Tag: review

American Crime Story: The Assassination of Versace recap: “House by the Lake”

Continuing with moving backwards through the timeline of Versace’s death, we meet Andrew’s first and second victims of his killing spree, one week before the murder of Lee Miglin. Jeff Trail and David Madson both have supposedly been in romantic relationships with Andrew, now having a secret love for one another. Episode 4 takes us on a rollercoaster of the death of Jeff, Stockholm syndrome, the acceptance or lack of gay relationship’s in the 90’s and the death of Andrew’s first victim, David Madson.

Being a fan of American Horror Story, another one of Ryan Murphy’s wonderful creations, I was ecstatic to see Finn Wittrock (Dandy – whom made an appearance in Freak Show) join the season 2 cast as Jeff Trail. He portrayed the character as best as he could for the 5 seconds he was given before he died and fingers crossed, we get more of Jeff in the upcoming episodes. We was also introduced to upcoming actor of 2018, Cody Fern, who portrayed David Madson outstandingly and already has the public swooning over him. We must see him nominated for breakthrough actor of 2018 for this role or the world is doing something extremely wrong!

Whilst the Versace family have taken a step back in the latest two episodes and people not having the greatest reaction to this – I think it is incredibly important to also see Andrew’s back story and all the events that lead up to Versace’s death. This show is about remembering the loss of Versace and all of the fashion and glam he and his family provided, but we also need to sit down and remember the loss of Andrew’s other victims as well. If you do your research, all of these men gave so much to the world and need the recognition they was never given over two decades ago.

The Versace family will be making a return in episode 5, but for now though, I would like to share with you four of the best moments from American Crime Story: The Assassination of Versace, season 2, episode 4:

Jeff’s Death

So, here we meet victim number two. Jeff (Finn Wittrock) is a former lover of David’s (Cody Fern), leaving Andrew incredibly jealous. When Jeff appears at David’s apartment one night, this gives Andrew the perfect opportunity to take action and get rid of Jeff once and for all. As David is meeting Jeff at the building’s entrance to take him up to the apartment, David reveals to Jeff that Andrew proposed to him, however, he refused, due to gay marriage being illegal. This could easily have been way Andrew was triggered to murder Jeff, as he may have assumed the reason David refused his proposal was because he was still in love with Jeff.

When Jeff enters David’s apartment, Andrew charges and kills him by beating him in the head with a hammer. Andrew doesn’t really seem to realise what he has done and how much it had affected David, as he is so focused on making a life with David and continues to uncomfortably care for him by washing away Jeff’s blood off of their bodies in the shower.

There’s even a moment where you feel incredibly uncomfortable, but at the same time, it’s hard to not find Andrew’s actions when hiding Jeff’s body, dare I say, a little sweet. Realising David is still incredibly shook up by Jeff’s dead body being sprawled across his apartment floor, Andrew quietly wraps the body in a rug and ‘respectfully’ moves Jeff’s body himself, only requesting help from David when he really needs it. As scary as Andrew is and as sickening as that whole scene was, it’s so heart-breaking to see Andrew still taking David’s feelings in to consideration, even if he doesn’t know what a horrific thing he has truly done. You can see clearly that David has a special place in Andrew’s heart and he will do anything to make sure they stay together.

David, completely devastated, demands that Andrew and him need to call the police and confess. However, Andrew knows exactly how police investigations work and how they fail to understand gay people. Like Lee’s murder, Andrew leaves pornography and sex toys on David’s bed before the pair flee. He explains to David that as soon as the police realise this is a gay case, they will jump to all sorts of conclusions.

“They won’t see two victims, they’ll see two suspects.”

David and his father

David’s coming-out scene really had me feeling a lot of mixed emotions. After giving his father some good news regarding his archeology career, he also shares what he calls ‘bad news’ of him being gay. His dad’s response went like this:

“I won’t lie and say that it doesn’t make a difference. You know what I believe. Maybe you wanted to be told I don’t have a problem with it. But what I can say is, I love you more than I love my own life.”

