American Horror Story: 13 Seasons, 13 Standout Characters

First of all, this is a one per season round up and secondly, there's one actor per character in order to make this list a little more interesting.

These are thirteen standout characters in American Horror Story. Feel free to agree/disagree.

1: Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson) - Asylum, Roanoke

LGBT representation can be hit and miss on this show but Lana Winters might be the best lesbian character ever to come out of this show. It's because of this role that the show pivoted with Sarah Paulson becoming more prominent in later seasons. She's incredible as the cutthroat journalist and survivor of both versions of Bloody Face.

2: Michael Langdon (Cody Fern) - Murder House, Apocalypse

The first Antichrist to appear on the show but actually he's the 12th in a long line of them. The best Antichrist. Cody Fern was one hell of a find for the show and he dominated the eighth season with aplomb. Dark, brooding, sexy and genuinely dangerous to watch. It was hard not to be enthralled by this Son of Satan.

3: Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts) - Coven, Apocalypse, 13

While I do genuinely detest what this season just aired did with the character (talk about character regression), that doesn't change the fact that Madison had a brilliant run of episodes in her first two seasons of storylines. Madison worked well as a foil and then a more reflective character. Not so much as a romcom character but it is what it is.

4: The Countess (Lady Gaga) - Hotel

I'd argue that Lady Gaga didn't need to do much in the way of acting here but when the show lost Jessica Lange, they needed a big name and Gaga's contribution as The Countess aka Elizabeth Johnson was a brilliant way to reinvigorate the show. She ate and ate and ate. Then again, the Lady was a Vamp(ire).

5: Patrick Read (Russell Tovey) - NYC

You'll never convince me that the eleventh season was a bad season. I'd argue it's the best season we've had in the last few years with some genuinely soulful performances and adult writing. It also brought Russell Tovey into this world and his performance as the conflicted detective as well as his chemistry with Joe Mantello elevated that season. 

6: Constance Langdon (Jessica Lange) - Murder House, Apocalypse, 13

Ah, Constance. She's the Devil's favourite sinner among other things. An embittered Southern Belle who killed her husband, the maid, failed her children, her Antichrist grandson and became home help to the Devil. She's a woman with many hats and the occasional red dress.

7: Kai Anderson (Evan Peters) - Cult, 13

The most draining role for Evan Peters turning out to be his best. Perhaps not a shock when you think about it. He made for a seminal baddie in the timely seventh season and his return this season was a highlight. I do wish we had seen a lot more of him this season.

8: Agnes Mary Winstead as Thomasin White/The Butcher (Kathy Bates) - Roanoke 

I was almost tempted to include Kathy Bates most infamous role but I wanted to make sure each season was represented on this list. Kathy Bates gave a brilliant turn as an actress who got a little too into her serial killer role on a popular television show and its a magnificent performance to watch.

9: Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock) - Freak Show

Who would've thought that a spoiled manchild would also make for one of the most violent and sadistic of killers in this universe? Probably everyone, truth be told. Finn Wittrock made a brilliant first impression as the brattish murderer. I think it's time for him to come back to the show.

10: Belle Noir (Frances Conroy) - Double Feature

This vampish erotic writer had a brilliant double act with bawdy playwright Austin Sommers (Evan Peters) but she also meant business and wasn't afraid to snack on a baby if the moment presented itself. A fearsome and very underrated performance from Frances Conroy.

11: Margaret Booth (Leslie Grossman) - 1984

One of the most unusual killers. Margaret was a God fearing woman who also embraced Satanism and wanted to run the very camp that she killed a lot of people in. On top of that, her later transformation into Ivana Trump made her look all the more dastardly. Easily Leslie Grossman's best role to date.

12: Sonia and Adeline Shawcross (Annabelle Dexter Jones) - Delicate

Okay, I'm cheating but this season was so lacklustre that the best performance came from Annabelle Dexter Jones playing two very different twins. She's equally brilliant as both Sonia and Adeline. Genuinely the best characters in a very bad season.

13: Ben DeSoto (Joey Pollari) - 13

The true protagonist of the current season that just finished up. A man terrified by the number 13 but also the 13th Antichrist and related to several characters for reasons that didn't make sense. While his romantic relationships were a dud to watch, I liked Ben's arc for the most part, thought Joey Pollari gave a solid performance throughout and liked his sacrifice also for the most part. Bring him back next season.

Now that the season has aired, here's a ranking of my favourite seasons of American Horror Story from best to worst.

1. Coven
2. NYC 
3. Murder House 
4. 1984
5. Asylum
6. Apocalypse 
7. Hotel
8. Roanoke
9. Freak Show 
10. Cult
11. 13
12. Double Feature 
13. Delicate

Meanwhile the show has been officially renewed for a fourteenth season, which will hopefully be a damn sight better. The theme, cast, filming and release date will all be revealed in due course.

All thirteen seasons of American Horror Story are available on Hulu and Disney+.

My Review of Hypochondriac (2022)

 

Written And Directed by Adddison Heimann

Will (to himself): "There's something really wrong with me."

I was looking for some gay horror themed movies and I stumbled across this very odd and very confusing film. Focusing on a gay potter named Will (Zach Villa), he's a guy with a pretty traumatic past. 

With parents like his mother (Marlene Forte) and father (Chrus Doubek), it's no wonder that Will spent so much of this movie being traumatised, dreaming of wolf masks and struggling with both his work and his relationship with boyfriend, Luke (Devon Graye). Let's talk about the latter, shall we?

