ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You kept the same music for the opening credits but new visual elements. Are these perhaps clues to the mystery surrounding Briarcliff?
RYAN MURPHY: I think so. We were gonna throw everything out and start from scratch. We built that entire insane asylum. That crew that is so brilliant went in and shot everything on that location months ago. They also had read many of the scripts. Yes I think they’re clues. I think the show in its subject matter has a little more gravity in terms of social significance this year, so some of them aren’t so much clues as metaphors. For example, the girl walking up and down in the staircase, in episode 2 you will definitely know what that’s about.
To me the editing and the energy felt very different to me. It almost feels like it’s supposed to keep you off-balance, like you don’t know what you’re seeing. Is that what you were going for?
When Brad and I did season 1, it was definitely influenced by masters like [Stanley] Kubrick. This year the thing that I was really obsessed with is I was really influenced by DePalma, who I think is a brilliant filmmaker, who I really feel like never gets his just desserts. It’s time for a Brian DePalma resurgence. So I was very into the filming style of DePalma’s works, specifically Dressed to Kill and Carrie. There’s a lot of slow motion, there’s a lot of languid filmmaking. In the first episode, as a tribute to Brian, we actually used two big pieces from Carrie’s score. So the same can be said of DePalma’s work which is very fever dream. Look at that last scene of Carrie—was it real? Was it a dream? So yes it was very influenced by his work particularly. Also it was very influenced by [Dario] Argento. The other great thing about it is Brad Buecker, who edited all the shows last year, who’s my right hand man, is also a brilliant director. The first two were edited and directed by Brad. It’s very interesting when an editor directs. It’s much more I think a psychological thriller as well.
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