So, David’s father is basically saying he doesn’t like gay people, but will always love his son. I mean, I appreciate his honesty of not being able to give his son what he wants to hear, however, saying how much he loves him anyway doesn’t completely make up for the way he worded things. It must have been incredibly hard for David to even reveal this secret, which is obviously shown when he becomes tearful and I can see him and his father have quite a close bond, which does make this scene a little heart-breaking to watch. The fact that his dad was unable to progress on accepting his son’s sexuality in the years to come, because Andrew had taken David away from him is also devastating and I can’t imagine the guilt his father may have felt for not being able to tell his son how proud he is and how much he accepts him for him. (If that would’ve been the case.)

Lies, Lies, Lies

We know Andrew is an absolute pro at lying and creating false stories up to lure in his next victims; for once, David confronts him about his manipulation and catches Andrew off guard. He recalls how Andrew fascinated him when they met in a bar one night in San Fransisco, a year and a half ago. Andrew had ordered David a drink, as he was sat alone and David admired how much people loved Andrew and his charm – once upon a time.

“I remember thinking; how hard do I have to work to live like him, like Andrew? ‘Cause I’ll do it. Except it was all a lie. You’ve never worked for anything. It was an act. Is that why you killed Jeff? You loved him. It was so obvious. But he figured you out in the end, didn’t he? It took him a few years but he finally saw the real you, and you killed him for it.”

Andrew attempts to change the subject by describing the life he promises to give David in Mexico, spurring out all these false possibilities and dreams that he believes could truly happen.

“You can’t do it, can you?” “I can’t what?” “Stop.”

David’s Death

As obvious as David’s future was, I still sat there for a whole 50 minutes praying and praying that Andrew would allow David to run free and live his life in peace. This wasn’t the case and my heart was shattered in to a million little pieces. In the restaurant, I wanted David to escape through the bathroom window without pondering or hesitating, but I believe that David only stayed because Andrew’s words remained with him and he was too terrified to confront the police because of the assumptions they were most likely to make. For his own safety, David stays with Andrew, making us wonder whether the connection between the two is mutual or if David is only staying because he doesn’t know what else to do.

Continuing on with their journey, David confronts Andrew over and over as to why he killed Jeff and whether or not it was planned all along to kill him in David’s presence. An enraged Andrew says multiple times that he does not want to talk about the past, however, David continuously riles him up until he is eventually held at gunpoint, no longer having convinced Andrew that they would start a fresh life together in Mexico. David’s fate is sealed when he is shot once in the back and again in the face. Andrew lays by David’s body, arms wrapped around him, for a while until he decides to get back in to the truck and escape alone.

Now all four deaths have been revealed, I have to say David’s death has been the most heart-breaking and devastating to watch. He met a man who he thought was the greatest man to walk in to his life, only to have been confronted by a monster later on. He was such an innocent man with so much potential in life, he never deserved what he had to go through and it angers me how Andrew Cunanan could be so selfish as to drag someone with so much potential as David, in to his twisted and sickening shenanigans.

It’s that time in my article where I once again have to describe Darren Criss’ portrayal of Andrew and once again, I can’t find a way to really sum up his talents. Darren is becoming more and more terrifying as the series goes on and you can’t help but be so mesmerised by his performances and how convincing he is as Andrew. All I’m going to say about Darren to finalise this week’s recap is, if I don’t see a photo of Darren struggling to carry all of the well-deserved awards that he wins in the coming months, did we ever really have a 2018?

American Crime Story: The Assassination of Versace recap: “House by the Lake”

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: Darren gives a ‘killer’ performance as Cunanan

American Crime Story’s enthralling first season which followed the 1995 trial of O.J. Simpson went on to win 9 Emmy Awards including Best Limited Series. What was truly fascinating about ‘The People VS. O.J. Simpson’ was the storytelling which not only focused on key players like O.J., the defence and the prosecutors, but also the jurors and the community.

