Grotesquerie

I decided to watch this through to the end of the 10 episodes before leaving my thoughts here. I'm glad I did because some of the assumptions I made about it thinking they were errors/bad writing/bad acting etc are actually done on purpose.

The start of the show is typical Murphy intended to shock and indeed it does. A slight criticism is that they clearly put a lot of effort into the crime scene and I would have liked to have seen it in more detail.

After that and a couple more gruesome murder scenes, the storyline peters out. The crime is solved at the end of episode 6 and the other four episodes are people talking. To this end, the genre changes from thriller to mystery as scenarios and plots are constantly questioned and the viewer is kept in a constant state of perplexity; which isn't a bad thing in itself, it would have just been better to start out that way so we at least know where we are.

Once you get to the end and reflect on the characters' reactions to scenarios, the unusual events that take place, the ignoring of well known protocols, the actions of people and their motivations it all makes much more sense, so it's worth getting through to the end of nothing else but some closure.

However this isn't American Horror Story so don't feel guilty if you turn it off and never return. It has no grandiose climax that allows you to leave with a feeling of fulfilment. Once it ends, it feels like how it originally changed from a gritty thriller to a trudging mystery: Just sort of fizzling out.

Ryan Murphy once was good at providing variety tales,but now feel pieces he thinks need telling his way is art versus fetish.

The lead was an unstable detective unsure how she kept her job,seemed she couldn't find her way out of a paper bag.

Who honestly would discuss a new case with a stranger claiming to be a nun,without actual credentials.. I get some nuns are less conservative,but how she acted was insane.

The priest just didn't fit his part seems Murphy was trying,to get a look-alike of Evan Peters & it failed.

Redd was an odd character that seemed too personal with the husband under her care,feel there is more to the story only time will tell.

The only thing that was grotesque was the daughter in the first episode dressed in something purposely tight & eating food enough for two people.. Who cares that she is pretty or anything,let's make weight her character focus because apparently that's how large people are perceived.

I know this is a two episode review but,feels like another season of AHS titled something else.

The series is full of clichés & plotholes,maybe stereotypes but nothing really original.

Cinematography was ok,but nothing stellar either.

Check this out & decide yourself,review edits might come as the series concludes.

Edited update- Just like in AHS: NYC all of a sudden in the last few episodes Ryan Murphy flips a switch on the storyline cohesiveness,he probably calls it artistic or twist but it shouldn't leave the viewer feeling a variety of emotions to the series from disconnected/confused & so forth.

This series was torture and I finally gave up watching it at the end. By the episode 10, I really just had enough of the steam of conscious , dark, depressing mess. I do like Neisy and Courtney as actors even if their performances were fairly one dimensional "Felliniesque" portrayals.

It just did not offer me enough to make me care about any of these characters, so much so that I had to bail because I could tell that Ryan Murphey probably would not resolve it and I would leave angry and unsatisfied . And the cinematography was so dark, much of the time I felt I was watching a black screen. Don't bother!

Grotesquerie: A Symbolic Nightmare

I'm not entirely sure how to categorize "Grotesquerie." It isn't strictly a horror series; rather, it feels very symbolic. It reflects the continuous nightmare the world, especially the United States, is living in. The acting is brilliant from all the actors, with each performance adding depth to the story. The idea itself is good, but the execution wasn't as strong. I blame the script and the director for this. Additionally, there is too much violence, which can be overwhelming. Overall, I did like the series and I'm waiting for another season if there will be one. I give it a 7 out of 10.

This psychological thriller assembles a stellar cast to tell a story that sometimes feels uncertain about its direction. At times, the show evokes Silence of the Lambs, with Niecy Nash delivering an impressive performance as a flawed investigator who excels at her job yet is haunted by her own demons. The show's artistic scenes, the hyper-sexualized Catholic priest, and the surreal, exaggerated events create the sense of watching a fever dream.

As the episodes progress, the main protagonist often appears to drift through life in ways that feel unexplained. In the last quarter of the season, this approach finally begins to make sense-but then the plot takes yet another convoluted turn that may leave the audience perplexed. Despite the stellar cast, top-notch acting, and several iconic scenes, it often feels like the story itself was secondary to these other elements.