
2.) Time Period
It may be hard for some people to wrap their mind around the idea that anyone could be imprisoned and tortured for their personality or simple lifestyle choices.

However, you have to understand the times depicted in American Horror Story season 2. It was the early 1960s and at this point in time, homosexuality was still listed in the medical journals as aberrant behavior that could be treated with psychiatric medicine.

The same was true for nymphomania, mild depression or even daring to have an opinion that differed from that of a strong male family member. This was also depicted in the based on a true story movie the Changeling.
3.) Torture Or Treatment
American Horror Story Season 2: Asylum brings images to the screen slightly reminiscent of the Saw flicks and while you might be inclined to believe they're mere acts of fiction, too many of the treatments and procedures depicted in this series are true.

In fact, there are even more abhorrent torture/treatment methods that were employed including sealing patients in a coffin like box, immersing it in water and then attempting to revive the patients. You can only imagine how often that was successful.

Aversion therapy, electric shock, forced sterilization, solitary confinement and many other horrifying procedures were considered cutting edge at certain points in psychiatric history.
4.) Aliens?
Early on in this, season fans get a dose of alien abduction to try to wrap their minds around. Did Kit really kill those women as the good doctor suggests or is there something to his alien story?

Will this part of the story be revealed more in depth? These are all good questions and without the risk of spoiling the American Horror Story season 2 too much let us just say the fans will be led to a specific area and left to make up their own mind about the veracity of the claims.

On a side note you might be interested in a little fun fact about alien abductions, the bulk of these stories began to surface in earnest around the time of the civil rights era, co-creator Ryan Murphy made this little observation, and you have to admit it is food for thought.
5.) Season To Season Characters
Are you concerned that seeing your favorite characters from a past season as someone totally different in a new season will affect the quality?

This is a common concern, and it should be said a valid one indeed. However, the actors and actresses who take on these roles are fantastic at their jobs and you'll be more than pleased with the way they handle their different characters from one season to the next.

You should know there will be fresh blood, if you will, each of the American Horror Story season and some of them may carry on to new seasons. It is really a beautiful idea if you think about it!
6.) Baths, Really?
A lot of people are curious about the baths depicted in the opening credits and featured in a few episodes. In actuality these were much less torture than anything else the creators threw at you in this American Horror Story season 2.

Patients would be taken to the warm baths, restrained of course, but it really allowed them time to relax and regain some composure. Where can I sign up for that particular treatment!
7.) Lobotomy Fact And Fiction
If you have spent any time watching horror movies you're not new to the lobotomy, but American Horror Story season 2: Asylum really sheds some new and more accurate light on the subject.

After the procedure in American Horror Story season 2 Episode 5, Anne Frank AKA Charlotte is seen at home, tending her young son and appearing somewhat normal!

Not all lobotomies resulted in diminished capacity or a persistent vegetative state as has been depicted in the traditional horror genre, in fact, most could walk and talk even thanking the physician afterward.

However, when you weigh the data, that only about 35% of patients were cured (which could mean apathetic afterward as opposed to violent before the lobotomy) and a third were worse off and many died in botched attempts, it makes you wonder how the doctor who invented it could have won a Nobel Prize.
8.) Dr. Arden Aka Hans Gruber
Is Dr. Arden simply a psychopathic doctor with a serious fetish and a God complex or is he the infamous Hans Gruber?

You might find this bit of American Horror Story season 2, Asylum a bit of a stretch. After all, surely no Nazi war criminals came to this country to practice medicine after the war!

Hans Gruber may be a fictional Nazi war criminal, but his torturous experiments were real and the possibility someone like him could have turned up in the U.S is more than plausible.

American Horror Story season 2, Asylum exhibits some gruesome experiments going on in the good doctor's basement, many of which are very similar to war crimes listed in the Nuremburg doctor trials.

You'll instantly recognize the idea of twin experimentation if you have seen any of season two.
9.) Pepper
Nearly all the characters in American Horror Story season 2 are relatable, but what is the deal with Pepper? No, she is not a throwback to cone head but actually a representation microcephaly, a neurodevelopment disorder that affects the size and shape of the head as well as the brain.

While Peppers condition is real, many people have wondered if the character was in fact a real person at some point in time.

The answer is mostly no, but she was inspired by Schlitzee, a sideshow performer who also played in the 1932 film Freaks.
10.) American Horror Story True Sequel?
One question asked to co-creators was if they ever wished they could carry a season further, expand it to two or more and to date the answer is no.

The concept of the returning series is to provide viewers with a full story each season, one with a beginning, middle and end.

It is definitely a novel approach, but surprisingly to some it is an approach that is working for American Horror Story.

Sadly, if you have any questions left at the end of American Horror Story season 2, you'll surely have to draw your best conclusions and be satisfied with the result.
11.) Briarcliff Building
It is not often you can visit the set of any popular television or movie, but if you have a hankering to see the real American Horror Story Asylum building, it is a free to the public museum in Orange County California.

