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Warning: The following contains major spoilers for American Horror Stories Season 1, Episode 3, “Drive In,” now streaming on Hulu.
Following its two-part premiere, American Horror Stories is back with its third entry in Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s spin-off anthology stories. While last week’s episode brought audiences back to American Horror Story‘s infamous Murder House, “Drive In” spotlights the Starlite Drive In, which plans to screen a cursed film that hasn’t aired since 1986 in an attempt to bring drive-ins back into the mainstream. High schooler Chad (Rhenzy Feliz) sees the Rabbit Rabbit premiere as the perfect opportunity to get a little action from his hesitant girlfriend, Kelley (Madison Bailey).
After trying to seduce her with Bob Ross’ The Joy of Painting, Kelley shuts down Chad’s advances once again. The next day, his friends suggest taking her to the drive-in to watch Rabbit Rabbit, a horror film with quite the history. The fictional film, directed by Larry Bitterman (John Carroll Lynch), only aired once in 1986. The movie started a massacre that ended with six people dead. While some people searched for logical conclusions to the phenomenon, others believed the film’s pictures and sound sparked a violent reaction in the brain. The idea was enough to bring Bitterman in front of Congress, who made him serve jail time and destroy all copies of the tape.
Despite the film’s infamous history, the Starlite Drive In sees the Rabbit Rabbit lore as the ultimate publicity. However, when Chad, Kelley and a few of their friends arrive for the screening, they are greeted by an upset protestor and survivor of the 1986 massacre (Naomi Grossman). She cautions Chad — and his girlfriend — not to watch the film. She also asks him to pull the plug on the projector. While she clearly gets under Chad’s skin, he ultimately brushes it off at the prospect of hooking up with Kelley. After they grab snacks, the friends divide into separate cars. Chad and Kelley go in one, and their friends, Dee (Ben J. Pierce) and Milo (Leonardo Cecchi), go in another while Quinn (Kyle Red Silverstein) watches solo.
Before the movie even starts, Chad and Kelley start making out, although they sneak a few glances at Rabbit Rabbit‘s opening sequence. In contrast, Dee and Milo do a lot more movie-watching during their hookup. As the film continues, the scene jumps around to fellow moviegoers as red and black veins consume their eyes. A few moments later, Chad and Kelley are interrupted by the outside commotion.
Meanwhile, the protester sneaks into the projector room. Just as she’s about to pull the plug, she’s attacked by one of the “possessed” Starlite Drive In workers and killed. Back in the car, Chad and Kelley contend with a crazed moviegoer that smashed through the window. Kelley drives away, but she’s distracted by a possessed Dee who launches onto the car’s hood, causing them to crash. Chad and Kelley are forced to flee and find their way to the projector room with the car destroyed as a ravenous horde of possessed patrons chase after them.
They lock themselves in the projector room only to come face to face with the other Starlite worker. In a tense scuffle, Chad manages to kill the being by smashing its head in with a film reel. Exhausted from the encounter, he falls asleep for a few hours. When he awakens, Kelley informs him most that ” a lot of them ran off.” She also discovered a shotgun behind the desk. Earlier in the episode, Milo had told Chad that Rabbit Rabbit had an encore screening the next night, but he wasn’t sure where. Thinking of this now, Chad and Kelley conclude that the film cannot be shown, or more people will die.
Knowing that Larry Bitterman supplied a copy of the film himself, they decide they need to find him and put a stop to “night two.” While Chad wants to get the police involved, Kelley remains adamant that they can handle the situation themselves. Chad reluctantly agrees, and they use the mailing address on Rabbit Rabbit‘s film reel to track down Bitterman. However, before they can even leave the drive-in parking lot, they cross paths with Quinn. Soaked in blood and consumed by dark, black veins, it’s clear Quinn’s been affected by the movie. While Chad tries to snap him out of it by recalling memories from their past, he fails. When Quinn rushes him, Chad pushes a pair of scissors into his chest, killing him.
Chad and Kelley arrive at Bitterman’s trailer, where they are surprised to find a Rolls-Royce parked out front. They discover Bitterman inside, watching news coverage of the drive-in massacre, proud of his work. Chad and Kelley confront him, but Bitterman refuses to apologize, boasting that Rabbit Rabbit is a film experience where “the horror isn’t on-screen; it’s in the audience.”
Bitterman goes on to attribute his “success” to The Exorcist. He explains how director William Friedkin used a subliminal image of a demon to create a fear response in viewers. Bitterman says the subliminals were his idea as a second assistance cutter. After realizing they changed film forever — and feeling slighted The Exorcist didn’t win Best Picture — he became obsessed with creating a movie that brought the horror experience to the next level.
Bitterman explains he studied and ran trial and error until he found the perfect combination of picture and sound to create a fear response in the brain — one that even possessed his own film editor. As such, Bitterman saw the 1986 massacre as a success and resented Congress for stopping him. While in prison, he says he “refined his recipe,” which is what the Starlite driver played.
While he encourages the young couple to be happy for him, Kelley takes no mercy and shoots him in the knees. At gunpoint, Bitterman reveals where he’s storing the last copy of Rabbit Rabbit in his trailer. After, Chad proceeds to ignite the film reel on the stove and let the fire burn down Bitterman’s trailer, presumably killing the director along with it. With their mission complete, Chad and Kelley return to Chad’s room and finally have sex. However, as the couple hooks up, Netflix adds Rabbit Rabbit to its film selection, and an explosion sounds in the distance, indicating the cursed film’s reign of terror is far from over.
For those intrigued by American Horror Stories’ forbidden film story, make sure to check out what new horrors await when new episodes drop each Thursday on Hulu.
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