And taking the very same story-telling method a notch higher, Ryan Murphy in the later episode of ‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace’ shows the narrative of the first three victims of Andrew Cunanan played by Darren Criss. The show’s ability to have the audience hooked and still interested in the series without its title character, who is largely absent from the action, is commendable.

As Episode 3: A Random Killing focuses on the murder of second most high profile murder of a Chicago real estate developer, Lee Miglin’s family denied rumours of him and Cunanan knowing each other before the murder. However, as per the show, Miglin played by Mike Farrell invites Cunanan over to his house while his wife, Marilyn Miglin is away on a business trip. Investigators of the homicide too believed there to be a connection between Miglin and Cunanan. “Why would Cunanan go to Chicago, find Miglin, and torture him without some motive?” investigator Todd Rivard of the Chicago County Sheriff’s Department said. This explains why there were no signs of forced entry and no defensive wounds found in Miglin’s autopsy report.

Later in the episode, Cunanan drives to New York in the Lexus and then almost immediately heads south. On the road, he hears over the car radio that the police are able to track his movements through the car’s phone. Cunanan, realizing he has to ditch the Lexus, spots a red pickup truck and trails the driver, William Reese, to the Finn’s Point National Cemetery, a Civil War memorial where he is the caretaker. There Cunanan shoots Reese point blank and steals the truck.

The fourth episode: House by the Lake, backtracks the killings of Cunanan’s to his first victim Jeff Trail and Cunanan’s then-boyfriend, David Madson. American Crime Story executive producer Brad Simpson in a recent interview said, “Tom Rob Smith, the writer, had to invent a lot of what had happened based on what we knew from the crime scene and we knew about Andrew and David. We know there was this murder, and then we know they were in a car together, and we know that David begged for his life at the end. But we had to fill in what might have happened during that time.”

And while in reality, many neighbours reported the two taking their dog out for a walk, the narrative almost seemed like Stockholm Syndrome which would explain why David did not escape.

However, there’s no record of the two ever being seen together at a bar, diner or even in Madson’s jeep after leaving Minneapolis. It’s unknown why Cunanan took his time before killing Madson. It was up to Tom Rob Smith’s script and some impressive acting from both Criss and relative newcomer Cody Fern to fill in all the blanks there.

If any viewer had any sympathy or affection for Cunanan up until this point, these episodes strip that away entirely. He is terrifying and merciless, and downright cruel.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: Darren gives a ‘killer’ performance as Cunanan

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T Lo Gay It Up

T & Lo tackle a bunch of gay topics this week, from the tone-deaf article in Attitude magazine that launched a gay generational war across social media, to the ways in which “The Assassination of Gianni Versace” deals with late 20th Century homophobia, to a rousing review of the fantastic “Bitchelor” episode of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars!” | 11 February 2018

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Cody Fern is ‘American Crime Story: Versace’s Major Discovery

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Don’t be diverted by the sleek clothes, vibrant colors or transformative work of its lead actors — the crown jewel in the medusa head of “American Crime Story: Versace” is necomer Cody Fern.

From a small mining town in Australia, with only one prior credit to his name, Fern plays the little-known David Madson — a pawn in the game of serial killer Andrew Cunanan, who famously gunned down designer Gianni Versace in Miami in 1997.

That Fern would stand out with his famous costars Penelope Cruz, Edgar Ramirez and Darren Criss is as unlikely as it is exhilarating. His performance as Madson is the show’s true revelation, despite the halo Ramirez brings Gianni, the quiet dignity Cruz affords Donatella and the textured madness Criss gives us as Cunanan.

Let us explain. (Warning: Do not read ahead if you aren’t caught up on the show.)

“Versace,” produced by Ryan Murphy and his “People v. O.J.” team of Brad Simpson and Nina Jacobson, shows Cunanan’s five-person murder spree in reverse. It hooks you with the spectacle and tragedy of Versace being gunned down on the marble steps of his palazzo and walks you back through Cunanan’s horrible journey to that moment.

On this timeline, we meet his victims and friends Madson and Jeff Trail (Finn Wittrock). At the top of the fourth episode, we witness Fern’s big moment: Cunanan violently bashes Trail in the skull and face 28 times with a hammer.