In its heyday, it was not a torture chamber for the less fortunate, but a courthouse (which some would contest is one in the same).
12.) Kit And Alma Walker Based On Real People
Kit and Alma Walker were based on a real life interracial couple from the early 60s who claimed to have been abducted by aliens on their way home from vacation. Luckily, for Betty and Barney Hill no one died in their experience!

The alleged abduction took place about a mile south of Indian Head on Route 3. Over the course of several years, Betty and Barney told their story and even attempted to regain some lost time memories through hypnosis.

Though they both felt less anxiety about the abduction after their hypnosis sessions, neither was thrilled with the doctors conclusion that their experience was nothing more than fantasy inspired by Betty's dreams.
13.) Christmas Time At The Asylum
What would a good horror story be if it did not take a swipe Santa Claus? What else can you do when the holidays are upon you and you need to write your next horror story episode?

Bring in an insane serial killer who gets his jollies from dressing up as Saint Nick of course! Despite Sister Jude's best efforts Leigh Emerson, aka Santa still wreaks havoc on Briarcliff before he is through.

Customer Review, American Horror Story Season 2

In case you didn't watch American Horror Story season 2 or you missed viewing any of the episodes, the good news for you is that you can now view American Horror Story full episodes of season 2 on Amazon.

With Amazon instant video, you can stream the American Horror Story season 2. Of course, you have to pay for you to view the episodes you want.

How did the customers rate American Horror Story season 2? At the time of publishing this article, there were 4,113 customers who had reviewed and rated it.

3,035 of these 4,113 customers have rated it a 5 star while 649 gave it a 4 star. The average rating of American Horror Story season 2 is 4.6 out of 5 stars. It's clear from this rating that most viewers like season two.

Most of the reviews from customers are positive. One of the reviews from a customer says, "I liked season one, it was completely different from this one, and that is something I also really like a lot."

Blogging Income Lifestyle

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13 Interesting Things About American Horror Story Season 2

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You are not alone on this. For sure, a lot of people are hooked! From Murder House to Asylum and still they want to view more. American Horror Story season 2. . . Is it also scary, twisted and make you scratch your head pondering, "what is going on?"

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More on the use of lighting and color within American Horror Story Season 2.

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If you didn't watch last year's premiere of FX networks' American Horror Story, you missed out on some seriously daring television. There was sex (and scandal), there were scares (and some blood-splatter), and there were spirits -- though which characters were truly flesh-and-blood and which were a bit more ghostly didn't become clear until much later -- all in the context of an addicting melodrama. The series (created by Nip/Tuck and Glee masterminds Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk) recently began its second season with some cast-members returning (to play different roles), but the setting has been moved to a darkly-imagined Massachusetts mental institution. One vital piece of the puzzle that is AHS is its look, which is being achieved on 35mm film -- especially notable when FX's own Sons of Anarchy and Justified, for instance, have opted for Alexa and EPIC respectively. Courtesy American Cinematographer, here's a look at the shooting style of this aggressively original program -- and just in time for the show's Halloween episode premiere!

Here's the first five minutes of Season 2 Episode 1, "Welcome to Briarcliff" (be warned -- material NSFW, but definitely fit for Halloween -- if the embedded video is blocked for you, try here):

Jumping back-and-forth through time was prevalent in the show's first season, and seems to be all the more key for the show's narrative style now (the opening titles demonstrate's this seasons's primary setting of 1964). Accomplishing a visual differentiation between time periods was one of the many aesthetic elements season 2 cinematographer, Michael Goi, ASC, had to imbue into the imagery. To do so, Goi used different combinations of 35mm Kodak film stock and chemical processing techniques (among other things), which, interestingly, Goi says are almost impossible to produce (or replicate) otherwise -- for instance, shooting hand-cranked Eastman Double-X 5222 black-and-white negative to capture a fitting tone for scenes taking place in the 1940s, and one of Kodak's color-reversal Ektachrome daylight stocks for modern-day scenes. Here's his testimony on the matter to AC:

"I really wanted to separate the present from 1964 in a major way, and [Ektachrome] became an integral part of our 2012 look. We shoot 1964 scenes on Kodak [Vision 3 500T] 5219 and desaturate it slightly with pull-processing... [as well as when] there are elements we need to see, like blood or detached limbs, that might get swallowed up in the reversal. In those cases, we've saturated the color, deepened the blacks and jacked up the contrast to bring the 5219 more in line with the reversal footage. The color-reversal material looks so extreme you can't duplicate it exactly, but we get pretty close!"

Keep in mind, selection of film stock and push-or-pull-processing aren't quite the only qualities responsible for the show's overall look -- like just about anything else shot on 35mm these days, the show uses a digital intermediate process (in this case mastering at 2K) but one in which Goi participates fairly hands-on. Of this stage of the process, he states he prefers to create an effect or look organically, leaving less to be done in post. Along with appeasing some 'classicalist' tastes (I must admit I have my own), there are practical benefits to this as well -- 'doing it live' allows everyone to see something close-to-final almost immediately, not to mention the fact that it saves money and therefore time in post.