Luke seemed like a decent boyfriend on the surface. He cooked nice meals and wanted Will to meet his mother. Will kind of sabotaged the latter bit and as Will's mental state took a turn, he actually dumped Luke. That however didn't stop Will from seeking comfort in Luke when he was at an all time low.

I'll admit that I found the second half half of this movie absolutely confusing as hell. It seems like both of Will's parents did a number on him and there was a concern that he might have had ALS. His father threatened to have him locked up, his mother's return unsettled him and did he actually kill Luke?

Then when Will was institutionalised, it seemed he was maybe getting some help from his therapist there. I can't tell if the film had a positive or gloomy end for Will as a character or even what happened to Luke.

- There's some support roles from both Paget Brewster and Adam Busch as medical professionals attempting to help Will.

- Will's boss was a cruel bitch uninterested in his mental well being while Will had been helpful to a co-worker earlier in the film.

- Standout music: Jessie J's Domino. 

- Chronology: Present day Los Angeles, though a time jump between the younger and older versions of Will

I'm not sure how I feel about Hypochondriac as a film. I don't think I particularly liked it in terms of execution, in spite of the fact that its a personal story from the writer/director. Zach Villa did give a solid performance, so that helped.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Glee - Reboot Ordered By Hulu/Disney+

 

Last month, I reported that Ryan Murphy had planned a reboot of Glee and now, a month later, it's been confirmed that Hulu and Disney+ have ordered a revival series for the popular musical drama that ran for six seasons on FOX, between 2009 to 2015.

As of now, it's early days and no cast members have been announced but chances are, we'll know exactly who'll be involved over the next few weeks. Not sure how I feel about this tbh.

Press Release: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/glee-revival-series-disney-plus-hulu-1236736950/

Glee is available to watch on Hulu and Disney+

My Review of Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma (2026)

 

Written And Directed by Jane Schoenbrun

Kris: "I feel like there's about to be a jump scare."

A couple of months ago, I caught up with I Saw The TV Glow and found it's commentary on cheesy 90s cult TV shows to be a rather interesting backdrop to a coming of age story.

This time around, it was the turn of 80s camp related slashers to be put under the microscope. If you're a fan of Friday The 13th, The Burning and Sleepaway Camp, this movie had a lot to say about those movies. Specifically the latter and it's transphobia. 

Our protagonist was the generally likable queer filmmaker, Kris Williams (Hannah Einbinder). She grew up being a fan of the Camp Miasma horror franchise, in spite of its problematic elements. She was being given the opportunity to resurrect the franchise with a reboot. She was gonna it's transphobia problem.

On top of that, she was also determined to get the star of the original film - Billy Presley (Gillian Anderson) involved in the production. Kris wanted to basically give Billy the Jamie Lee Curtis treatment, though her bosses were less enthusiastic about the idea. 

The movie spent most of its time building towards the attraction between Kris and Billy. It moved at a pleasant pace with both women opening up to one another. Then the lines between the real world and the world of Camp Miasma began to blur into each other.

The use of that franchise's sympathetic antagonist Little Death (Jack Haven) while both Kris and Billy underwent their own sexual awakening actually worked pretty well. By the end of this film, Kris had a new movie to add to her favourite horror franchise and got to achieve a fan dream in other aspects too.

- There's some decent supporting roles from Patrick Fischer, Dylan Baker, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Quintessa Swindell, Arthur Conti, Eva Victor and Zach Cherry to name a few.

- There's a very clever use of both VHS and DVDs throughout the movie. A post credit scene has characters discussing a sequel.

- Standout music: Counting Crows A Long December and Sade's No Ordinary Love.

- Chronology: The cabin from the original movie that Billy lived was in the Pacific Northwest.

Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma isn't the most flashiest or even slashiest of horror films but it's an insightful enough deep dive into a specific type of horror. Both Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson make for a compelling double act here.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

The Future Of Ryan Murphy Shows: Part 5

Today's the day that American Horror Story: 13 finally premieres on FX/Hulu/Disney+ and last night's premiere in New York with the cast and crew revealed so much stuff from the world of Ryan Murphy. Let's break stuff down.

After two and half years off the air, American Horror Story: 13 will tell one of the biggest crossover events in the show's history. There's so many returning actors/characters, iconic fan favourites to look forward to within a new story focusing on the number 13. The season is being anchored by Joey Pollari and Paul Anthony Kelly's respective characters, Ben DeSoto and Mr. Nas. By now, there are almost too many spoilers out there, so I'll say only one other thing because how can I not?

Remember when Ariana Grande was supposed to be part of the new season but dropped out? Apparently, she was going to reprise her role of Chanel #2 from Scream Queens. Even in 2026, that short lived show continues to have a lasting legacy. Circling back to American Horror Story, it seems that an international version of the show could be in the works.

Back to network television, the upcoming seasons of both 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Nashville will premiere next month. October 15th on ABC to be specific. The former show will be tackling a volcanic disaster while the latter will tackle killer bees and will see the debut of Ryan Philippe's detective Rogue. There's also some plot involving a serial killer too. I'll be honest, I'll be dropping both shows after their upcoming seasons.

Speaking of Ryan Murphy shows that I've struggled with, the second season of FX/Hulu's All's Fair will drop it's first three episodes from November 5th and will air into December. I recently finished The Shards and personally, I wouldn't recommend it as a show. The Beauty has effectively been cancelled but it seems like Netflix's The Watcher may be returning for a second season. Ryan Murphy also revealed last month that he has a vampire drama in the works that will start filming in Europe from December. Expect the cast to be announced soon.

