For its sixth season, Ryan Murphy's FX horror anthology American Horror Story offered a darkly satirical take-off on so-called reality TV programs dealing with paranormal phenomena. The first half of the season is called My Roanoke Nightmare, which offers a re-enactment of the experiences of the Millers (Sarah Paulson, Cuba Gooding, Jr.), a California couple who move into a remote farmhouse in North Carolina, where they find themselves under threat from supernatural forces connected with the Roanoke Island Colony that mysteriously disappeared in the 16th century. A separate cast plays the "real" Millers, whose interviews form part of the series, and author Doris Kearns Goodwin makes an appearance to present the gory history behind the haunted house. The second half segues into a disastrous attempt to make a sequel called Return to Roanoke, which brings together the Miller family and the actors who played them for a three-day stay at the farmhouse. Presented as a mixture of found and new footage, the scenes depict the horrors that everyone endured at the hands of ravenous ghosts (and their local minions), before trailing off into an equally horrible aftermath of the gruesome events. Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, and Evan Peters are returnees from previous seasons of AHS, while others like Gooding, Jr., are newcomers, but all throw themselves into the spirit of the grisly enterprise. Although the complex construction is occasionally confusing, Roanoke deserves credit for daring and imagination, and it should appeal to horror fans. Presenting all 10 episodes from the 2016 sixth season, extras include a Q&A with cast and crew. Recommended. (F. Swietek)
American Horror Story—Roanoke: The Complete Sixth Season
Fox, 3 discs, 399 min., not rated, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99 Volume 33, Issue 2
American Horror Story—Roanoke: The Complete Sixth Season
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