American Horror Story- Murder House- Episode 6- Piggy Piggy

**This review contains spoilers**

Synopsis: In 1994, Tate Langdon (Evan Peters) walks into Westfield High School with a set of guns. Tate goes on a vicious shooting spree with no mercy, as the entire school desperately seeks shelter. In the library, Tate corners five students. Stephanie Boggs (Alessandra Torresani), Kevin Gedman (Jordan David), Amir Stanley (Alexander Nimetz), Kyle Greenwell (Brando Eaton), and Chloe Stapleton (Ashley Rickards) beg for their lives in the library, but Tate murders everyone after a series of pleas for mercy, failed attempts at reasoning with Tate, and one act of defiance from Kyle.

Tate returns to the Harmon’s future home with his mother, Constance (Jessica Lange), but a SWAT team invades the house. The SWAT team forces Tate into a surrender at gunpoint, but Tate reaches for a gun under his pillow at the last second. Tate tries to pull the trigger, but the SWAT team murders Tate, leaving a distraught Constance to grieve over her dead son in the hallway.

In the modern world, Constance introduces Violet (Taissa Farmiga) to a medium named Billie Dean Howard (Sarah Paulson). Constance and Billie have a plan, but they need Violet’s help. Tate is dead, but Tate is oblivious and he refuses to accept his place in the afterlife, and Ben (Dylan McDermott) couldn’t help Tate. Constance paid for the sessions with Ben to help Tate cope with his death, but Tate’s obsession with Violet complicated the patient/doctor relationship, so Violet is Constance’s last resort. The plan? Violet needs to convince Tate to cross over into the afterlife, and accept his death with no questions asked.

Meanwhile, Ben is living alone, and he’s trying to help a new patient named Derek (Eric Stonestreet). Derek can’t shake his fears for urban legends, and the “Piggy Man” urban legend is ruining Derek’s life. The Piggy Man was a butcher from Chicago in 1893. He wore a mask made of flesh from a pig’s face, but the Piggy Man suffered a gruesome death one day after an accident in his peg pen. According to the legend, whoever speaks the Piggy Man’s name repeatedly, while standing in front of a mirror will unleash the Piggy Man’s wrath. In the end, the Piggy Man will return to the living world, and murder the victim, who speaks his name.

Vivien (Connie Britton) opens up to Luke (Morris Chestnut) about the split  from Ben, and Luke shares a story about his problems with infidelity and his ex-wife to help Vivien. Money is a big problem in the Harmon household, so Vivien tries to fire Moira (Frances Conroy), but Moira refuses Vivien’s demand.

Instead, Moira will work for free, because she won’t leave a pregnant mother alone without a man in the house to take care of her. Together, Constance and Moira continuously feed Vivien a series of strange meals for a raw meats only diet to help the baby with Moira as the cook. Vivien is trying to move on after life with Ben, but she wants some answers from the ultrasound technician, who fainted on Halloween night during Vivien’s emergency trip to the hospital………

Review: Murder House opens the door to reveal more details about Tate’s past here. Now we know Tate is the one, who murdered the group of five from Halloween night, and Constance reaches out to Violet for help, but there’s one big problem: Violet is afraid of Tate.

Violet uses her computer to research the details behind the shooting, and Violet questions a teacher, who was paralyzed by Tate in the shooting. Violet is clearly shaken up and disturbed after the personal investigation. At first, Violet gravitated towards Tate, because she was attracted to the loner and the misunderstood outcast. Now? Violet sees a cold-blooded murder.

Although, Violet’s faith in Tate is restored after a failed suicide attempt. Violet is having trouble sleeping, so Leah (Shelby Young, the bully from the pilot)  offers Violet some pills for the problem. But a distraught Violet pops one too many pills. Luckily, Tate was in the house (Violet was alone), and Tate rescues an unconscious Violet.

Vivien hits a few bumps in the road during the early stages of her life without Ben. She’s lonely, but Luke is a reliable support system for security, and he’s around, if Vivien needs someone to talk to. Constance and Moira? There’s something fishy about the mission to “help” Vivien. All the raw meat meals, Moira choosing to work for free, and Constance’s perky attitude? Yeah, something’s not right, and you have to believe Constance and others are working to together to complete some kind of diabolical plan for Vivien’s baby.