It's been a week since Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story was released on Netflix. I watched in a day and my review's up. Like with previous seasons, this Ella Beatty led one certainly divided audience and critics alike. It also debuted with 12.1 million views during its first weekend, so expect a fifth season renewal fairly soon. Ian Brennan has also expressed having ideas for ten seasons of the popular anthology series.

Last but not least - could we actually be getting a revival of popular FOX show, Glee? Personally, we shouldn't but Ryan Murphy has written a script and contacted ten cast members from the original show. I think it's gonna at least film a pilot within the next year or two. Whether or not it'll get picked up to series, I'm not so sure. I do think some things should be left in the past. 

That's a round up of all of Ryan Murphy's shows for the time being. Some interesting stuff, huh?

My Review of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story (Netflix Series, 2026)

 

Written by Ian Brennan

Directed by Max Winkler And Sarah Adina Smith

Lizzie (to Bridget): "Just let me have the first whack."

In the previous three seasons of Monster/s, we've seen audiences being wholly divided on the handling of Jeffrey Dahmer, Lyle and Erik Menendez and Ed Gein. It was definitely time to tackle an infamous American female killer. Funny how two of them factor into this fourth season with mixed results.

Over the last few months, I've watched some other depictions of Lizzie Borden in preparation for this show. Ella Beatty isn't a stranger to the world of Ryan Murphy as she's previously appeared in Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans and acquitted herself well there. She's finely cast here as Lizzie Borden herself but if I'm being honest, she's slightly upstaged by Vicky Krieps's constant hair changing Irish maid, Bridget Sullivan.

Krieps might be the ultimate standout of this season as a whole. As Bridget, there's the impact of her relationship with Lizzie, which did of course go down the Sapphic route between the two of them. She's also instrumental in the brutal deaths of Lizzie's father Andrew (Charlie Hunnam) and stepmother Abby Borden (Rebecca Hall). Oftentimes, I felt like I knew Bridget more than I knew Lizzie.

On top of that, Krieps also spent half the season playing the sadistic and bloodthirsty Countess Elizabeth Bathory. She's just as effective in that role as she was as Bridget. The more I think of it, the more it's clear that Krieps was the standout performance of the whole season.

While the Elizabeth Bathory plot managed to tie into Lizzie Borden's story better than expected, I'll admit the use of Aileen Wuornos was more of a mixed bag. Sarah Paulson gave the sort of performance that was solid work but some of the dialogue that tried to draw parallels between Aileen and Lizzie was very clunky at times. It didn't quite land as it should've done.

Getting back to Family Borden. Yup, they were a lot. Abby behaved like the typical evil stepmother while Andrew barely tolerated his daughters and second wife. Emma Borden (Billie Lourd) didn't care for Lizzie until the script needed her to and abandoned her when the script also required her to do so.

Then there's estranged uncle John Morse (Joey Pollari) himself. He's a guy who desperately wanted money he felt he was owed and tried and failed to be a foil to both Andrew and Lizzie at different points. There's a brief encounter with Abby that added little value to proceedings before he slipped out of the picture as quickly as he entered.

Another character who was a mixed bag was stage actress Nance O'Neil (Jessica Barden). I found the character grating to begin with but she won me over with the way she trained Lizzie for that trial. One of the campest performances in the entire season.

Now this had me thinking as well. The first three seasons were dead serious but tonally, it felt like this season was riffing the likes of Killing Eve and Fleabag. The season tried to say a lot about female rage and even ended on voting rights for women. It's handling of such topics aren't bad but definitely could've been tackled a little better.

- Episode titles are Bloodbath, Strong Kitty, Whack Job!, R.I.P. (Rest In Pestilence) Abby Borden, 41, Bed And Breakfast, The Trial Of The Century and Carnival.

- Andrew named all of his axes after women while John named his knives after men. John being a suspect was briefly referenced in the last episode.

- Other noteworthy performances were from Jessica Lee, Ari Graynor and Linda Reiter.

- Cherries were referenced a lot with the likes of Lizzie, Bridget, Abby and John all being fond of them. Both the fruit and the trees.

- Standout music: The Runaways Cherry Bomb, Bronski Beat's Smalltown Boy and Natalie Merchant's Carnival.

- Chronology: 1892 to 1911 in Falls River, Massachusetts as well as Montana. There was also 1500/1600s Hungary for Elizabeth Bathory and 1980s/1990s/2000s for Aileen Wuornos.

I think Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story was definitely an improvement on the previous season but not as strong as the first two seasons. It had things to say about female rage, prisons, misogyny and so on but the messages don't quite land the way they should. Ella Beatty was a good casting choice for Lizzie Borden but it's Vicky Krieps's dual roles of Bridget Sullivan and Elizabeth Bathory that was the standout of this season.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Hitchcock (2012)

 

Written by John J. McLaughlin

Directed by Sacha Gervasi 

Alfred: "I will never find a Hitchcock blonde as beautiful as you."

Alma: "Oh, Hitch. I've waited thirty years to hear you say that."

Alfred: "And that my dear, is why they call me the Master of Suspense."

Last year when I was watching Monster: The Ed Gein Story, I had some mixed feelings on the handling of the Psycho side of things. I also knew that I needed to watch this particular movie. That's what I got around to the other day.

This movie could be split into three different stories. There's the making of a certain movie by Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) and everything that came with it. Then there's also Hitchcock's marriage to Alma Revelle (Helen Mirren) and an exploration into his fixation on younger blonde leading ladies.

In priority, let's go with the production of Psycho first. The studio wanted another North By Northwest but Alfred wanted to make something that would shock the audience, even if he had to make certain sacrifices in order to get it done.

