American Horror Story: 1984 – Episode 100

By: Kelly Kearney

Last week on “American Horror Story: 1984” Margaret went on a rampage at Camp Redwood and killed all the counselors except for Brooke, who bloodied her hands when she took the life of Montana. It was a summer bloodbath that, surprisingly, The Night Stalker and Mr. Jingles had little to do with. After realizing he had been duped into believing he had committed Margaret’s crimes, Benjamin (a/k/a Mr. Jingles) gave himself over to Satan so he and Richard Ramirez could leave camp and take their killer gig on the road. Now, the two men are in Los Angeles and the thrill of the kill isn’t really sparking Mr. Jingle’s interests regardless of the deal he made with the devil. Problems arise when Benjamin turns on his serial killer friend and heads west, looking bury his former life and devilish deal in the snowy landscape of Alaska. It’s the 100^th episode of “American Horror Story” and we all know what that means…A hundred ways to shock, terrify and leave us bloody begging for more!

1985

It’s been one year since Benjamin (John Carroll Lynch) and Richard (Zach Villa) left Camp Redwood and in that time the two have been busy killing for Satan. The Lord of Darkness granted the men everlasting life if they do his evil bidding of course. Unfortunately, Benjamin isn’t really feeling this blood-soaked pact and all the late night killings have really gotten him down. In fact, the man who spent over a decade thinking he was a serial killer doesn’t actually have the desire to kill at all and now he’s considering breaking his promise to Satan. Richard, who really loves to kill, reminds his wary partner of the gift he was given. He does his best to talk Benjamin out of reneging on their deal by reminding him of all he has to lose…mainly his life. The warning works until Richard’s image hits the newsstands and all of Southern California is looking for him. The hunt for The Night Stalker gives Benjamin his out and when Richard is in a convenience store grabbing some much needed snacks post-thrill kill, his partner in crime tips off the locals to the killer’s whereabouts. Driving by and downing a Tab diet cola, Benjamin watches as a group of men armed with metal pipes and bats chase and beat Richard in the street. He slowly rolls past as REO Speed Wwagon blasts from the car’s speakers and watches on as Richard goes down in the exact same way the real life Night Stalker was captured.

While Benjamin is trying to rebuild the life that was stolen from him, Margaret (Leslie Grossman) is working overtime to keep her serial killer ways a secret. As the only survivor of that fateful night, Trevor (Matthew Morrison) wakes in the hospital to find the deadly woman sitting by his bedside and the two cut a shocking deal. Trevor will stay quiet about the true camp killer’s identity if she agrees to be his “Sugar Mama.” The blackmail works and the two agree to get hitched because, apparently, money helps soothe the pains of living with a psycho killer. As does sex, which the two happily engage in until the monster in Trevor’s pants goes down for the count…so to speak. Living with a sexually frustrated murderess who’s only excitement comes from killing and the occasional snuggle session with her brood of ankle biting corgis means that Trevor has to stay alert if he wants to survive this unholy matrimony.

1989

Four years later and the union between Margaret and Trevor is as macabre as anyone could imagine. The two have made a killing (pun totally intended) at buying and selling the homes and properties of other serial killers and mass murderers. No location is too toxic for these two realtors who have somehow normalized upcycling horrific tragedies to make a buck. They’ve even turned famous locations like Manson’s Spahn Ranch and John Wayne Gacy’s basement burial grounds into a lucrative family fun getaway that have many claiming the couple’s business is too ghoulish to continue. Apparently, turning killer homes into tourist traps for an “immersive entertainment experience” doesn’t sit well with some local government officials, but after the news breaks about more killings at Camp Redwood all Margaret can see is green. In fact, the now posh, beehive sporting, Ivana Trump wannabe announces she’s throwing a Halloween concert to boost the camp’s revenue and Billy Idol will be headlining the main stage. For Margaret, who’s managed to turn death into a cash cow, it seems like a no-brainer to use the camp’s dark reputation to turn a profit. Even better now that the counselors are still trapped in camp purgatory and have chosen to kill anyone who dares step foot onto the property. It seems the waiting room between heaven and hell is extremely boring and murder really livens things up, at least according to Montana (Billie Lourd), Xavier (Cody Fern) and Chet (Gus Kenworthy) who slice up anyone’s summer fun the minute they take a dip in the lake or hike through its woods. The threesome is especially psyched for the Billy Idol concert because it will turn the abandoned camp into a virtual “hunting ground” of fun filled slaughter. The one person who isn’t on board with “Camp Kill Whomever We See” is Ray (DeRon Horton), who’s been struggling with the fact they’re all stuck at Redwood while Brooke (Emma Roberts) is in jail for crimes she didn’t commit. The one counselor who killed prior to ending up in Camp Redwood’s eternity has turned over a new leaf and wants to make amends for his crimes. Likewise Chet, who is forever drowning thanks to his final swim at the hands of the blonde realtor from Hell, would like them all to spend less time killing innocent people and more time focusing on the bigger picture: mainly making Margaret pay for what she’s done. The concert could be their only shot at sending Margaret straight to Hell and Chet is all for that.

