by Stephanie Palazzolo, senior editor

Last Wednesday, a record-breaking 13 million people tuned in for FX’s newest installment in the “American Horror Story” franchise: “Freak Show.” Definitely not for the faint-hearted or coulrophobic, the pilot of “Freak Show” proved to be an interesting, though a little lukewarm, start to the season.

“Freak Show” follows the story of a rundown circus, devoid of customers due to the new popularity of television. It focuses on a pair of conjoined twins, Bette and Dot, and their adventures in the freak show.

Although most of the other seasons have moved at an alarmingly fast rate, “American Horror Story” producers decided to take the “Freak Show” pilot slowly, delving into each of the characters and giving the audience a thorough look at each of their personalities and quirks. Some of the other freaks who live in the circus include Jimmy Darling or “Lobster Boy,” a teenager with pincher-like hands, his mother Ethel, a bearded woman, and Ma Petite, the smallest woman in the world. These other characters provide a colorful backdrop for the plot. This was actually a nice change of pace compared to the some of the disjointed episodes of other seasons that just focused on giving the audience a scare or two.

However, all of these strange characters pale in comparison to Twisty the Clown, a terrifying clown who wanders the city of Jupiter and basically goes around murdering people. Not to mention that his mask looks like a scalp sewn on his head. So far, it seems that he kills at random, which makes it a little less interesting, but perhaps his motive will be revealed in a later episode.

In addition, the cinematography is amazing. The producers played a lot with color schemes and the setting through the dusty and pastel colors and almost vintage quality to the show. Both of these give the episode an otherworldly and nightmarish feeling, as if the viewer is watching a strange dream.

“Freak Show” has had a promising start so far with the perfect balance of both weird and scary qualities, and hopefully this will carry on throughout the rest of the season.

Tune in to FX tonight for the second episode of “American Horror Story: Freak Show.”