'80s nostalgia is in the air, so no wonder the ninth season of American Horror Story
is taking place smack dab in the middle of that decade.
But how will AHS 1984 fit into the show's ever-expanding canon?
Here's everything we know so far.
Leave it to AHS co-creator Ryan Murphy to blend '80s camp with the menacing undertones
of a slasher film - and all set to the kicky tune of Dan Hartman's "I Can Dream About You."
Back in July 2019, Murphy made the official cast announcement on Instagram through a series
of stylish videos staged to look like "camera tests."
As you can see, everyone is decked out in their most ill-advised '80s fashions.
Hard to say whether this is what the cast will actually look like throughout the coming
season.
They could just be toying with our expectations here.
Meanwhile, the official teaser trailers heavily draw from slasher-film archetypes and scenarios.
In one teaser, we see a truck full of youngsters on their way to Camp Redwood.
They're partying so hard they fail to see the word "BEWARE" scrawled in red paint on
the back of the "Camp Redwood" sign.
Meanwhile, a masked man with a knife is hiding in the undercarriage.
This guy really gets around: He later jumps out of a lake in order to stab a bikini-clad
woman - basically a straight-up homage to the first Friday the 13th.
In another teaser, a young woman is chased through the dark woods.
She hides in a cabin, and soon enough, a knife comes through the door.
Yet another teaser features a group of camp counselors settling into their bunks.
And when the cabin door closes?
Another teaser demonstrates the dangers of skinny dipping:
“ah”
And this teaser is an ode to the simple pleasures like listening to your Walkman, and getting
brutally murdered.
“ah”
Our theory?
This season is going to be a whole lot of fun.
As with previous seasons of American Horror Story, Ryan Murphy has assembled a mix of
new and returning cast members to play all-new characters, this time in 1984.
Returning stars include Cody Fern, Billie Lourd, Emma Roberts, Leslie Grossman, and
a decidedly creepy John Carroll Lynch.
We're particularly loving Cody Fern as an '80s-style preppy dude... especially since
he looks a bit like James Spader in Pretty in Pink.
Newcomers include Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy, Glee alum Matthew Morrison, Angelica Ross
from the hit series Pose, Dear White People's DeRon Horton, and actor and musician Zach
Villa.
Unfortunately, AHS 1984 will be losing some of the series' most beloved cast members,
too.
You know how that goes.
"What is this?
Knotty pine!"
Of course, Jessica Lange left the show as a regular player after the fourth season,
Freak Show… and now two more regulars are following in her footsteps.
Sadly, Evan Peters won't be returning this season.
Due to the intensity of his roles in both American Horror Story and Ryan Murphy's Pose,
he decided to take a break.
Meanwhile, Sarah Paulson won't be returning to the show in any significant role, although
Deadline reports we can expect to see her at some point in the season.
With any luck, she'll pop up in a cameo like Lange did in Season 8.
In the upcoming season of AHS, '80s nostalgia in clearly in full bloom, so it might be worth
revisiting some seminal horror films from 1984 - just in case Ryan Murphy has decided
to use them for inspiration.
1984 was a big year for the horror genre.
After all, that was the year A Nightmare on Elm Street was released.
"Hey, Nancy… no running in the hallways."
Then there was Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.
And who can forget Children of the Corn?
"Stop him!
Kill him!"
"MALACHAI!"
Also worth noting: Firestarter came out in 1984, and so did Brian DePalma's campy psychological
thriller Body Double.
Both films certainly align with Murphy's unique brand of horror.
Then again, longtime AHS executive producer Tim Minear reminds us to expect the unexpected.
TheWrap asked whether this season would be revisiting '80s horror films, and he replied:
"Generally, Ryan is ahead of the zeitgeist as opposed to following it.
So what I would say is that this has been an area that Ryan has talked about since I’ve
known him and it’s just a real sweet spot for him.
And I think it was time for him to do it."
So what's the story?
It looks like AHS 1984 is going to be a beautiful, gory, and funny homage to the slasher films
of the '80s.
But this is a Ryan Murphy production, so you can probably expect some social and political
subtext, too.
After all, the year 1984 corresponds to George Orwell's dystopian novel of the same name.
Just sayin'.
One more thing: The use of The Motel's classic single "Suddenly Last Summer" in the "Camp
Redwood" teaser could be a clue to the plotline.
After all, Suddenly, Last Summer is a classic 1958 play written by Tennessee Williams.
It was later adapted into a film starring Elizabeth Taylor.
The story involves a woman named Catharine who's traumatized after witnessing her cousin's
death.
Her aunt - played by Katherine Hepburn - attempts to keep her son's death a secret by lobotomizing
her niece.
It's some pretty melodramatic stuff.
"I ran, they let me run, they didn't even see me…"
It also covers subject matter that's up this series' alley, and we wouldn't be at all surprised
if the show pays homage to Suddenly, Last Summer in AHS 1984.
The ninth season of American Horror Story premieres on September 18th, 2019 at 10pm
Eastern time.
The season will have a ten-episode run, with the seventh episode set to air on October
30th… which just so happens to be Halloween Eve.
How terribly apropos.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite TV shows are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.