User Reviews

The ending wasn't my favorite but I genuinely enjoyed Billie Lourd's portrayal of her character and the genuine gradual insanity felt very real... until the very end of the episode.

I'm NOT a fan of the "twist" endings that don't make sense with the plot created, especially the attempts at Black Mirror endings by using technology as a backbone for the twists (such as live-streaming of Scarlett's personal talk, the publishing of Rabbit Rabbit, the filming of Liv's insanity). Why does the end of every episode feel like it's trying to fit turn upon turn upon turn on us? It's genuinely annoying when in the final 5 minutes of the episode- the endgame changes multiple separate times.

...which isn't a high bar, sure, but this was actually a really enjoyable episode. The only issue I really had with it is the twist(s) feel very tagged on to the ending. The "but this happened, and this happened, plus this happened" which could have been made much better if they didn't feel attached on to satisfy people's expectation of a twist.

This episode was excellent, definitely enjoyed it better than the previous one so far.

The twist at the end was unexpected and neat.

I also was completely blown away at how well Billie Lourd carried this episode! Also stars Ronen Rubinstein (911 Lonestar), Virginia Gardner (Halloween) and Vanessa Williams (Candyman) Great writing, acting and directing too!

The plot of the episode has been done in a similar fashion before in movies, but Billie Lourd plays a young married and wealthy woman who turns to a fertility totem in order to get pregnant and shortly after the baby is born, she is haunted by a sinister presence in her home. She researches the totem that is suppose to represent the God of fertility and discovers this God is actually a demon.

This one does a good job at leading you to possibly believe that she is losing her mind after having the baby and developing postpartum depression.

The witchcraft and bloody deaths at the end were a nice touch too.

The haunting atmosphere of this episode made it absolutely perfect!!

This is the only episode so far I have watched due to it's better reviews compared to the other episodes, which to me looked pretty awful from the trailers and the acting. One thing I can say about this episode is that the acting help the review I will give. However the story, pacing and jump scares in this episode does not live up to any of standards from American horror story, which I really hoped for. I get it's only an 1 hour episode, but I really felt like the story was too fast forwarding and felt rushed in a way. Not only the story but also Liv's character development. She went insane way to fast, and took some bizarre choices way to quick (to me). The jump scares were too predictable and they were really unnecessary multiple times in the episode.

The first two episodes were total fan service, but I didn't mind because Murder House is my favorite season so I'm always happy to revisit. The next two episodes were very disappointing.

Ba'al is better than all the predecessors. It's an original idea, and while you may be able to call the twist before it happens, it's still a refreshing departure from what to expect with the show. Billie Lourd is going to become as essential to the AHS franchises as Sarah Paulson and Jessica Lange, she's always good in her roles.

...no wonder Billie Lourd chose this one to be a part of. (Do you really think it's an accident that "poor Carrie Fisher's daughter" got the best part?_ Come on, people...she's not responsible for the content. They let her have the part because of who her mother is.

That being said, I love Billie Lourd but I don't think she's the be all end all actress that "saved the series." The writing and content (and that opening title sequence ALONE was above and beyond) is what made the episode better.

Which leads me to the creep factor: This one was absolutely creepy, from opening to the statues to the items in that girl's apartment.

It was VERY obvious to me that the blond chick was going to be part of it. Once the creatures began to mutate...I got suspicious. However, giving the benefit of the doubt PLUS knowing how crazy things can get with AHS...I reserved my suspicions. (Then was validated. Yay Me, boo for the show...wouldn't it have been better if it wasn't a set up?) Yes I know it twists yet again, but at that point...? Predictable.

They needed to review legalities regarding inheritances a little better; no person with that kind of money would be allowed (yes, you read that correctly) to just hand it over to the husband in this case. If she kept the money in a separate account--which would have been an advisory long before she inherited it--he'd get nothing, it would skip to the child. I had an ex whose mother thought she (and her son) were going to live on easy street once we got married...and this VERY THING had come up, that I was unwell or unfit, etc., just to get my inheritance. Took them three attorneys (after I divorced him) telling them that they were not 'entitled' to anything that was left to me. I kept everything separate--ESPECIALLY the inheritance which happened during the marriage--and my Wills and Codicils were all in line during the marriage and after regarding our children. They literally hired three attorneys to try and get their hands on my money.

So AHStories needs better consultants IF they are going to run on a budget. This series has fallen short of that, but we'll forgive them, as AHS original will be here in less than 20d.

I hope all the other episodes are as good as this one, no matter what I did or did not like about this one.

Thank you for reading dear family of AHS, if you got this far.

Peace.

Can you imagine some husband doing what Matt Whitley (Ronen Rubinstein) did to his wife just because he didn't want to have kids? I'm not convinced anyone could pull something off like this in real life, but the idea did make for an effective horror story, one that turned the corner on the first four poor episodes that rebooted this series. The writing was pretty effective tying up loose ends near the finale, such as explaining the different appearance of the fertility totem each time Liv Whitley (Billie Lourd) handled it. The Ba'al demon was especially well crafted to evoke a satanic fallen angel, while references to past cultural phenomena like the infamous Beatles 'Paul's a dead man' were effectively placed to put Liv at ease in order to set her up for an ultimate shock. Why Matt thought he could persuade Liv to back him financially after the entire scam was revealed was the height of hubris, and I'd have to say he got what he deserved. Can't say much for the very ending because it defied common sense, but that's not what you come to these stories for.

Every single time, the story feels so rushed and the plot becomes so predictable because of this. There's no atmosphere and no suspense at all. Everything is thrown at you right from the beginning. Here's a cursed object, here's the demon that comes with it as well.

Not even the double twist could save this episode. Because it was all so predictable.

Recurring AHS star Billie Lourd (playing Liv Whitley) features prominently in "American Horror Stories: Ba'al" episode 5. The granddaughter of the late great Carrie Fisher, Billie brought some amazing energy to this episode. Her character's qualms and misgivings around childbirth were well-executed without also sacrificing her humanity. She owned every scene she was in.

Performances were on point all round. From Chad James Buchanan's Rory and Virginia Gardner's Bernadette to Ronen Rubinstein's Matt Webb and Vanessa Williams's (not the singer) Dr. Eleanor Berger.

Along with Ali Adler this time round, it looks like Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy have written another winner.

Sanaa Hamri's direction felt at once cinematic and palpable. Music, though subtle, kept tensions taut.

The storyline for this episode was dark and fraught with ancient paganism. It was fantastic and ushered in 'balance', given the themes of episodes past in the "American Horror Stories" lineup. Even the opening sequence in this episode contained an almost 'fetal fluid' look, with definitely paranormal overtones.

Finally an episode that felt 'fleshed out', with a beautiful 50-minute run that packed all the right pacing and potential leading up to that killer ending. This was, by far, the best decision where anything 'AHS franchise' is concerned. More scene-time!

The entire concept of Ba'al, though not entirely true to the original lore, still served to scare. It was well-crafted, in more ways than one. The incantation sequences were genuinely chilling.

I was sure I'd find more than a few 'convenient' plot-points, but am glad to report that there weren't any. All reasons led back to sources, circumstances, and motives that made valid sense, which further shored up the credibility of the script for episode 5 "American Horror Stories".

That twist near the end... Unforeseeable, though I should've caught on. Good misdirection there.

Ba'al's actual entry was a treat for this horror-fan. Great costume-makeup-prosthetics, good gore, and noteworthy VFX.

Despite the sheer simplicity and cliché of some of the scene-elements, they somehow pulled off an entertaining episode, keeping "American Horror Stories: Ba'al" true to the spirit of 'AHS-style' horror.