AMERICAN HORROR STORY (SEASON 12): DELICATE (2024) – A flawed season saved by a bewitching cast

While I have been a longtime fan of the AHS series, I have to admit that the more recent series have struggled to maintain the level of excellence and standard that the earlier seasons had. The latest season tried hard to evoke the AHS branding with its sinister theme involving Satanic rituals and cultists. This season is different from all the rest in that it is the first time the series chose to base the story on an external source material, in this case, the novel Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine. That gives this a more standalone feel without the burden of having any links to previous seasons. The season’s continuity however, suffered, thanks to last year’s extended writers’ strike! Episodes 1 to 5 were released in October last year, while the remaining 4 episodes were delayed and only made their appearance almost 6 months later in April this year.

My personal feeling for this new AHS is mixed. While I enjoyed the series’ usual “no holds bar” lunge to create the relentless and intense depiction of fear, shock or disgust, too much of it can also work against it. There are repeated images showing bloody and abnormal childbirth which are very difficult to watch and expecting mothers are warned to stay as far away as possible from this. Even the opening credits sequence is interspersed with blooded images of this!

The plot involves an ambitious movie star, Anna, who would do anything to get to the top of her game. She becomes pregnant after multiple attempts of IVF through the help of a dubious fertility doctor. Her best friend, Siobhan who happens also to be her publicist seems to have ulterior motives and links to the occult. Pretty soon, she is surrounded by people with hidden agendas, questionable pasts and links with some sort of witchery. The storyline isn’t exactly very original or strong but yet, season 12 is admittedly a very watchable guilty pleasure.

The best thing about this season is in its brilliant casting. While Emma Roberts does her usual look pretty while undergoing all sorts of upheavals, her supporting cast members are a delight to watch. Kim Kardashian was surprisingly very good as the publicist from hell. She has good screen presence and totally owns the bitchy character she is portraying. Cara Delevingne (who appeared in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and the TV series Carnival Row) and Annabelle Dexter-Jones (of TV’s Succession) were gorgeously wicked. These beautiful actresses made watching each episode a treat and kept the season interesting and bearable despite the shortcomings and its rather abrupt and rushed ending.