I may be alone in saying that the last two seasons of American Horror Story were lackluster to say the least.

I was pleasantly surprised when season six aired its first episode on Wednesday and brought a fresh approach to the entire television series.

Writers, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk kept its fans on their toes when only releasing very vague and cryptic messages as to what AHS season six had in store for its viewers.

Rather than introducing the same, old rehashed linear storyline for multiple characters in the first episode, Murphy and Falchuk drastically changed the storytelling platform.

The platform is similar to that of cheesy History Channel documentaries with even cheesier historical reenactments. The first episode opens with character Matt (Andre Holland) and Shelby (Lily Rabe) being interviewed in a crime-time like setting to tell their stories about their experiences in an eerie house they used to live in.

It then cuts to other actors (Sarah Paulson and Cuba Gooding Jr.) portraying their story in a “reenactment;” only this time, the reenactment was not cheesy. The pacing between each scene is steady and easy to follow.

It was much more enjoyable not having an entire cast of characters with different and intricate storylines thrown at me on the first episode Season six introduced Cuba Gooding Jr. into the AHS family, and welcomed back Rabe, Paulson, and Angela Bassett.

Not only was this season perfectly casted, but the acting was outstanding, as usual.

The problem with the last few seasons was that the show lost its horror aspect. The story became predictable and dull. Although the cast and acting was tolerable in the past, it did not make up for the lack of an original plot line.

This season, I was genuinely jumping out of my seat.

Like the first season of the show, the scenes in episode one of season six were dark and left a lot to the imagination. Frightening images, gore, mystery and the element of surprise were all present, and when paired with the new storytelling platform, gave a unique angle to the idea a of horror.

The first episode of season six put me on the edge of my seat wanting more, and I do not think AHS will disappoint.

Angelica Cataldo can be reached at 581-2812 or amcataldo@eiu.edu.