User Reviews

A spin on the modeling world. As an old woman who spent a fair amount of time in front of the camera I generally don't like the commentary on Models. I was naturally skinny. When I was little they made fun of me for being so very very skinny. I remember the worst, if you stand sideways and stick out your tongue you will look like a zipper. So when I grew into my body I was just skinny. So was my daughter. I hated people telling me AND her to eat a cheeseburger. Yet casting calls were a menace because for them I wasn't tall enough, or blonde enough or skinny enough or WHATEVER. I didn't desperately want to be a model in the 80's but I was in several magazines etc... I didn't fight too hard for it.

All that said YES this was great! Watch it!

It was refreshing to see American horror stories take on a social message that being the modelling industry and how toxic it is for women and whilst it is admittedly very surface level it was still really good to see. This episode has some stellar performances and cool visuals but I wouldn't be lying if I said the tape work "transformation" was a bit of a let down it only really picked up in the second half of the episode and didn't last long enough to leave a sufficient impact. The body horror elements here were really cool and knowing that it's some what drawn from real life made it even more horrifying. Overall tape worm had a really cool concept and a lot of cool moments but the episode itself doesn't fully work as well as it could.

The first 5 seconds of the episode, and I already knew that the main character was am actress going on go-sees. I am glad that this episode showed the absolutely toxic environment that is the modeling industry. With shows like the America's Next Top Model glamorizing and down playing said insidious industry, seeing this episode aligns more with what many models have said about their time in it. The episode also sheds light on how sad many known and unknown people's reality was and is. It also posses the question: how far will you go in order to reach your goals? How much will you sacrifice to get what you want?

I'm writing this review as a warning to viewers who might wanna watch but have struggled with eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and the mental health issues typically associated with these disorders. I think the episode should have had a trigger warning at the beginning. I fully understand that this is a horror show and the whole point is to be scary and disturbing and make the viewer uncomfortable (that's why I like the horror genre!) but when the beginning of an episode depicts accurately a very serious mental health condition (anorexia has the highest mortality rate in the DSM V, and eating disorders of all types have the lowest recovery rates), I think there should be a warning at the beginning of the episode. ED can be triggered very easily, just like PTSD and suicidal ideation. They put warnings before shows that depict extreme violence, themes of sexual assault, and SI. I just think there should be a warning before this episode - if you struggle with an ED and could be triggered easily please don't watch.

Otherwise - great episode, I understand the message, definitely super horrifying ! Reminiscent of the OG AHS seasons. I'm sickened, I'm terrified, I'm shook, and I'm entertained. Just don't watch if it will negatively affect your mental health <3.