The violence is implicit and the camera doesn’t show the murder, just a slow push on Fern. He conveys abject horror and shock at the act unfolding in front of him. Only after the screams and grunts are through do we see a blood-soaked Cunanan, who immediately retreats into the arms of the terrified Fern, looking for approval.

Madson had a dog, and the animal used in the scene had such a strong reaction that the actors had to do a second take, Jacobson told TheWrap.

“The intensity of that murder was present there at the shoot,” she said. “What’s so great about Cody’s performance is that the horror of the murder is playing out across him.”

After the murder, Cunanan seizes on the violence and confusion to make Madson feel complicit. He pulls him into the shower and washes the blood from them both. He watches as Madson dresses and struggles to find an appropriate response to the crime he’s just witnessed.

Cunanan promises no one else will get hurt if Madson flees the scene with him, so the men set off together on a morbid little road trip. Here they both begin to weigh the consequences of their choices.

“We watched a lot of road movies from the 1990s, there was this trend of road movies. ‘Natural Born Kilers,’ ‘Wild at Heart,’ ‘Thelma and Louise.’ [Episode writer] Tom Rob Smith watched those, and we talked about this being a twisted version of that,” Simpson told TheWrap.

Indeed, Cunanan joyously belts out Technotronic’s “Pump Up The Jam” while Madson stares off into the distance, drudging up his internalized shame over being gay, and wondering how news of the crime will hurt his family, which struggled with his coming out, years before.

“The question becomes, ‘How redeemable is Andrew and how redeemable am I?” Fern said of the episode, speaking from the set of his new gig on “House of Cards.” “How complicit am I in the death of this other person, my best friend? Could I run now if I wanted to?”

To prepare for the episode, Fern said he read the famous testimony of Manson Family member Linda Kasabian, a key witness in the defense of the Tate-LaBianca murders.

“You got the sense that the light went out behind her eyes, ” Fern said.

The episode reaches a second crescendo when the fugitives stop at a roadside bar. Fern’s Madson keeps reaching the end of his emotional rope, only to find more rope. A lounge lizard (played by indie goddess Amie Mann in a stealth cameo) sings an impossibly sad cover of The Cars song’ “Drive.”

Madson escapes to the bathroom, where he breaks the glass of a small rectangular window above the toilet — “Maybe he fits through it, maybe he doesn’t,” Jacobson said.

Back in the bar, reality rushes to Cunanan and tears stream down his face.

When he looks up, Madson has returned to the table. The sweater he wrapped around his fist to punch the window is now tied on his waist.

“The shame, it’s something we wanted to explore in this entire season. Think about Versace. He came out before Ellen, and there were so few role models and people you could look up to. There was so much internalized homophobia, it’s so present with both of those characters, both Madson and Jeff,” Jacobson said.

“It’s more than the murder for Madson. It’s ‘People know you’re guilty for being gay, and guilty of being gay.’ That Cunanan plays on that is so disturbing,” Simpson said.

Tom Rob Smith’s teleplay for the episode is titled “House by the Lake.” That’s where the episode ends, and we won’t spoil what fate awaits the men there.

Cody Fern is ‘American Crime Story: Versace’s Major Discovery

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Super Bowl, Assassination of Versace, The Cloverfield Paradox, Twin Peaks & Get Out

In this episode, Tony Romanello, Mark Chajkowski, Marshall Hartman and Greg Stofanak give their reactions to the Super Bowl (0:50), and then discuss the show The Assassination of Gianni Versace (12:40), the new Netflix movie The Cloverfield Paradox (24:20), the show Twin Peaks (33:30), some other shows they’ve been watching and the movie Get Out (42:45). | 10 February 2018

The Assassination of Gianni Versace Recap: “House by the Lake”

Interestingly enough, The Assassination of Gianni Versace chose to present another episode without, well, Versace. However, I am not complaining because it means lots and lots of Darren Criss channeling Andrew Cunanan–a role for which he is most definitely snagging an Emmy nomination.