There's a look into some of his casting choices like Anthony Perkins (James D'Arcy), Janet Leigh (Scarlett Johansson), Vera Miles (Jessica Biel) and John Gavin (Josh Yeo). Oddly enough, Anthony's the least focused in that group of actors as the focus pivoted more towards Janet and Vera.

It's no secret that Hitchcock could be a menace to his leading ladies and I definitely like this movie attempted to address this but in a way that didn't add much to it. He's kind enough to Janet but he also admitted to derailing Vera because the latter became a mother.

The strongest aspect of the movie was anything involving Hitchcock's marriage to Alma. It's briefly threatened by her friendship with writer Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston) but they had an enduring marriage and thematically, it's the spine of this film. 

- Hitchcock had visions of Ed Gein (Michael Wincott) throughout the film. Ed's murder of his brother was the opening scene.

- Anthony's homosexuality (and Norman Bates being queer) and his own mommy issues were mentioned. Anthony also alluded to both Rope and Strangers On A Train.

- Standout music: Charles Gounod's Funeral March Of A Marionette.

- Chronology: It's set during the production and premiere of Psycho.

Hitchcock (2012) did lose points for not really giving a certain aspect the focus it needed. Overall, it's a strong look into the legendary director and his most infamous of works. Both Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren are fantastic.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of From Russia With Love (1963)

 

Written by Richard Maibaum And Johanna Harwood 

Directed by Terence Young 

James Bond: "There's a saying in England: Where there's smoke, there's fire."

In the early days of Bond, there wasn't huge gaps in between sequels and this coming out a year after Dr. No certainly helped things along nicely.

Back for his second outing as James Bond, Sean Connery really was making the role very much his own. Bond's actions in Jamaica with Dr. No were about to have some major consequences for him.

The consequences would come in the form of an unwitting femme fatale named Tatiana Romanova (Danielle Bianchi). She was a Soviet clerk who found herself coerced into a role in Bond's potential downfall by SPECTRE No. 3 Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenye). Above Rosa of course was Kronsteen (Vladek Sheybal). He was certainly quite the chessmastet of the whole film.

Bond's romance with Tatiana was sizzling enough, though the former had no problem striking the latter when he realised she was part of an elaborate trap for him. It's definitely one of those scenes in earlier Bond films that's aged rather horribly.

A film dedicated to the villain getting revenge on Bond though certainly had it's moments. Kronsteen had the plan of using a Lektor cryptography device from the Soviet Union's consulate in Istanbul to get the better of Bond. James also had Donald Grant (Robert Shaw) as a physical challenge. He made a pretty good one too.

Of course Kronsteen and Klebb made for better villains. Both were suitably nasty characters and both of them got rather appropriate deaths. This film also introduced portrayed Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Anthony Dawson) aka SPECTRE No. 1 himself. It's a pretty strong debut for that character.

- The film ended by letting audiences know that James Bond would return in Goldfinger (1964).

- Anthony Dawson (aka Blofeld) previously appeared as Professor Dent in Dr. No. Eunice Gayson also played Bond's girlfriend, Sylvia Trench.

- Standout music: Matt Monro's From Russia With Love.

- Chronology: Istanbul, London, Belgrade and Istria to name a few places.

From Russia With Love was a great follow up to its predecessor with the perfect cocktail of great villains, action, romance and spy hijinks. I can see why this was a favourite of Sean Connery's.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Heated Rivalry - Season 2: Ryan and Fabian Cast Among Others

With Season 2 (and possibly Season 3 if rumours are correct) of Crave's Heated Rivalry currently filming, the cast continues to expand. Another couple pairing have been cast.

Clearly adapting elements from Rachel Reid's book, Tough Guy, it was announced today that Daniel Diemer (Percy Jackson) has been cast as Ryan Price. I've seen a few actors fancast for this role but not Daniel Diemer. I like his casting.

OF course with the casting of Ryan Price, there was also the casting of his other half. Shaheen Jafargholi (EastEnders, Wreck) has been cast in the role of Fabian Salah. With these two men cast, that's four couples for the show to explore in it's second season.

While Daniel and Shaheen's casting for Ryan and Fabian were announced today, nearly two weeks ago, other casting had been revealed.

• Emily Hampshire as Vanessa
• Edvin Ryding as Luca Haas
• Robert Naylor as Wyatt Hayes
• Sabrina Jalees as Farah Jalali
• Priyanka as Tarek

These new additions will join returnees Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, Francois Arnaud, Robbie GK as well as fellow newcomers Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie. Executive producer Jacob Tierney has promised more casting to be revealed soon.

Heated Rivalry is currently filming. Season 2 will premiere on Crave, HBO Max and Sky from Spring 2027.

My Review of Lightyear (2022)

 

Written by Angus MacLane And Matthew Aldrich And Jason Headley

Directed by Angus MacLane 

Zurg: "I'm going back, Buzz! I'm going to matter again! And you will have never existed... So... Prepare to Die."

Buzz: "Not today, Zurg!"

Before I watch the fifth Toy Story movie, there was this movie to watch. Yup, Buzz Lightyear got himself a solo outing and on top of that, he also got to be voiced by Chris Evans to boot.

Yes, this one was a film within a film where Buzz was a real life Space Ranger who had missions of his own to complete. He also had a best friend named Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) and she was a great friend to have. 

However due to various time shifts, Buzz kept seeing Alisha at different points in her life. There was a point where Alisha married another woman and then there was Izzy Hawthorne (Keke Palmer). Yes, Buzz had gotten to the point where Alisha had a fully grown granddaughter who wanted to be just like Alisha.