Remember the ultrasound technician? She quit her job at the hospital, because the image from Vivien’s visit is still haunting her, but she agrees to meet Vivien at a church (it’s the only place, where she feels safe from Vivien). So why is she afraid of Vivien and her baby? The ultrasound technician spotted something evil in Vivien’s womb. The ultrasound technician recalls sightings of hooves from a small demonic figure. Vivien dismisses the technician’s sightings, and the technician scolds Vivien with foreboding warnings after the talk.

Wait. A woman, who’s possibly carrying a demonic baby? The pregnant mother developing a taste for raw meat? And a kooky (Constance) neighbor, who’s trying to lend a helping hand with a secret agenda for the evil baby? The similarities to Rosemary’s Baby in this one episode are almost impossible to ignore, and the doctor is an ideal candidate to add to the list of suspects. Sorry, but she’s too cheery, and she’s dismissing all of Vivien’s concerns as harmless hiccups? But I’ll say this, the only big difference (for now) is the husband (Ben) is not apart of the scheme to help his career.

The Piggy Piggy stuff? It’s a sinister twist for the Bloody Mary folklore legend, but don’t get your hopes up for something special. A robber murders Derek after a “face your fears” mirror test from Ben, and if I’m using this episode as a measuring stick, it’s safe to say the Piggy Piggy storyline is a one and done deal.

Piggy Piggy is another solid episode for American Horror Story’s first season, and it’s nice to see a debut appearance  from Sarah Paulson here. From what I remember, Paulson’s role is limited in the first season, but she’s a mainstay for American Horror Story, and Paulson’s characters receive prominent roles in season 2 (Asylum) and season 3 (Coven).

The flashback for Tate’s backstory is genuinely dark and disturbing, and Violet and Tate’s relationship is put to the test after Violet learns the truth about Tate’s past. Ben? He’s on the outside looking in for the first time in years. There’s a scene with Ben, and he’s walking by the house. From the outside, an exiled Ben watches Vivien and Luke share a friendly chat, and you can clearly see a happy Vivien. And Vivien’s not in the mood for forgiveness, because she’s “disgusted” with Ben and his relationship with Hayden.  

What’s going on with Vivien and her baby? I find it hard to believe Moira and Constance are trying to help Vivien with the hopes of a positive outcome. They’re taking advantage of a vulnerable and lonely woman, who’s desperate for companionship, and hopefully we’ll learn more about the stranger in the latex suit, because there’s a GOOD chance he’s the father of Vivien’s baby (remember the pilot episode).

Rating: 7/10

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Devil's Due (2014)(Minor Spoilers Review)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers. No character deaths or major reveals**

Zach (Zach Gilford) and Samantha McCall (Allison Miller) are two newlyweds, and they’re on their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. One night, Zach and Samantha take a wrong turn during the trip back to the hotel room, and they’re lost in the streets until a cab driver shows up. Zach and Samantha want to go to the hotel room, but the cab driver takes a detour to an underground club. At first, Samantha refuses, but Zach convinces Samantha to go to the club, because Zach wants a memorable send-off for the honeymoon. At the club, Samantha and Zach pass out after too many drinks. In the morning, Zach and Samantha awake in their hotel room with  no memory of what happened after the night at the club, but Samantha remembers an awkward encounter and the foreboding warning from a fortune teller.

Back in the US, Samantha and Zach prepare to start their lives together as a happily married couple, but Samantha’s unexpected pregnancy changes everything. Samantha is unnerved by the pregnancy, because she regularly uses birth control pills as a deterrent. Eventually, Samantha accepts the arrival of her first child. Zach is excited about building a nursery, and his new role as a father, and together, Zach and Samantha announce Samantha’s pregnancy to a group of family and friends.

During the countdown to Samantha’s delivery date, the pregnancy takes series of bizarre turns. Samantha’s erratic behavior raises some serious questions, and Samantha can’t fight cravings for raw meat. Zach notices Samantha’s odd changes, random strangers watching the house, and Zach suspects something fishy in the old abandoned house down the street.

Samantha’s due date is weeks away, and Samantha secretly carves a large symbol into the floor of the nursery. Zach tries to solve the mystery of Samantha’s descent into madness, and his investigation leads him to one troubling question: Is Samantha carrying the spawn of Satan?

Allison Miller delivers the best performance, but it‘s a default choice. Miller deserves credit for some believable temper tantrums, and creepy stares. There’s a scene, where Zach is recording Samantha while she’s sleeping. Samantha suddenly wakes up out of nowhere, and she squeezes Zach’s arm with this emotionless look on her face, but I have to give an assist to the CGI for Samantha’s eyes. The rest of the cast ranges from tolerable to mediocre, and Gilford is annoying at times.

