‘American Horror Story: Double Feature’ Trailer Seduces Finn Wittrock in Mysterious Beach Town

American Horror Story: Double Feature is ready to welcome viewers to its mysterious shores.

As is to be expected, little has been known about the two stories Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk will be tackling with the 10th installment of their hit horror anthology series. Up until now, what had been revealed was that the upcoming season of AHS: Double Feature would be broken into two “horrifying” parts, with one story set by the sea and the other by the sand: The “Red Tide” and “Death Valley.”

On Friday, following a slew of news around the expansion of Murphy and Falchuk’s all-encompassing American Story franchise, AHS dropped a revealing first look at part one of Double Feature, the “Red Tide.”

The nearly two-minute, and increasingly terrifying, trailer introduces Finn Wittrock’s struggling writer, his pregnant wife (Lily Rabe) and their daughter (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) as they move to an isolated beach town for the winter. Once they’re settled in, the logline promises, the town’s true residents begin to make themselves known.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkKP-dlRAbM

First to welcome the writer are AHS staples Evan Peters and Frances Conroy, playing fellow scribes, who tell Wittrock’s character that his writer’s block will be cured while on the island. “This place inspires us,” says Peters. Their words hold promise, as story soon flows to the page. But things turn sinister as the aspiring writer becomes addicted to both his success and the unknown source that appears to be inspiring his talents.

“Something mysterious is going on here, and I want to know what it is,” Leslie Grossman’s curious character says to a local, played by franchise newcomer Macaulay Culkin. After some jumpy twists and turns — and glimpses of Sarah Paulson, Billie Lourd, Angelica Ross and Denis O’Hare — Wittrock’s character, in desperation, explains to his very pregnant wife, “I’m trying to keep this family together under very difficult circumstances.”

Double Feature, delayed by the pandemic, follows AHS: 1984, which aired its season nine finale in November 2019.

American Horror Story: Double Feature is executive produced by Murphy, Falchuk, Alexis Martin Woodall, John J. Gray and Manny Coto. The season premieres Aug. 25 at 10 p.m. on FX and streams the following day on FX on Hulu. American Horror Stories, the anthology spinoff that was also renewed on Friday, wraps its first season next week, promising to set the stage for the return of AHS with Double Feature.