American Horror Stories Episode 4 The Naughty List Review- The Wild Man Gets Gleefully Even

American Horror Stories Episode 4 does it again with a delicious bite of Christmas pudding that jingles its way to a mangled Tannenbaum.

Ripped from the headlines doesn’t even begin to describe it. American Horror Stories Episode 4 was The Real World meets every unboxed YouTube channel and a dash of Jackass, all wrapped up with a bloody Christmas bow. There are so many nods to real-life Influencers like Logan Paul’s ill-fated suicide forest trip, American historian Howard Zinn, and content house creators, you couldn’t blink, or you might miss another reference. It was funny, mean, and glorious thanks to the eternally fantastic Danny Trejo, ironically one of Hollywood’s nicest guys.

Four YouTube-type Influencers live in the Bro House and create content for their channel ranging from wild alcohol-fueled parties, semi-harmless pranks, and product appreciation. Leader and all-around douchebag Zinn(Nico Greetham), beautiful moron Wyatt(Charles Melton), ambitious but short-sighted James(Dyllón Burnside), and IT ineffective voice of reason Barry(Kevin McHale from Glee) live in the Bro House where their motto is Yolo Brolo. That’s pretty much all you need to know. The quartet is racing towards thirty, which is the equivalence of death unless you have actual talent or become a parenting influencer(the horror).

These boys have so lost touch with the real people who live in the world with them. They have become so indoctrinated to view people as likes and subs nothing is sacred. Zinn’s panic to avoid becoming irrelevant pushes his group to make less and less tasteful videos. There is nothing off-limits and the cleverness that once made his channel successful has given way to shock and unkindness. When he cruelly forces Barry to film a man committing suicide, Barry tries to reason with the aging Instacelebrity. Instead of listening, he quickly heals the only person with any common sense and basic decency into submission.

Unfortunately for everyone, Barry was right, and the public backlash was swift. The viewer dip prompted more ridiculous videos, including “homey-sexual” horseplay and showing up at a mall Santa display. There they harassed a female worker and dashed all the waiting children’s Christmas wishes. As you can imagine, this not only didn’t help, but it hurt the group in ways they couldn’t imagine. It put them on the radar of Trejo’s homicidal North Pole resident.

The real horror in American Horror Stories Episode 4 is how hideous the majority of these dudes are. They hit all the low points. Male toxicity, LGBTQ bullying, exploitation of human suffering, and meanness to kids, to name a few. These are vapid, obnoxious guys who are so devoid of the most basic human virtue that no amount of likes can redeem them. By the time Black Christmas shows up, we all are primed to see the man-children get theirs. Each of the four men gets picked off in an interesting fashion until only Barry is left. He goes out in a blaze of holiday glory just as their channel hits 5 million views courtesy of Santa’s video shenanigans. Before he dies, though, he uncovers the possible origin of our killer. Here’s what you need to know about The Wild Man.

Who is the Wild Man?

It turns out Anya from Buffy the Vampire Slayer was right. Remember when she told us all the same thing decades ago? The Wild Man is not just a pagan entity. It has roots in ancient religions, cultures, literature, and folklore. The Wild Man has gone by many names, Santa, Robin Hood, the Fool, the Bear, and Krampus. Over time the character became a master of winter ceremonies turning from a fool into Father Christmas. It was not a long leap from there to modern-day Santa Claus. Typically Wild Men protect their villages from evil spirits and don’t mete out justice. That being said, American Horror Stories Episode 4’s version felt like karmic retribution.

Sweden’s wild man is a massive red-hued, white-bearded man lugging around a large wooden club. The large wooden club Trejo’s nasty Kringle beats Zinn with is undoubtedly a nod to him. Whether Santa is the rosy-cheeked bringer of gifts, a wild beast of pagan mythology, a demonic fertility God, or an ax-wielding baddie, this mall Santa wants to do more than fly his sleigh. He wants to slay!

American Horror Stories Episode 4 delivers biting social commentary on internet culture. Just as Bo Burnham uses humor to mask the harsher parts of fame built on the web, Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy layer on the comedy to make the skewering satire more palatable. The kind of empty fame that can be fostered on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok numbs even the most initially idealistic. It may have started as a way to get some free swag and help pay for college, but it turns into a quest to stay internet relevant or die trying. Just ask all those who have injured themselves taking selfies in unsafe places.

American Horror Stories Episode 4 was tonally different from anything we have seen so far this season. It leaned hard into satirical humor, Influencer culture, and comeuppance. But, if I’m honest, there was something very satisfying about watching the four bros get what was coming to them. Clearly, Danny Trejo’s Bad Santa is deranged, but that doesn’t mean we all secretly(or not so secretly) cheered when he butchered his way through the bro house. Instafame is fleeting. In today and out tomorrow. Thank God most of this content house creation lasts a short time. The only thing more guaranteed than the superficiality of these videos is the fickleness of their audience. American Horror Stories Episode 4 is streaming on Hulu right now and will air on F/X tonight. Find all our American Horror Stories coverage here.