Throw in a robotic cat named Sox (Peter Sohn) and some crew members such as Mo Morrison (Taika Waititi) and Darby Steel (Dale Soules) and this was something of a motley crew of characters. As a team, they're a fun bunch that take a while to fully work well together.

As for the villain of the piece. It's Zurg. No, wait, it's an older version of Buzz himself and he's voiced by Josh Brolin. Older Buzz wanted to change the events of the movie itself. Younger Buzz having learned some lessons here, well he didn't want to change anything.

Things played out in an expected manner. Buzz and company saved the day, older Buzz was defeated and a new team was formed to go off and take on new missions with the Space Ranger Corps being revived. It's a satisfying ending for this crew.

- Credit scene did reveal that Zurg actually survived. That wasn't too shocking.

- I'm not surprised that there were complaints about Alisha having a wife. I am annoyed because it was a subplot that was handled well and the movie didn't deserve negative press for it.

- Standout music: Boston's Smokin'.

- Chronology: Set in a far away future setting. At some point, sandwiches become very different and with less bread.

While I definitely would rank it lower than any of the movies from its parents series, Lightyear (2022) in itself was a perfectly decent movie. It told a simple enough adventure, had some likable supporting characters and overall, I found it fine.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

American Horror Story: 13 - Everything You Need To Know

I've been holding this one off for a while. After months of speculation, American Horror Story: 13 finally has started its big promo blitz and there's a lot to get through. Spoilers aplenty here.

Let's break down the basics first, shall we?

• Charlie Carver and Ned Martel are the executive producers and main writers for the season. Ryan Murphy has co-written the first and ninth episodes and directed the first.
• There are 13 episodes for the new season, but shorter episodes than usual. Between 25 to 30 minutes long.
• The season will open with a triple bill from September 24th, then another triple bill, three double bills and a single episode until October 29th. It's airing Thursdays at 9pm on FX/Hulu.
• Frances Conroy, Gabourey Sidibe, Leslie Grossman, Billie Lourd, Kathy Bates, Seth Gabel, Zach Villa and Mat Fraser will reprise their roles of Myrtle Snow, Queenie, Coco St Pierre Vanderbilt, Winter Anderson/Mallory, Delphine Lalaurie, Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez and Paul the Illustrated Seal respectively. Ariana Grande had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.
• Season 13 will not be the final season. Season 14 is in development. However this might be the last crossover event style season.
• The season is mostly set in New York but will take in other timelines, locations and feature some controversial female figures from history. The Apollyon building will serve as the main setting.

Now, let's have a look at the main and recurring cast for this upcoming season, shall we?

• Joey Pollari as Ben DeSoto. The main protagonist of the season, driving the narrative for all the big returns. He sees the number 13 in various places. He's a nurse going by the trailer.
• Paul Anthony Kelly/Fedor Steer as Mr Nas. The main antagonist of the season. Likely the Devil, going by Ryan Murphy's interview with Vogue magazine.
• Evan Peters as Kai Anderson. Seemingly his main role this season. He'll also be reprising Tate Langdon/Rubber Man and James Patrick March and other past characters. Tate and Kai will share a scene together.
• John Carroll Lynch as Twisty the Clown. Yup, he's back. Why? No idea, but must be prominent enough role to get a character poster.

• Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon. She's back and living in the Apollyon. Also expect to see Lange reprise Sister Jude, Fiona Goode and Elsa Mars. Oh and she's gonna sing this season.
• Sarah Paulson as Cordelia Goode. Our supreme is back and also Paulson will be reprising about six other past roles this season.
• Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau. The Voodoo Queen is back and in a much bigger role than last time.
• Emma Roberts as Madison Montgomery. Yes, back and undoubtedly a certain line will be uttered again. The eleventh episode will be a big one for her.
• Jamie Brewer as Adelaide Langdon. Another surprise return and she could be reprising Nan too.
• Mena Suvari as Elizabeth Short/Black Dahlia. This one is more mystifying to me but I'm sure there's a good reason why she's around this season.

• Madelaine Petsch, Elle Chapman and Tig Notaro in undisclosed roles.
• Berto Colon as Joe. He's the Doorman at the Apollyon and his scenes are largely with Constance Langdon.
• John Waters as Mr Phibes. He's a phlebotomist. That's it really.
• Avantika as Ophelia. New Coven member.
• Alex Consani as Morwenna. New Coven member.
• Orlando Jones as Papa Legba. A recast, following Lance Reddick, who passed away in 2023.

And that's our principal regular, recurring and guest cast members. There's a few glaring omissions but it could be a case of actor unavailability or perhaps Murphy and company want some surprises to remain hidden until transmission. This feels like a very ambitious season and it could've been a way to end the show altogether. Saying that, I'm glad it's not the end.

AHS13 Trailer: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_DGQ0EpPdds

American Horror Story: 13 will air Thursdays at 9pm from September 24th on FX, Hulu and Disney+ respectively.

Heated Rivalry - Season 2 Begins/Harris and Troy Cast

Yup, the second season of that one show that people haven't stopped talking about since November 2025 has now begun production and there's casting news ahoy.

First up, in terms of new casting fot Heated Rivalry, we have our Harris Drover. Assuming the role of the sports agent will be Justice Smith (I Saw The TV Glow) and it took less than an hour for the hot takes to come in. In the books, the character was depicted as white and on the stocky side of things with the latter being a major plot point. I'm assuming there's going to be major changes to Harris's story that accomdates Smith's casting and while I can understand why some are disappointed, I actually like the casting choice here.

