‘American Horror Story’ season 6, episode 1 review: The Roanoke resurrection

We are only one episode into “American Horror Story” and its super-mysterious sixth season, and after what we saw in this first episode, we still are not entirely sure what it is that we saw.

In the end, the best way to describe it was a monster story — even if the humans were the monsters. Sarah Paulson and Cuba Gooding Jr. starred as a couple in Shelby and Matt who moved to a new home, and almost immediately started to feel attacked by a mysterious force. She in particular was terrorized, and the prevailing theory was that some nearby rednecks were out to get them, trying to scare them into leaving their home.

Meanwhile, Angela Bassett turned up about halfway through as Matt’s sister, a cop who had some sort of strained relationship with Shelby and also someone with a history of drug use.

We’re not going to proclaim that season 6 was brilliant in its execution of the first hour, or that this was worth all of the hype and the relentless promotional campaign. Yet, at the same exact time it was a thousand times better than “Hotel.” There was a focus, clear drama, and a real build towards something in a mysterious compound in the woods. Maybe this is a ghost story, or maybe it is something far more sinister.

What also made this premiere interesting was the presence of these documentary-style interviews, with the twist being that Lily Rabe was playing Paulson in hers — which certainly does not bode altogether well for the future of her character. This was an interesting idea since it at least gave us context.

For now, color us intrigued. The premiere did enough, mysteries and all, to make us want to watch again. It also feels like co-creator Ryan Murphy at least listened to many criticisms that were out there for “Hotel.”

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