The Scene In AHS: Murder House That Went Too Far
Many horror movies have gone a bit too far trying to scare their audience and left a bad taste in their mouths afterward. Whether it was the baby-mashing scene in "The Witch" or pretty much the entire second half of "The Exorcist," there are moments in the horror genre where the writers seem to lose their grip on what's scary and what's just plain gross. This trope spreads across the entire horror genre, not just in film, and there have been several times in FX's "American Horror Story" where audiences might have been put off by what they saw on screen.
Over the years, the series has had its fair share of disturbing moments. The anthology series has given audiences plenty of gross-out moments, whether it be body horror sequences, violent torture scenes, or good old-fashioned gore. In fact, one of the most disturbing scenes of all came in the series' first season, which set the tone for what was to come down the line.
The Infantata took things too far on Murder House
In "American Horror Story's" first season, "Murder House," follows the Harmon family as they move into a new home that (surprise, surprise) is haunted by some pretty angry spirits. The idea of vengeful spirits haunting a home isn't exactly a new idea for the genre, but the first season laid the foundation for the twists and turns that would eventually become a staple of each season of the horror anthology. One such twist is the reveal that living beneath the murder house itself is a creature known as the Infantata — a character that many would agree took the show's horror just a bit too far.
The Infantata was originally a child named Thaddeus, whose father (Charles) was a surgeon who spent his spare time sewing together animal corpses for fun (you know, like all surgeons do). Charles made some extra money on the side performing illegal abortions on young women until one fateful day when one of his patients told her boyfriend about Charles' operation.
The boyfriend went mad and abducted Thaddeus to get revenge on Charles, dismembering the child and sending him back to his father in pieces. Charles, driven insane by the butchery of his son, sewed the boy back together and reanimated him with a heart from a fetus he removed during another abortion. When Thaddeus' mother realized what he had done, she killed Charles and committed suicide, and the Infantata lived on in the basement for decades before we finally met him.
The reveal of the Infantata and his backstory is as disgusting as it is heartbreaking, and it's safe to say it was probably the first scene in "AHS" to make some viewers turn off their TV.