American Horror Story

I so want to be Jessica Lange when I grow up.

She single-handedly steals the entire season of "American Horror Story: Asylum" away from her cast members and fellow guest stars. Not an easy feat, considering that her co-stars in season two of the FX horror series are Zachary Quinto, James Cromwell, and the luscious and ever-ubiquitous Adam Levine.

Lange heads the sophomore season of the anthology series and plays Sister Jude, ruler of the Massachusetts asylum Briarcliff in 1964. She barks out commands at the insane inmates and whips the bare buttocks of those who have defied her. The Emmy and Oscar award winner makes Nurse Ratched from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" look like a wuss.

A killer named Bloody Face is on the loose in the asylum, and much like the first season, "American Horror Story" flashes back to the past (Sister Jude is shown accidentally killing a young girl) and back to the present (Adam Levine and his girlfriend get naked together in the abandoned asylum). It works well for the show.

Gone is the fun feeling that "American Horror Story" had in season one. This time around, the series is gritty, dark, and horrific... I was literally out of breath at the end of many episodes. These 13 episodes also pay homage to many classic horror films, including "The Exorcist." Episode 2 features a young boy possessed by the devil, and an exorcism is performed.

It wouldn't be "American Horror Story" without some saucy dialogue and the second season has some zingers. (I thought I'd heard every slang imaginable regarding female anatomy.) The gay theme running through season one stays intact also; this time a lesbian subplot is featured nicely.

Over an hour of special features are on disc 3. It's recommended not to watch "The Orderly" feature unless you've watched the entire season. This takes the viewer through the Briarcliff asylum and introduces us to all of the inmates; it features several spoilers. "What Is American Horror Story Asylum?" speaks for itself: Interviews with cast members are here and the reasoning is discussed as to why psychiatry was used as a major theme this season.

Deleted scenes for most of the episodes are included, as well as a tour of how the set of the asylum was built in "Welcome to Briarcliff." But the best feature is "The Creatures," a look at how the makeup effects on the show were done.

"American Horror Story: Asylum"
Blu-ray
www.foxconnect.com