6 Reasons This Could Be the Best American Horror Story Season Yet

It's true, adding Lady Gaga to the ever-growing cast of Hotel seemed like a ploy to pull in more viewers. But the pop star completely holds her own. This is not the stiff performance of a musician who suddenly wants to act. The Countess is nuanced, powerful, intense, and utterly chilling, and we can't wait for more.

At the show's premiere, cocreator Brad Falchuk admitted to drawing from old horror tropes that are present in classic horror films. And with Hotel, it's hard not to think of The Shining. But in the case of American Horror Story, the tricks are a welcome return. Recent seasons, like Coven and Freak Show, seemed sparse in these elements, but the genre is part of why we watch in the first place. The tense opening sequence — where one of the Scandinavian girls goes to get ice — has you on the edge of your seat. The slashed throats, the horrifying creature that lurks the halls — it's all working. And it's terrifying.

There's an eerie air around Hotel Cortez, and we love it. The little boys running around the halls, the electric characters like Liz Taylor (Denis O'Hare) and Hypodermic Sally (Sarah Paulson), the creatures in mattresses, and the mysterious owner . . . It makes you want to check in and fly 1,000 miles away, all at the same time.

Horror fans can all agree that the gorier a TV show or movie is, the better. The blood orgy with the Countess (Gaga) and Donovan (Matt Bomer) is sickening in all the right ways. When the escaped torture victim makes a run for it and The Countess slashes her throat, it's chilling to watch the blood spread on that insane patterned carpet. And the crime scenes from the 10 Commandments Killer are some of the most gruesome set-ups we've seen on TV in quite a while.

The first few episodes of the season seem to be a veritable roll call of new, exciting, and intriguing characters. Hypodermic Sally is enigmatic, and somehow completely unaffected by the hotel's horrifying monster. The Countess and Donovan make an unsettling yet sensational power couple. Liz Taylor is fierce as f*ck, but somehow more complicated than just the caricature you might peg her to be. Even Iris (Kathy Bates) makes the front desk an entertaining experience. As long as things don't get too crazy, it's going to be a fun ride.

It's not just the substance of the characters and the setting that has us excited, either. Every prop, costume, set piece . . . everything — down to the neon signs that seem to pop up everywhere — is oozing with glamour. It's giving the season its own kind of heft and vitality. You can really feel its fantastic pulse.