Taking on the role of Troy Barrett would be Charlie Gillespie (Juliet And The Phantoms). The commentary hasn't been as severe on his casting as he's likely closer to the book depiction of the character. Troy's a character who gets caught up in a scandal while getting romantically involved with Harris. Suffice to say the Troy/Harris romance will generate a fair chunk of the screen time for the second season. I'm betting one episode in particular will have the pair very much front and centre.

Now what of our main couple? Don't worry, the second season very much will have Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov at the heart of everything. In the last eight months, we've seen both Hudson Williams and Connor Stories skyrocket in terms of popularity with both men appearing in a slew of upcoming tv and movie projects. The second season will keep Shane/Ilya as the main focus with Troy/Harris as the secondary couple.

As for Scott Hunter (Francois Arnaud) and Kip Grady (Robbie GK), they will also factor into the second season as well. Their romance was so beautifully handled in the first season, I'm glad we're going to see more of them. Especially if it pisses off certain toxic fans who made it their mission to be as horrible to Francois Arnaud for no good reason. I do think their screen time will less but I'll savour every minute of it.

Heated Rivalry Season 2 starts filming from next week. It'll be released on Crave, HBO Max and Sky/Now TV from Spring 2027.

My Review of Victim (1961)

 

Written by Janet Green And John McCormick

Directed by Basil Dearden

Detective Inspector Harris: "Someone once called this law against homosexuality the blackmailer's charter."

Melville: "Is that how you feel about it?"

Detective Inspector Harris: "I'm a policeman, sir. I don't have feelings."

Now this was a movie that I've only heard of recently and apparently it's quite the staple for British gay cinema. I had to see it for myself and I did late last night.

Set during an era where homosexuality was illegal in Britain, this movie focused on the blackmail of several gay men. In particular, there's a focus on the rather tragic Jack "Boy" Barrett (Peter McEnery). He's resorted to stealing from his employers to save himself from being outed but no success.

Boy also tried to enlist closeted barrister Melville Farr (Dirk Bogarde) to help him out, only for the latter to reject him. When Boy ended up committing suicide, it forced Mel into confronting a lot of things about himself.

Notably there was his marriage to Laura (Sylvia Sims). There was some love between the two but Laura wasn't that shocked that her husband was into men and she didn't seem too surprised that he had some previous relationship with Jack to boot. Despite Mel giving her a free pass to leave before the inevitable scandal hit, she chose to stay.

It's the scandal that I guess made this film brave. Mel was determined to flush out the blackmailer and he knew that doing so, he'd end up being outed and lose his career. The guilt of also failing Jack also seemed provided a strong motivation too.

As for the blackmailers themselves - Miss Benham (Margaret Diamond) certainly outed herself as a nasty piece of work after spending most of the film under the radar as secretary of book owner Harold Doe (Norman Bird). The clearly gay Sandy Youth (Derren Nesbitt) was the other blackmailer and did seem to serve as a foil to Mel.

- Dirk Bogarde was gay in real life and gave the production notes on using the word "homosexual" instead of "inverts" for the film.

- There's some strong supporting performances from Donald Churchill, Dennis Price, Anthony Nichols, John Barrie, John Cairney and Alan MacNaughtan to name a few.

- Standout music: Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet, Op. 18.

- Chronology: 1960s London.

Victim (1961) really does live up to its reputation. It's a superb look into a tough era with a brilliant central performance from Dirk Bogarde. An absolute must see with a rather haunting final scene.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of The Birdcage (1996)

 

Written by Elaine May

Directed by Mike Nichols

Armand: "Yes, I wear foundation. Yes, I live with a man. Yes, I'm a middle- aged fag. But I know who I am, Val. It took me twenty years to get here, and I'm not gonna let some idiot senator destroy that. Fuck the senator, I don't give a damn what he thinks."

This was another film that was on my mind recently. It's been years since I've watched this one and it's held up pretty well as two very different families were about to be paired together by their kids getting married.

There's drag club owner, Armand Goldman (Robin Williams). He's the owner of The Birdcage where his long time partner/lover, Albert (Nathan Lane) was the main attraction. Oh and they've got the rather lively Agador (Hank Azaria) living with them. It's a very modern relationship between the three.

Unfortunately, Armand's son, Val (Dan Futterman) got engaged to Barbara Keeley (Calista Flockhart). She's genuinely nice but her parents, which included Senator Kevin (Gene Hackman) and his wife, Louise (Dianne Wiest) lean a bit more conservative. Kevin's also on the verge of being outed for a scandal too.

Anyways, Val wanted to straighten up his father, keep Albert hidden, relegate Agador to the role of a servant and bring his mother, Katharine Archer (Christine Baranski) into the fold. All of this made me want to hate Val a lot and it was naturally a recipe for disaster.

The meeting of both families, which included Albert in drag went as badly as it could have gone and when Katharine was added in the mix, it did force Val to step up.for his family. The fun part was seeing Kevin having to embrace And and Albert's world when he needed an exit from the paparazzi.

There's a lot of time spent on both families that if the movie had a flaw, it would be Val and Barbara themselves. There's good chemistry between both of them but they do somewhat fade into the background at times with their chaotic families standing out a lot more by comparison.

- The film was based on Jean Poiret's La Cage aux Folles. 

- Robin Williams was originally cast as Albert but wanted to be Armand after Steve Martin dropped out for the latter part.

- Standout music: We Are Family, She Works Hard For The Money and I Could Have Danced All Night.

- Chronology: Set predominantly in South Beach, Miami.

