Another year, another season of American Horror Story, the hit horror show from Ryan Murphy and FX. As with every year, the theme has been a big secret, but this year, we’ve been put out of our misery early, thanks to Murphy’s tease of the season on Instagram. Say hello to American Horror Story: 1984.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwE7SDvB_FO
The teaser is pretty short – a young woman is running through the woods at night with some very 1980s hair and fashion. She’s running from a masked man with a knife, who is chasing her calmly across what appears to be a camp ground. If the show is going back to historical storylines, then slashers and the 1980s go together perfectly. The year 1984 itself, besides typically being used to reference the George Orwell work, was the height of the slasher film heyday. The year also saw A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Children of the Corn, and Gremlins making their silver screen debuts.
There’s little we know about the cast so far. What we do know is that Emma Roberts will be back in a main role, with Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy, who will play her boyfriend. Why an Olympic skier would want to be on this show? Who knows. Sarah Paulson is assumed to be returning. We do know that Evan Peters, who has been in every single season of the show so far, will not be back, supposedly “sitting this one out.”
Most outlets agree that this season will be a love letter to 1980s horror, which I can’t say would be out of the question. Though, of course, this could all be a bait and switch, with the real theme of the ninth season being only an allusion to the slash genre, or even something completely different.
Currently, there is no premiere date set for American Horror Story: 1984 but it will likely debut in Fall 2019.