Speaking of paying for their crimes, after Richard was captured he landed in San Quentin prison right alongside Brooke who has become the latest in a long line of urban legend boogeymen. The accused female killer is now is living out her death row sentence in isolation and doing so without the help of Satan. In fact, when she does cross Ramirez’s path he offers her his devilish help but she refuses and plans on dying with whatever dignity she has left. This is apparently something the devil, or maybe a dark guardian angel, will not allow. As she’s dragged to the prison’s death chamber Richard is back in his cell performing a blood sacrifice in hopes that Satan will do him a solid and grant him early parole for the Billy Idol concert. As he chants over a blood smeared pentagram, the vents of the prison fill with a black eerie smoke that enrobes and consumes the guard’s lungs with demonic charms. Hopped up on evil, one of the guards opens the Night Stalker’s cell and escorts him to his Rebel Yell freedom. All while this is happening Margaret and Trevor grab their front row seats for the big execution just as Brooke is seen being strapped onto a gurney for her lethal injection. As the life ending drug is pumped through her veins, Camp Redwood’s real killer watches on in glee knowing she got away with her crimes. All smiles aside, she is a little salty over how easy it is to be killed by an injection. Like all serial killers, Margaret gets hot for a brutal death and this prison sentence doesn’t really light her fire.

With her time of death recorded, Brooke’s body is wheeled to the infirmary by what we presume is a prison guard whose face is covered by a mask. It’s a long standing tradition for any death house guard to hide their identity from the witnesses in the room and, luckily for Brooke, that mask hid more than the face of a state sponsored grim reaper. Once her body is safely away from any curious eyes, the masked guard injects a solution into Brooke’s IV and miraculously the young woman gasps back to life! Conscious and trying to catch her breath, Brooke turns to see the person who saved her and it wasn’t a death row guard but Donna Chambers (Angelica Ross)! These two unlikely partners agree to team up and pop in on Margaret’s big Halloween camp concert. With everyone assuming Brooke is dead, these two have the element of surprise on their side and nobody, especially Margaret, will see them coming.

Be Kind, Rewind

Donna, Brooke and Richard aren’t the only ones heading back to camp for a rock ‘n roll showdown with the Margaret. Benjamin can’t seem to escape his inevitable path to darkness, even after turning on Ramirez and starting a new life in Alaska. He made a pact with the devil and hiding out in the snowy landscape with his new wife, their baby boy and a job at the local video store won’t change his fate. He can try and forget what went down at the summer camp by recommending film fans skip the horror genre and head straight for the rom-coms, but the sad fact is his life is not his own. Every breath he takes was a gift that required something deadly in return. His simple life, where the biggest dilemma he faces is the customers refusing to “be kind and rewind” isn’t a part of the Dark Lord’s plans for him. Ignoring that pact proves to be fatal. Benjamin finally realizes he can’t escape when after a long day at the video store he comes home to find his wife has been murdered. Knowing this is a sign that he can no longer ignore his devil made pact, Benjamin takes his son to a friend’s house and tells her that his wife is dead. His fate is written in blood and he can no longer escape it, but he can keep his son from it. He tells the woman clutching his baby boy that her he loves him and that’s why he has to leave. This hell won’t end until he faces what awaits him in the woods outside of Los Angeles. With that, he pulls out his infamous ring of keys and jingles his way towards Camp Redwood. All of Margaret’s victims are about to descend on her Halloween concert, promising the show will be a killer of a good time.