The fifth episode of Season 3 of American Horror Stories tells the scary story of Daniel Hausman-Burger (Michael Imperioli)—an award-winning actor who has been haunted by the strange disappearance of his son Roman. As Daniel spends more time alone, strange and disturbing things start to happen – which leads to the shocking news of Roman’s death. Daniel is pulled into creepy, liminal places that make him seem like he might be involved in a horrible crime. This episode blurs the line between our world and the supernatural. But is everything really what it seems? Let us go over the scary episode again.
American Horror Stories Season 3 Episode 5 Recap
Daniel’s Disappearance and The Mall Vision
At the start of the show, Daniel wouldn’t leave his room, even though his agent, Aaron, told him to go while police looked for Roman. Because of his sadness and guilt, he stays inside his house and works on his next project all the time. As Daniel walks through his room, though, he finds himself in a strange mall, which is when things go badly. He sees a child in a mask who looks a lot like Roman and a shadowy person talking to the boy. Daniel is taken back to his own house just as he reaches out to touch the child.
This short meeting makes you wonder; was it a dream or something else? Daniel is lost and doesn’t know what happened, which sets the tone for the strange things that will happen next.
Roman’s Death and Daniel’s Obsession with the Supernatural
When Daniel gets back from his strange vision and calls his agent and best friend Aaron (David Pittu) to say sorry for what he did earlier, he finds that Aaron has been lost from the real world for three weeks. At a diner, Daniel meets Aaron and his ex-wife Riva (Natalie Gold). They tell him the terrible news—Roman’s body was found in the woods buried with his red blanket. The cops are still looking into the crime, but they haven’t found any clear suspects yet.
Daniel is crazy after hearing this news. He goes on a rant about hell and other worlds — promising to find and kill the person who killed Roman. As Daniel’s mental health starts to get worse, he slips into what looks like a different world—this time, a twisted version of The Backrooms, an urban legend that is popular in creepypasta communities.
Looking into the Backrooms and Daniel’s dark secrets
The people Daniel meets in The Backrooms become more and more troubling. Daniel is stuck in a weird nightmare where he sees Roman bleeding from his eyes and masked people congratulating him on a horrible achievement. Daniel is determined to find answers after a scary escape. He learns about a YouTuber named — Eli (Matthew Maher)who says he has been into The Backrooms.
Daniel finds out that people who don’t want to admit their sins are the only ones who can get into The Backrooms when he sees Eli in jail for manslaughter. Eli says Daniel may have been telling himself a dark lie, which is what brought him to this hellish world. As Eli explains his idea, it’s clear that Daniel’s mind is breaking down. He may know more about — Roman’s death than he wants to accept.
The Shocking Truth: Daniel Killed Roman
In a shocking turn of events, Daniel killed Roman. As we see in a flashback — Daniel loses it because he feels like he has failed as a husband and father. He kills Roman by strangling him during a game. Then he hid Roman’s body in the woods, where it was found years later.
Daniel calls Aaron and Riva while the cops are surrounding his house. They tell him how terrible his crime was. Daniel draws his gun and shoots at the police until they kill him. But Daniel’s suffering doesn’t end when he dies. Once more, he is taken to The Backrooms — where the body of Roman is being held by a horrible woman known as “The Red Woman.”
One last twist: Purgatory is waiting.
Daniel is desperate to change, so he begs to be let out of The Backrooms and promises to tell everyone what he did. Instead of finding peace—Daniel is put in a waiting room and given a fake number that makes it sound like his time in purgatory will be very long and painful.
While the show delves into The Backrooms’ supernatural idea — it also raises troubling questions about Daniel’s aims. Why did he kill Roman? Deeper psychological problems are hinted at in the episode, but they are never fully explained. This leaves a lot up to the viewers’ imagination.
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