This week we continue to learn about the murders that transpire before Versace’s untimely demise. The episode begins a week before Lee Miglin’s murder in Minneapolis, Minnesota with Andrew and his ex-lover, David Madson (Cody Fern). From the emotional tension of the scenes that follow, we learn that Andrew was rejected by David after he proposed to him–and believes that Madson is having an affair with their friend, Jeff (played by Murphy favorite, Finn Wittrock).

Cunanan’s  psychotic crazy starts to pour out as he struggles with Madson’s rejection–and then proceeds to brutally murder Jeff with a claw hammer, aka his very first murder. After witnessing Andrew calmly take someone’s life, David tries to convince him to call the police. As we have learned, Cunanan’s ability to manipulate and emotionally blackmail is next-level and he uses this on David to stop him. He tells him that David will be arrested for being an accomplice to the murder–so, now what?

Whether out of obsession, love, or madness, Cunanan clings to Madson’s side after the murder. David’s absence at work alarms his co-worker who comes knocking on his door looking for him. Before they have a chance to enter and discover the both of them with Jeff’s body, Andrew and David flee the apartment.

Throughout the season, it’s alarming and strange that Cunanan shows no concern about leaving damning evidence behind–whether it’s the murder weapon or the body itself. With the help of the super, the co-worker gets into David’s apartment only to discover the scene of a gruesome murder. However, they initially mistake the dead body for David’s.

The co-worker recalls that David had a friend that was staying with him by the name of “Cuy-nan-nan”. The case takes a twist when the cops realize the body is not David’s because of the dark hair. This places the blame on David for the murder.

Meanwhile, Andrew whisks David away on a road trip–final destination, Mexico. The episode consists of a series of flashbacks showing David as a child and as a teenager coming out to his father. These moments come full circle in the final moments of the episode, but we’ll get to that later.

Andrew tries to connect with David as he maniacally jams out to music and tells him to begin “planning his new life.” While Andrew dreams of their future, David is riddled with paranoia over someone recognizing them, in the case the murder has been reported.

Meanwhile, the authorities visit David’s parents to report that he is a suspect in an ongoing murder investigation. At the same moment, David shares his concerns about his parents being affected with Andrew–who could probably care less. A moment of freedom grazes by David when they decide to take a pit stop at a bar. He breaks the bathroom window but surprisingly returns to Andrew to resume their trip.

This trip, however, is the end of David’s life. As much as Andrew tries to resist his psychopathic tendencies, he finds them taking over when David begins to attack him and calls him fake. The episode closes out with David and Andrew literally next to a house on the lake, where Andrew shoots him in the back and then in the face.

In his final moments, David hallucinates his father and snaps back for his final minute of life. The episode fades out with Andrew lying next to David’s dead body–his face oddly calm and peaceful.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace is diving head-first into the mind of Cunanan and his brutal, spastic murders. While we experience this horrifying journey through Cunanan’s mind, it highlights a very frightening crime story in America’s history. Now that we have seen all four of Cunanan’s murders, it begs the question–where will the story go from here? And will next week’s episode lead us back to Gianni and his story? I guess we will have to wait until next week to find out!

The Assassination of Gianni Versace Recap: “House by the Lake”

Ranking The Best New Shows You Can Stream Online Right Now

#1. The Assassination of Gianni Versace / FX

Season Finale: March 21, 2018

Plot: Chaos before and after murder.

Pro: The acting is superb. The setting, costuming and overall style is fascinating. This fashion-based story is hard to look away from.

Con: As with most Ryan Murphy projects, this is often overdone and occasionally goes off the rails.

