‘American Horror Story: 1984’ Teaser: Another Terrifying Slasher Camp

It’s a horrific blast from the past in the latest teaser trailer for American Horror Story: 1984. It’s no Camp Crystal Lake, but it sure does ooze with the voyeuristic and sinister workings of a summer camp murder waiting to happen.

FX’s flagship horror anthology show is taking us back to the ’80s and making us witness a supposedly happy experience at Camp Redwood. Based on what the trailer shows, it’s the perfect backdrop to a bloody summer. The minute-long clip doesn’t show the main cast yet, instead a group of teenagers seemingly at the height of their summer vacation. But things slowly take a dark turn as they detour to Camp Redwood, ignoring the BEWARE sign on purpose.

Of course, as with all the other entries in the nine-season anthology, details for American Horror Story: 1984 are as blurry and dark as the camp’s bloody waters. As the teaser suggests, AHS: 1984 will follow the likes of Friday the 13th and Halloween and rely heavily on the slasher genre. Emma Roberts, Gus Kenworthy, Cody Fern, Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman, John Carroll Lynch, Zach Villa, DeRon Horton Matthew, and Angelica Ross are starring. However, this will be the first time that we won’t see American Horror Story mainstays Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson.

Paulson’s break from the American Horror Story universe doesn’t completely erase her from the show’s world. Given her tedious schedule, it’s still possible for Paulson to appear in a cameo, much like how she did in the first season of AHS (Murder House). Peters, on the other hand, cites taking a mental break from the show to get his bearings back. “It’s just exhausting. It’s really mentally draining, and you don’t want to go to those places ever in your life,” Peters said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “And so you have to go there for the scenes, and it ends up integrating it somehow into your life. You’re in traffic and you find yourself screaming and you’re like, What the hell? This isn’t who I am.”

Despite the absence of two of its biggest stars, American Horror Story: 1984 will hold nothing back in terms of gore and shock. In a May interview with TheWrap, producer Tim Minear dropped a subtle hint at what fans could expect from the new season. “I will tell you nothing, except that I think it’s awesome,” Minear said. “I think it’s gonna be really scary but a lot of fun, like it always is. And that if you have a taste for ’80s horror, you’re in for a treat.”

American Horror Story: 1984 premieres Wednesday, September 18th, at 10/9c on FX.