American Horror Story returns this September for its 9th (!) cycle, believe it or not. And this time the creepy anthology series is taking a cue from hits like Stranger Things and It. Ryan Murphy is going back to arguably the greatest decade in horror: the 1980s. We’ve seen a few teasers for AHS: 1984 already, showcasing the extreme fashions and a few scenes of the killers stalking his victims in the woods. But in this latest teaser from FX, we see much more than we’ve seen before, including shots of the summer camp setting and the masked killer about to get his murder on.
The new teaser gives the season’s setting a name: Camp Redwood. American Horror Story is rarely subtle about anything, so expect the woods to be very red by the end of the first episode. We also get our first look at the masked killer, who is evocative of the killer in the ’80s slasher Prom Night, complete with black ski mask. But the scene at the end of the teaser where he pops up out of the water and attacks his victim while lounging in a boat? That’s a direct homage to the end of the original Friday the 13th.
And as with any good ’80s set project, there’s got to be some memorable songs from the era. The teaser gives us our stereotypical slasher movie teens chuggin’ beer while listening to tunes in their pickup truck. In this instance, the song is John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band’s “ On the Dark Side” (again, so subtle Ryan Murphy.) That track is from the cult classic movie Eddie and the Cruisers. Also used is the Motel’s “Suddenly Last Summer.” Of course, given AHS‘s penchant for twists, maybe this season is about the making of a horror film set in the 80s, and not actually set during that era at all. We’ll find out when AHS: 1984 premieres on Wednesday, September 18th.
Images: FX Networks