The stupidity in Devil’s Due? Oy vey. Why, WHY would you trust a random cab driver? On top of that, this guy takes you to an underground club in a bad neighborhood, and you STILL ignore the warning signs? Seriously? And speaking of warning sings, Zach ignores Samantha’s weird pupils, and her violent mood swings (i.e. the scene in the trailers, where Samantha smashes the car windows with her bare hands)?

On top of that, Zach waits until it’s too late to do something about Samantha. Yeah, you have a bunch of creepy strangers watching your house 24/7, and you wait until the end to call the police? To make matters worse, you leave your sister alone with a psychotic Samantha? Unbelievable.

Devil’s Due is loaded with problems, with stupidity from the main characters as the number one problem. Still, Devil’s Due is a passable found-footage horror film, if you’re trying to kill some time. The pulse-pounding finale is full of blood, carnage, and it’s fun to watch the chaos unfold step by step. You’ll see a few good jump scares here, and the nasty stuff never reaches the overkill point. The restrained approach works, because the cringeworthy stuff (the priest’s bloody nose, Samantha’s unnatural bulges from the baby’s kicks, etc.) is capable of pulling a reaction out of you every now and then, and that‘s enough.

Plus, there’s a freaky scene, where Samantha uses her demonic powers to eliminate a group of teens in the woods during a feeding (live animals) frenzy. The obligatory home movies phase is frustrating and boring, and Devil’s Due stumbles out of the gate, but the pace picks up, as Samantha succumbs to her newfound evil powers.

Oh, and it’s almost impossible to ignore the similarities to Rosemary’s Baby here. In fact, Devil’s Due feels like a quasi remake for Rosemary’s Baby with a found-footage POV. Avoiding a remake or a “loose remake” approach and tagline is a smart move, because Rosemary’s Baby is worshiped as a great horror classic, and hardcore horror fans would trash this film with venomous hatred. I know. Devil’s Due flopped, and the vast majority of critics slammed Devil’s Due with negative reviews. Still, you can say Devil’s Due had a chance to stand on its own. As a full-blown remake, Devil’s Due can’t escape the enormous shadow from Rosemary’s Baby. Not a chance.

Rating: 5/10

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Devil's Due (2014)(Spoiler Review)

**This review contains spoilers**

Zach (Zach Gilford) and Samantha McCall (Allison Miller) are two newlyweds, and they’re on their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. One night, Zach and Samantha take a wrong turn during the trip back to the hotel room, and they’re lost in the streets until a cab driver shows up. Zach and Samantha want to go to the hotel room, but the cab driver takes a detour to an underground club. At first, Samantha refuses, but Zach convinces Samantha to go to the club, because Zach wants a memorable send-off for the honeymoon. At the club, Samantha and Zach pass out after too many drinks. In the morning, Zach and Samantha awake in their hotel room with  no memory of what happened after the night at the club, but Samantha remembers an awkward encounter and the foreboding warning from a fortune teller.

Back in the US, Samantha and Zach prepare to start their lives together as a happily married couple, but Samantha’s unexpected pregnancy changes everything. Samantha is unnerved by the pregnancy, because she regularly uses birth control pills as a deterrent. Eventually, Samantha accepts the arrival of her first child. Zach is excited about building a nursery, and his new role as a father, and together, Zach and Samantha announce Samantha’s pregnancy to a group of family and friends.

During the countdown to Samantha’s delivery date, the pregnancy takes series of bizarre turns. Samantha’s erratic behavior raises some serious questions, and Samantha can’t fight cravings for raw meat. Zach notices Samantha’s odd changes, random strangers watching the house, and Zach suspects something fishy in the old abandoned house down the street.

Samantha’s due date is weeks away, and Samantha secretly carves a large symbol into the floor of the nursery. Zach tries to solve the mystery of Samantha’s descent into madness, and his investigation leads him to one troubling question: Is Samantha carrying the spawn of Satan?

Allison Miller delivers the best performance, but it‘s a default choice. Miller deserves credit for some believable temper tantrums, and creepy stares. There’s a scene, where Zach is recording Samantha while she’s sleeping. Samantha suddenly wakes up out of nowhere, and she squeezes Zach’s arm with this emotionless look on her face, but I have to give an assist to the CGI for Samantha’s eyes. The rest of the cast ranges from tolerable to mediocre, and Gilford is annoying at times.

