American Horror Stories S2 Ep 6: Facelift spoiler free review

It should come as no surprise that an industry as superficial as the beauty industry and plastic surgery have been featured on several occasions in the horror genre. Films like The Neon Demon and Crimes of the Future are great examples of it and some Tales from the Crypt episodes. And on episode 6 of the second season of American Horror Stories this subject has made an appearance. Facelift is a bizarre episode that starts as a normal and basic take of the subject but takes a different turn as it progresses.

American Horror Stories Season 2 Episode 6: Facelift is available to stream exclusively on Hulu.

A woman desperate to look her best does the unthinkable.

Official plot

The cast includes Judith Light (Tick Tick Boom) as Virginia Mellon, Rebecca Dayan (Halston) as Dr. Enid Perle, Britt Lower (Severance) as Fay, Todd Waring (American Crime Story: Impeachment) as Bernie, and Cornelia Guest (I Know Who Killed Me) as Cassie Brooks. This episode was directed by Marcus Stokes (Criminal Minds) and written by Manny Coto (American Horror Story).

My opinion

Virginia Mellow is a wealthy widow that has done everything on her power to prevent her physical appearance to look older without success. From face masks to detox juices Virginia is almost at the line of obsession with looking younger. Her stepdaughter Fay tries to talk her out of it several times but nothing can change Virginia’s point of view. She also tells her stepmom about the recent divorce of the front door neighbor Bernie and the exact moment that he goes to buy a bottle of wine for the weekend.

To Virginia’s surprise an old college friend, Cassie Brooks, is dating her romantic interest. She looks way younger and accepts to tell Virginia her secret if she stays away from Bernie. She accepts the conditions and meets Dr. Enid Perle, who promises her to make her look and feel good again. While the procedure is never discussed completely it’s assumed that she passed through a facelift and an experimental treatment on her hands. The result is not revealed until the last 10 minutes where the plot twist takes place.

The episode can become predictable but the small plot twist adds a supernatural touch to the episode. This is not the best episode of the season but it can be enjoyable for some of the viewers.