Ranking The Best New Shows You Can Stream Online Right Now

THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE Review: “House By The Lake”

We’ll never really know exactly what caused Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss) to embark upon his murder joyride across America, which would end in Miami Beach, with Gianni Versace (Edgar Ramírez) shot dead on the designer’s front steps. The trail of corpses and witnesses who remember seeing Cunanan with his victims before their untimely deaths are really all we have to go off of, a body count that includes the spree killer’s associate Jeffrey Trail (Finn Witrock), bludgeoned with a claw hammer in the Minneapolis apartment of Cunanan’s ex, David Madson (Cody Fern). Just days after city authorities found Trail’s body, Madson’s corpse was pulled out of Rush Lake, Michigan by a pair of fisherman. But by that time, Cunanan was already well on his way toward Chicago for his ill-fated date with Lee Miglin.

Like last week’s “A Random Killing”, “House By the Lake” doesn’t have a single scene featuring the namesake of The Assassination of Gianni Versace. However, the focus on Cunanan’s first and second victims is starting to help the non-linear narrative chronology that creator Ryan Murphy and writer Rob Tom Ford have chosen to tell this tale make much more sense. Just how we jumped back in time to further understand and sympathize with Versace – who battled a supposed HIV diagnosis before getting gunned down right as he regained the creative spark he’d lost while sick – the last two hours have placed us inside the lives that were shattered by this sociopath’s blaze of infamy. Much like Marilyn Miglin (Judith Light) struggled to keep it together while mourning the death of her closeted husband, here we watch as Madson deals with watching his secret lover get beaten to death with a simple tool, before being taken hostage by his terrifying beau.

In fact, this attention to empathy reminds us that not only were these real people who were killed by Cunanan – a fact that can sometimes become lost as we fall deeper into American Crime Story’s design of refitting true crime atrocity into pulp fiction – but it also shines a light on individual gay experiences during a time when being queer in America was damn near impossible without getting persecuted for it (not that it’s easy nowadays, either). Through a series of flashbacks, we dive into David’s mind as he zones out on the drive Andrew forces him to take after the cops get called to Madson’s flat. We see his relationship to his father – a burly alpha male who took him hunting and fishing like “real men do” with their boys – only to find that his son is a homosexual. In one of the series’ most nakedly honest scenes thus far, the dad responds to his aspiring architect son’s coming out from behind a workbench in his garage with rather startling emotional clarity:

“I won’t lie and say that it doesn’t make a difference. You know what I believe. And maybe this isn’t what you wanted to hear. Maybe you wanted to be told I don’t have a problem with it. I can’t say that. But what I can say is I love you more than I love my own life.”

Though this is a rather amazing moment of progressive thought for a late ‘80s parent, casually unsettling homophobia still creeps into the ‘90s police investigations of Cunanan’s Minnesota killings. In a scene similar to how Versace’s partner Antonio (Ricky Martin) was questioned by detectives about their sexual history mere hours after Gianni was killed, the minute these detectives discover David’s gay, their whole approach to the scenario changes. The gloves come on, shielding them from any homosexual blood. Despite eyewitness accounts from friendly neighbors, the immediate assumption when they learn that David is blonde, unlike the body in the living room, is that he has killed Andrew. These two fags obviously had a lovers’ spat.

The thought process is practically painted all over their faces as they examine gay porn and sex toys found in the apartment that have nothing to with the crime at all. It’s a sickening moment of gut-level bigotry that never needs to be verbalized to be felt. When questioning David’s distraught parents, one officer bluntly informs them, “Oh, trust me, there’s a lot you don’t know about your son.” Juxtaposed against the flashbacks of David’s surprisingly tolerant father, these scenes become all the more heartbreaking. Society was never going to accept gay men at this point in history, despite this rock of traditional masculinity and values being able to reconcile his seemingly faith-based disappointment in his son’s sexual orientation with the simple fact that he’ll always love him, no matter what.

Light’s performance as Marilyn Miglin was brilliant last week, but Fern might outdo her here by creating The Assassination of Gianni Versace’s most tragic figure thus far. Criss continues to earn every ounce of praise that’s been heaped upon his performance as Cunanan this season – alternating from chilly, black-eyed stares, to callously dancing in the car to “Pump Up the Jam”, to cuddling with Madson’s body on the shore after he shoots him in the back. But David’s decision to stay with his attacker (which Fern sells without a line of dialogue) – when he could’ve snuck out the bathroom window of a shithole bar they make a pit stop in – stands in stark contrast to the clandestine second life Lee Miglin was living (and would ultimately die because of).