Remember the cab driver from the Dominican Republic? Well, he’s apart of a secret satanic cult. He lured Zach and Samantha to the club, and when they passed out from too much alcohol, more cult members prepared Samantha for a ritual in a secret chamber.

And the cult members are using the old abandoned house down the street as a hideout to monitor Samantha’s every move with hidden cameras. Zach uses a hidden camera and microphone to expose the cult, but he left Samantha alone with his sister during the mission.

A possessed Samantha murders Zach’s sister. Zach tries to save Samantha, but Samantha uses her powers to stop him. An incapacitated Zach is helpless to save Samantha. Samantha uses a magical tool to cut open her stomach. Samantha dies from the wound, but the doctor from the cult returns to retrieve the glowing baby with some help from the cab driver.

After the massacre, Zach is sitting in a police station, and he’s trying to point fingers at the cult, because he’s the prime suspect for Samantha’s murder and his sister’s murder. The police aren’t buying his story, because they can’t find any traces of the cult at the abandoned house. And Samantha‘s new doctor can‘t verify Zach‘s story, because he mysteriously disappeared. Long story short, Samantha’s original doctor vanished out of nowhere, and a new doctor took over. They don’t come out and say it, but you have to assume the new doctor is working for the cult.

To end the movie, the story shifts to another newlywed couple on their honeymoon. They’re in Paris, and they’re lost until the Dominican cab driver shows up. He talks with a French accent this time around, and the couple wants to go to their hotel room (any of this sound familiar?). But the cab driver promises a wild night of fun, so the couple agrees to a detour for another club.

A strong finale for Devil’s Due. You knew there was a good chance Samantha wouldn’t make it to the end, but the hellacious carnage during the finale is amazing. Splatters of blood throughout the nursery, the gruesome sight of Samantha cutting herself, and the death of Zach’s sister. To give you a visual for the death of Zach’s sister, she walks into the nursery, and she’s trying to stop Samantha. Samantha is putting the finishing touches on the carving for the satanic symbol, and Zach’s sister tries to snatch the carving tool out of her hand. Big mistake. Samantha uses her powers to push Zach’s sister through the door, and you can see the door crash into the wall from the POV of a hidden camera.

The stupidity in Devil’s Due? Oy vey. Why, WHY would you trust a random cab driver? On top of that, this guy takes you to an underground club in a bad neighborhood, and you STILL ignore the warning signs? Seriously? And speaking of warning sings, Zach ignores Samantha’s weird pupils, and her violent mood swings (i.e. the scene in the trailers, where Samantha smashes the car windows with her bare hands)?

On top of that, Zach waits until it’s too late to do something about Samantha. Yeah, you have a bunch of creepy strangers watching your house 24/7, and you wait until the end to call the police? To make matters worse, you leave your sister alone with a psychotic Samantha? Unbelievable.

Devil’s Due is loaded with problems, with stupidity from the main characters as the number one problem. Still, Devil’s Due is a passable found-footage horror film, if you’re trying to kill some time. The pulse-pounding finale is full of blood, carnage, and it’s fun to watch the chaos unfold step by step. You’ll see a few good jump scares here, and the nasty stuff never reaches the overkill point. The restrained approach works, because the cringeworthy stuff (the priest’s bloody nose, Samantha’s unnatural bulges from the baby’s kicks, etc.) is capable of pulling a reaction out of you every now and then, and that‘s enough.

Plus, there’s a freaky scene, where Samantha uses her demonic powers to eliminate a group of teens in the woods during a feeding (live animals) frenzy. The obligatory home movies phase is frustrating and boring, and Devil’s Due stumbles out of the gate, but the pace picks up, as Samantha succumbs to her newfound evil powers.

Oh, and it’s almost impossible to ignore the similarities to Rosemary’s Baby here. In fact, Devil’s Due feels like a quasi remake for Rosemary’s Baby with a found-footage POV. Avoiding a remake or a “loose remake” approach and tagline is a smart move, because Rosemary’s Baby is worshiped as a great horror classic, and hardcore horror fans would trash this film with venomous hatred. I know. Devil’s Due flopped, and the vast majority of critics slammed Devil’s Due with negative reviews. Still, you can say Devil’s Due had a chance to stand on its own. As a full-blown remake, Devil’s Due can’t escape the enormous shadow from Rosemary’s Baby. Not a chance.

Rating: 5/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

Remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1