#American Horror Stories Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Feral

Who knew a camping trip would result in so much horror?

American Horror Stories Season 1 Episode 6 was a trip to the woods like no other, and it was another solid episode of this anthology series.

Aaron Tveit got a much bigger role to sink his teeth into this time, instead of the one-note builder from earlier on American Horror Stories Season 1.

Tveit turned in a convincing performance as Jay, a man who lost his son in the woods.

The concept of losing a kid in a place where many people have gone missing before might not be that cutting edge, but the emotional ramifications on the parents in the aftermath were worth watching.

As expected, Jay and Addy’s marriage imploded, and it seems they were subject to a trial by the media because their lives were changed forever.

How do you move on from your kid going missing with no conclusive answer about what happened?

People had their theories, and while Addy had slowly lost hope of getting an answer over the years, Jay still held out hope that there would be some resolution.

Birch’s arrival with all of the details seemed like the first solid insight into what really happened, and it’s hard to blame Jay for turning to Addy for assistance.

Despite them drifting apart, they had a vested interest in learning the truth. There was clearly still much love between them, but I was mildly surprised Jay called time on the marriage.

People would indeed point fingers at him, always questioning what truly happened that day due to him taking Jacob away from the campsite.

Birch being a conman did cross my mind, but he played the part very well. It was so freaking obvious the dead body next to him was going to munch on his throat the moment he cocked the gun, but still, it was a deserved death, nonetheless.

How did Birch expect to get away with allowing Jay and Addy to be killed? They were both probably well-known in the area, so going missing would probably get a lot of media attention.

Birch’s plan wasn’t very well-thought-out, but he urgently needed money and took hard and swift action to get it.

RIP, dude.

Cody Fern is probably one of the most charismatic actors out there, but the second half of the episode was too chatty for my liking. Instead of Stan recounting the events, he, Jay, and Addy should have been relentlessly pursued.

It was unfortunate that the writer of the episode opted to have one character telling the story. It was far too chatty and took away from the overall structure of the episode.

The turning point was Birch’s henchmen being, well, dead, and it should have given the story a jolt in the right direction.

The way Stan told the story was also very suspicious. Why would he want to tell the couple the truth, only to say he’d deny it if they ever went to the media with it?

As farfetched as the story was, it was the show’s way of taking a jab at capitalism, and it didn’t land very well.

The beast hiding in the ceiling was pretty scary, however. The moment it lunged at Stan, it was obvious we were going to be treated to some good old-fashioned horror.

The makeup on the creatures was decent, and while the end was intriguing, it ended at the wrong time.

Jay and Addy being reunited with their son, only to learn that he’s grown up feral and was the leader of these cannibalistic creatures, was decent, but there should have been more payoff than what we got.

The only chilling part of the conclusion is that Jay and Addy thought they were safe because their son wouldn’t hurt him, would he?

The final visual of them being eaten for “dinner” was something, but given the plot’s potential, it was a lackluster conclusion.

This is the first story that would have benefited from multiple episodes. Interesting concepts were brought up, but it was put together with a rushed second half that it deviated from the horror.

“Feral” was decent, but it felt like a 90-minute movie, with the first act and the final few minutes of the third for lack of better judgment.

Over to you, AHS fans.

What did you think of the execution? Do you think it would have benefited from some more time?

Hit the comments below.

American Horror Stories Season 1 concludes Wednesday, August 19.

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.