American Horror Story continues its shock factor with series premiere

With October officially here, haunted houses, scary movies/TV shows, pumpkin patches and fall-flavored foods have all returned in full force.

Perhaps one of the most-hyped of these is the return of FX’s horror anthology series “American Horror Story: Hotel.” With the new season comes new characters, among which is The Countess played by Lady Gaga in her acting debut. Matt Bomer is also brought to the main cast as Donovan, The Countess’ lover.

While the first episode titled, “Checking In” is beautifully shot with a dark set and beautiful costumes, some viewers may find themselves wanting to check out early of the Hotel Cortez.

The show features sexual violence, gore, an orgy scene, and, of course, plenty of horrors.

The new season brought plenty of new themes: addiction, fame, wealth and plenty of gratuitous sex. If the season opener indicates anything, it’s that this season is not for the faint-hearted.

Only 20 minutes into the first episode there is an incredibly graphic rape scene. The rape is used as a shock factor with no apparent reason as to why this character – a rockstar junkie played by Max Greenfield –  is being sexually assaulted. The scene is drawn out and shown in many unnecessary angles leaving the viewer wondering”What am I even watching?”

While this scene may turn people off from the episode, others should try to stick around for interactions between The Countess and Donovan. The vampiric duo is introduced as swingers, and shows them seducing a young couple while She Wants Revenge’s “Tear You Apart” plays in the background. It’s quite fitting in describing the scene that happens a few minutes later.

Kathy Bates and Sarah Paulson also have intriguing interactions as their respective characters, Iris and Sally. The two play off each other well, and it will be interesting how their character arcs will play out.

Another character to look out for is Wes Bently’s Detective Lowe. Lowe seems to be the shows “hero,” if there are any on “AHS.” Lowe is intelligent while also trying his hardest to be the “family” man. A series of hotel murders along with a threat to his family lead him to staying at the Hotel Cortez.

While Evan Peters, Denis O’hare, Chloe Sevigny and Angela Bassett are all back as new characters, it is clear creator Ryan Murphy is trying to fill the hole Jessica Lange left behind with Lady Gaga.

Lange, who has won two Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe Award for her work on the series, was a fan favorite. Without Lange, the show feels like it’s missing something.

Although the season opener invites viewers to check-in to the Hotel Cortez, there isn’t any actual plot introduced to make the audience stay. There’s no reason to invest in these new characters as of the first episode.

“AHS: Hotel” seems like it’s trying to get back to the show’s first season roots, but time will only tell if it’ll be worth sticking around.