As Andrew takes David’s hand in the middle of that dive, and the two listen to a shitty cover of The Cars’ “Drive”, we see Madson momentarily understand this lonely, desperate psychopath. Through all the abuse, punishment and (ultimately) death Cunanan doles out to this equal, the same struggle with loneliness and rejection can be found in his eyes. Just as Murphy & Co. are choosing to memorialize the dead, the dead empathize with their killers, ultimately leading to their final fates.

THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE Review: “House By The Lake”

ACS: …Gianni Versace: “A House by the Lake” – Blog – The Film Experience

The greatest strength of the second season of American Crime Story has become the amount of care, attention, and empathy devoted to Andrew Cunanan’s other victims. For the second week in a row, the show steps away from the titular Versace case to tell a self-contained story about the humanity of one of them. This week we focus on David Madson, a boy that Andrew was infatuated with…

Episode 4: “A House by the Lake”
This week’s episode takes place one week before the last one, before Andrew headed to Chicago to meet (and eventually also murder) Lee Miglin. We see that he has been staying with his friend David in an apartment that not coincidentally resembles a concrete prison.

David is an up-and-coming architect (Andrew’s victims being builders and creators is a theme the show is clearly exploring), who was charmed by Andrew at first. He’s started to see his rough edges and wants out. Their friend Jeffrey Trail (played by pretty boy and Ryan Murphy regular Finn Wittrock) shows up one night after being called upon by Andrew. “You can talk about me while you bring him up,” he says to David threateningly but, also, almost as a plea.

And David and Jeff indeed talk about him; about how they are both sorry for and fed up with Andrew. They were both romantically involved with him at one point, but now are in love with each other. However, before this love triangle can reach any conclusion, they step into the apartment, and Andrew murders Jeffrey in one of the most chilling sequences that have ever played inside the Ryan Murphy-verse (and that includes ‘verse includes someone bathing in their mother’s blood.)

What follows for the rest of the episode is a contained psychological thriller; a small horror movie in which Andrew holds David hostage. First physically inside the solid rooms of his apartment, and then emotionally as they make their escape.

If last week’s episode explored the emotional burdens of being inside the closet, this episode is about feeling trapped outside of it. From the very start, Andrew dissuades David from calling the police or his father, because they will be biased against them. He instead convinces them that running away together will be not only the most convenient option for them, but almost a dream-like destiny.

It is never explicitly stated if, as they were both travel cross-country having left everything (including a murdered lover) behind, David ever really had any real hopes of escaping and making it out alive, or if he resigned himself from the moment Andrew was beating Jeffrey with a hammer in front of him, knowing he would eventually have a similar fate.

David goes through an emotional examination of his life, his decisions, and the roads that brought him and Andrew together. It is filled with melancholy, regret, and resignation courtesy of Cody Fern’s outstanding breakout performance. He makes David a paralyzed creature whose survival instincts are postponing an inevitable end. His eyes fill with quiet desperation as his hopes gradually flame out. Watch out for this guy; he’s going to be big.

Up until this episode, Darren Criss has managed to effectively balance the psychotic and charming sides of Cunanan. In this episode he falters a bit. There are points within “A House by the Lake” where his take on this serial killer verges on the parodic. It’s confusing, too, since this episode takes place before the rest of what we’ve seen on the show, but Cunanan seems to be emotionally ahead of it in his choices.

“A House by the Lake”, like last week’s episode, doesn’t touch on the titular narrative, other than revealing again why the manhunt for Cunanan eventually took so long.

If the backward format of the show continues, we could go back further in time to explore Cunanan’s background before the murder spree, but it’s more likely we return to the Versaces. Nevertheless, I hope the thematic explorations and nuances that the show has delivered for the last two weeks can be carried on into the more famous story. They’ve been insightful hours of television.

ACS: …Gianni Versace: “A House by the Lake” – Blog – The Film Experience