Goi states that he and his camera and lighting teams try to never duplicate quite the same representation of a given space, while maintaining enough consistency to not be overly disorienting. The various areas of the institution -- which exists as a massive fully constructed set -- as well as character-driven moments of trauma or violence, each offer Goi the opportunity to reflect these things in-camera and fittingly degrade the image. He says that he has thoroughly enjoyed using a Panavision Primo 10mm lens, even for dialogue scenes, because it allows so much of the set to be realized within frame. For one setting, Goi used old and discontinued Wilson SupraFrost filters to create "blown-out highlights and glowing whites," assisted by over-exposing by three-to-four stops -- and even as far as six stops over in one shot.

I know that I myself can often forget -- given that by some accounts digital acquisition has actually broken the film latitude barrier -- is that just because we have latitude doesn't mean our imagers are dealing with over-exposure in the same way film is. That strange blown-out quality that emulsion can possess in the way it decays in detail is just plain special, and different than the outright clipping that eventually can (and does) occur in highlights with digital systems -- even those with 38 stops of latitude. I think this is part of the reason Goi is able to achieve some really stunning results in the show, because he is able to abuse (I use the word in the best possible way) the older medium to effects that may not be achievable in the non-chemical world.

Here's a clip with Goi discussing additional shooting tricks (back from season 1):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h8hKMg5Ej0&

For other scenes, Goi has employed the use of such measures as split-focus diopters or tilt-shift lenses to heighten and emphasize dramatic moments or ones key to the show's story arc. Given some insight into future episodes' revelations, he has the advantage of fore-sight in using these techniques -- meaning he can visually highlight a seemingly "normal" moment whose true relevance won't be revealed until several episodes later. I think all these techniques are a great example of how each tool has its proper applications -- we're all likely quite familiar with the arguments over which format is better, and why. What I find inspiring about Goi's work here, though, is that it demonstrates that film as a progressively less common format can still be creatively applied to work for the story, and by using many classic techniques!

Goi and American Horror Story use Panavision and Arri cameras, assorted lenses (including Panavision and Angenieux), and shoot both 3-perf Super 35mm and 4-perf 35mm all-Kodak film. I highly recommend you check out the full, fascinating, and all-around fantastic article by American Cinematographer -- and tonight's premiere of this season's Halloween episode!

Do you guys think the work here makes a good case for the ongoing relevance of film to certain projects? How do you feel about the movies and shows that continue to use film, and in a special way, among the great migration to digital?

Links:

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Cinematography of 'American Horror Story: Asylum' Uses Classic Tools to Terrify in 35mm

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If you didn't watch last year's premiere of FX networks' American Horror Story, you missed out on some seriously daring television. There was sex (and scandal), there were scares (and some blood-splatter), and there were spirits -- though which characters were truly flesh-and-blood and which were a bit more ghostly didn't become clear until much later -- all in the context of an addicting melodrama.

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More on the use of props on the set of American Horror Story Season 2

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'American Horror Story: Asylum': Inside creepy Briarcliff Manor

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In American Horror Story: Asylum, the FX show's criminally insane asylum namesake Briarcliff Manor dominates like the scariest haunted house...

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AHS Season 2 Golden Globes

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GOLDEN GLOBE(S)®, HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION®, CECIL B. DEMILLE® AND GOLDEN GLOBES® STATUETTE DESIGN MARK ARE THE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS AND SERVICE MARKS AND THE GOLDEN GLOBE® STATUETTE THE COPYRIGHTED PROPERTY, OF THE HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION. COPYRIGHT © HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Information on The Nor'Easter of 1964

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Summary of the January 11th - 14th 1964 Nor'easter

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Weather.gov > Charleston, WV > Summary of the January 11th - 14th 1964 Nor'easter

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Image 3: A drunk and disheveled Sister Jude addresses the patients on the night of the storm. Lana, Grace, and Kit are seen soaking wet after their plot to escape backfired.

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Image 2: Sister Jude relays a dark message pertaining to cultural ideology.

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The following video gives an accurate depiction of the audio/visual effects used to convey themes of darkness to the viewer.

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An audio of the song "Domique", which plays within the main hall of Briarcliff all day, everyday.

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Asylum song Dominique by Soeur Marie, cover of the same song by Soeur Sourire Dominique, nique, nique S'en allait tout simplement, Routier, pauvre et chantant En tous chemins, en tous lieux, Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu, Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu A l'époque où Jean Sans Terre, D'Angleterre était le roi Dominique notre père, Combattit les albigeois.

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The opening sequence of AHS Season 2.

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Image 1: Dr. Arden stands above Shelley after she wakes up from her amputation.