The Birdcage (1996) for me continues to be a laugh riot. It's a genuinely entertaining mash up of two families, a young couple in love and some nice digs at the conservative agenda. Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Hank Azaria and Gene Hackman are the highlights.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of A Single Man (2009)

 

Written by Tom Ford And David Scearce

Directed by Tom Ford 

George: "You know that only thing that has made the whole thing worthwhile has been those few times that I was able to truly connect with another person."

Okay, now this was a film that I watched once a long time ago but yesterday I felt compelled to revisit it. I'm a fan of Colin Firth and this was something of a tour de force for him.

This movie focused on Firth playing an English college professor named George Falconer. He's a man who suffered the loss of his long term partner, Jim (Matthew Goode). The latter died in a car accident and George hasn't been able to move past it.

Throughout the film, there's several flashbacks that helped flesh out George and Jim's relationship. They met at a party and immediately clicked. They had a time on the beach discussing George's sassy friend, Charlotte Roberts (Julianne Moore), whom George referred to as Charley among other times together. George and Jim genuinely seemed like they were in love.

George's relationship with Charley felt like the archetype of the classic gay man/straight woman friendship. They smoke fancy cigarettes, get drunk on posh booze and talk very freely with one another. It's a fun relationship but a misstep from Charley about Jim nearly ruined things between her and George. Fortunately for Charley, she was able to walk it back.

Then there was George's relationship with his student, Kenny Potter (Nicholas Hoult). The latter made it his mission to spend time with George outside of class and George did nothing to discourage that. Saying that, there was a purpose to Kenny's insertion into George's life.

George had spent of a lot of the film planning to commit suicide but it was spending time with Kenny that got him to feel again. George's eventual death was far more poignant and a better way of ending the film.

- The movie was based on a story by Christopher Isherwood of the same name.

- Jim didn't approve of George smoking and was going to visit his mother on the day he died. One of the dogs also died with him.

- Standout music: Serge Gainsbourg's Le Serpent qui Danse.

- Chronology: November 30th 1962 in Los Angeles. It was the day after the Cuban Missile Crisis.

A Single Man was a lovely debut from Tom Ford. A great adaptation of one of Christopher Isherwood's works and strong performances from Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode and Nicholas Hoult to boot.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Leviticus (2026)

 

Written And Directed by Adrian Chiarella

Ryan (to Naim, re entity): "If I'm going to live with this, I don't want it to look like some other dickhead. I want it to look like you."

I feel like I've been waiting an eternity to see this one when it's only been a little over a month. I finally got to watch it yesterday and I'll admit that while I wasn't totally blown away, there's a lot to admire about this film.

The obvious being our two lead actors. Joe Bird (who I remember from Talk To Me) and Stacy Clausen turned out to be suitably cast in their respective roles of Naim Reid and Ryan Whelan. Both of these lads will likely go onto bigger things from this film.

Set in a more conservative part of Australia, the film saw Naim and his mother, Arlene (Mia Wasikowska) move to an Evangelical town in Victoria to start a new life, following the death of Naim's father. There's something of a fractured relationship with Naim and Arlene throughout the film.

Being in the town he's now in, Naim wasn't having an easy time making friends but he did form a connection with Ryan and got extremely jealous when Ryan was kissing the pastor's (Ewen Leslie) son, Hunter (Jeremy Blewitt). Naim even went as far as to out the pair, causing both Ryan and Hunter to be subjected to conversion therapy of sorts.

Outing both Ryan and Hunter also backfired on Naim because he ended up in the same camp as they did. He also got violently attacked by a possessed Ryan while Hunter became a casualty nearly halfway through the movie. Throw in some homophobic peers and Hunter's vengeful sister, Izzie (Davida McKenzie) and a Deliverance Healer (Nicholas Hope) and there's a lot for both Naim and Ryan to work through.

The strength of this film was definitely the chemistry between Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen. Both lads did a brilliant job in making their characters fully believable and their romance something to root for. Did the entity terrorising them win or was it their love that conquered all? Perhaps, it's a little from both.

- There's a fairly gruesome opening scene with unfortunate lifeguard Marnie (Tyallah Bullock) being one of the entity's first victims.

- Yes, the title of this movie does reference a certain Bible passage about homosexuality. That was the point of course.

- Standout music: 18YOMAN and tiffi's Show Me The Way.

- Chronology: Present day in an Evangelical town in Victoria, Australia.

Leviticus (2026) faltered a bit towards the end and I'm not sure I was satisfied with how it concluded the entity tbh. Saying that, how fantastic are Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen throughout the entire movie? Excellent performances and very believable chemistry. 

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Shiva Baby (2020)

 

Written And Directed by Emma Seligman 

Debbie: "No funny business with Maya."

Danielle: "What is that supposed to mean?"

Debbie: "You know what it means."

Yesterday I reviewed Bottoms (2023), so I went back to see the previous collaboration between Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott and it's a more sobering affair of course.

In this film, Sennott played a college senior named Danielle. Danielle's got a whole sugar baby thing on the side with a man named Max (Danny Deferrari). In their first scene alone, Max's pretty scornful about Danielle and it's an ongoing theme throughout the movie.

Danielle's own mother, Debbie (Polly Draper) seemed to be constantly disapproving of her while her father, Joel (Fred Melamed) was nicer by comparison. Then there's the shiva itself at Aunt Sheila (Cilda Shaur).

Danielle was schooled about being on her best behaviour and then there's the presence of Maya (Molly Gordon). She's a former friend and an ex of sorts and she's rather antagonistic towards Danielle for most of the film. At times, she's too antagonistic, which made her difficult to like. 

