American Horror Story, Pink Cupcakes - review: Not even scary underpants can inject oomph

Warning: This review contains spoilers

Neela Debnath
Friday 07 November 2014 14:50 GMT
Comments
Dandy becomes Twisty
Dandy becomes Twisty (Fox)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Twisty the Clown is back. Kind of.

The original psychotic clown may have been spirited away (quite literally) to the underworld with Edward Mordrake last week but Dandy has taken up the mantle. It was probably going to happen sooner or later given Dandy’s murderous tendencies.

The deaths get more gruesome with every episode. Watching Andy the gigolo getting hacked to bits as he struggles for his life is pretty grim. Played by White Collar’s Matt Bomer he was just too interesting to be killed off so soon - his relationship with Dell Toledo had so much potential.

Speaking of which, finally we see a new side to Desiree Dupree and we like it. The triple-breasted hermaphrodite is actually all-lady and could even lead a “normal” life with some surgery. Sadly, Dell’s violence could hamper any chances of happiness for her – he is one of the real monsters of the freak show.

But the scariest thing about this episode is the abundance of white Y fronts. Yes, it’s the Fifties but Ryan Murphy is taking liberties with other historical details. The Bowie homage complete with the blue suit and garish eye shadow is as anachronistic as it gets on American Horror Story.

Compared to the terrifying climax of Edward Mordrake’s Halloween tale last week, ‘Pink Cupcakes’ proves to be an unexciting slow burn that lacks oomph. Even when Elsa dumps Bette and Dot at Gloria Mott’s house it’s not as shocking as it's trying to be.

But there are some nice touches. The brief scene between Ethel and Desiree showing a bond developing between Dell’s two women is lovely. Then there’s Elsa’s romantic speech about the beauty of the silver screen and the rise of television.

Just please put the men in boxers next week.

'American Horror Story Freak Show' airs Tuesdays at 10pm on FOX UK.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in