Of course, there's more complications for Danielle with the presence of Max's career driven wife, Kim (Dianna Agron). I liked the fact that Kim was quick on the mark with both Max and Danielle. The move with trying to get Danielle to hold her baby was a good means of petty revenge. I also suspect that Kim's a bit used to Max's wandering eye as well.

The shiva itself went from one disaster to another and Danielle's breakdown felt inevitable. On the other hand, at least Danielle and Maya seemed to make some peace with one another, which was nice.

- Emma Seligman did a short movie in 2018 of the same name. The baby in question was called Rose.

- Rachel Sennott in real life isn't Jewish whereas Dianna Agron is. Obviously Danielle is Jewish but Kim isn't in the film.

- Shiva means seven but also is a period of mourning following a death in Jewish customs.

- Chronology: During the course of a day in a New York neighborhood.

Shiva Baby (2020) made a good debut from Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott. They're a great team and there's a great sense of quiet chaos that played out beautifully with Danielle's past and present catching up with her at an inopportune time.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Bottoms (2023)

 

Written by Emma Seligman And Rachel Sennott

Directed by Emma Seligman 

Principal Meyers: "Could the ugly, untalented gays please report to the principal's office?"

This has been on my watchlist for a while and I regret not watching this during Pride Month. I did manage to catch up with it yesterday afternoon and I had such a good time with it.

Over the last few years, both Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri have emerged as great talents within Hollywood. They're well matched here as two lesbian outcasts named PJ and Josie respectively. I found it amusing that they're outcasts for not being talented rather than being lesbians. That's a nice modern update.

Anyways both women have respective crushes. PJ's besotted with secretly smart Brittany (Kaia Gerber) and Josie was in love with Isabel (Havana Rose Liu). Isabel also had an obnoxious football playing boyfriend named Jeff (Nicholas Galitzine). This movie made it immensely fun to hate Jeff.

He's a violent misogynist who regularly cheated on Isabel. Jeff even slept with Mrs. Callahan (Dagmara Domińczyk) - the mother of fellow lesbian outcast Hazel (Ruby Cruz). Jeff was also too comfortable with threatening to kill women he deemed unattractive and he had a toxic enabler in teammate Tim (Miles Fowler). Tim's a bit too eager to help the undeserving Jeff.

Anyways, the film had PJ, Josie and Hazel set up a Fight Club which pulled in both Brittany and Isabel and other girls. The group was overseen by apathetic history teacher Mr. G (Marshawn Lynch) and was going well until Tim publicly exposed a few truths that were always going to be revealed. I did laugh at everyone initially believing PJ and Josie's obvious lie about being in juvie.

The movie of course would split the Fight Club until a plot to kill Jeff from a rival football team brought them back together. I'm not sure I would've bothered saving Jeff but I guess PJ and Josie are better than me in that regard. While PJ didn't get her desired love interest, Josie did and Hazel got her own luck during this particular plot. 

- Jeff was allergic to pineapple so that was the means the rival football team intended to kill him with. They also killed pets.

- I definitely think that Tim had a crush on Jeff. Brittany likes gay porn but is straight. PJ got to kiss Hazel.

- Standout music: King Princess's Pain.

- Chronology: Set in the 2020s at Rockbridge Falls High School.

Bottoms (2023) was a laugh riot from start to finish. Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri made a great pair of misfits and horrible as his character was, Nicholas Galitzine was genuinely funny in parts as the irredeemably stupid Jeff. Oh I had fun with this.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of A Dirty Shame (2004)

Written And Directed by John Waters 

Ray-Ray: "Let's go sexing."

For the last few weeks, I've delved into the delightfully depraved mind of John Waters and now I'm at an end (of sorts) with that journey. I mean there's still some of his short movies to watch at a later date but in terms of feature films, here's where I depart.

Waters might have started with writing for characters in poor backgrounds and revelling in their filthy sides but he also proved that those in the suburbs can be just as filthy. The residents of Harford Road proved that in spades.

You've got a residence with two very divided groups. There was the Neuters, aka the most sex negative people you'd ever encounter in your life. Their most prominent being women such as Big Ethel (Suzanne Shepherd) and Marge (Mink Stole). Oh boy, did they hate sex or what?

On the other end of the scale, Ethel's daughter in law, Sylvia Stickles (Tracey Ullman) started off as a Neuter until a bump to the head brought out her inner sex addict. Sylvia had a nice put upon husband named Vaughn (Chris Isaak) and a big breasted daughter named Caprice (Selma Blair). The latter used to be known as Ursula Udders, a former exoric dancer and was now under house arrest.

Anyways, Sylvia's sudden love of sex put her in the cross hairs of Ray-Ray Perkins (Johnny Knoxville). He's a sex guru of sorts and along with the rest of the sex addicted residents, Ray-Ray needed Sylvia in order to complete an orgasm on a rather grandiose level.

The rest of the movie became long battle between the Neuters and the sex addicted to see which group would seize control of the town. Naturally, it got ridiculous in certain parts, but only one group could ultimately win. It wasn't a surprise which one did.

- This was John Waters last feature film. His other credits included a child reading of Pink Flamingos and a short movie.

- Various fetishes were looked into. This included adult babies, bears and cubs, dirt eating and sploshing to name a few. Ricki Lake and David Hasselhoff had cameos.

- Standout music: David Raksin Orchestra's Sylvia.

- Chronology: Harford Road was set in Baltimore.

A Dirty Shame is anything but sexy and not all of the jokes land as they should've done. For the most part, there's some fun to be had among the utter depravity that's on display.  It's not John Waters on all cylinders but it's decent enough.

Rating: 6 out of 10