Sarah Paulson in "American Horror Story"
photo: FX

The ninth season of the chilling horror series is premiering on September 18, and once again it's a completely different vibe and set. 

From a murderous house in season one all the way to the apocalypse in season eight, American Horror Story has delved into seemingly every horror trope that exists. But with the teasers for this upcoming season, there is another genre that hasn't been done yet — '80s slasher movies. 

TV and movie fanatics love a nostalgic nod to the '80s, as has been proven by the success of shows like Stranger Things, so the next installment of AHS, titled 1984, will surely draw crowds of new fans and die-hard ones. 

The recurring actors throughout the series will star once again, but a few familiar faces, like Evan Peters, are sitting this one out. 

From the first teaser it was clear we were getting a throwback slasher series. 

An anonymous girl runs through the forest to a cabin in the woods while being chased by a knife-wielding masked killer. It all sounds a little familiar to movies like Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street. 

The teaser is set to a modern soundtrack that doesn't exactly fit the nostalgic vibe, but the title of the track "Six Feet Under" by Billie Eilish certainly foreshadows what's to come. Creator of the series Ryan Murphy shared the teaser to his Instagram and revealed the title of the ninth season, 1984. 

While the first teaser ominously told viewers they could expect the season to air in fall 2019, now we have a specific date: September 18. 

The same girl from the teaser trailer stands with her back up against a door, and a pair of antlers crashes through the window. Her curly hair half tied up with a scrunchy and a cheesy sweater scream '80s. If the title of the season wasn't enough to give it away, this picture definitely does. Two months after '80s fans binge-watch Stranger Things 3, they can get their second nostalgic fix with this slightly scarier series. 

The latest season of AHS brought back so many past characters and changed up the traditional script for the show. 

Fan-favorite characters spanning across the eight seasons appeared in Apocalypse. Murphy's show was revolutionary when he decided to bring back the same actors in different roles, but he decided to change it up by bringing back the actors who play the beloved witches from Coven, including Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Jaime Brewer, Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett, and the iconic Jessica Lange. For the upcoming season, some of the same actors will return, but it's undetermined if any roles will be reprised. 

One notable AHS star, Evan Peters, will not make an appearance. 

When one reporter from Extra TV asked Peters if he'd be involved in the new season, Peters replied, "No, I'm going to sit a season out." Peters is the only cast member other than Sarah Paulson to appear in every single season since season one in 2011. Some fans speculate that he needed to take time off to focus on other career goals and his mental health. 

"I'm sad. But he said himself a while back that these dark roles aren't good for his mental health. So if he needs to take a step back for himself, then we should let him without freaking out. Yeah it's sad and it sucks. But his mental health and wellbeing comes first," one fan replied to the tweet. 

Billy Eichner played Harrison Wilton in Cult and ended up being a shining star of the season. But he will also not be appearing.  

Eichner had a leading role in Cult and a brief appearance in Apocalypse, but that was enough for the comedian. "Thank you! I can’t do AHS this year but boy oh boy I had a blast and I love all those crazy kids a lot," he replied to one fan on Twitter. 

Fans will miss the levity that Eichner brought to the frightening series, but hopefully the cast of the new season will provide more comedic moments. Of course, that's not what they tune in for — they watch for the horror and gore. 

While a few fan favorites are missing, it was all forgiven when Murphy shared this shot of Emma Roberts' on-screen beau, Olympic medalist Gus Kenworthy. 

Dreamboat and Olympic skier Kenworthy will make his acting debut on the AHS season. Murphy also revealed that Roberts would be returning to the season and that the two would play boyfriend and girlfriend. That's not to say romances last very long on the series; sometimes they end in death before the first episode's conclusion. Murphy also teased on his Instagram a possible reboot of Scream Queens, in which Roberts had a starring role that ended far too soon. 

Shortly after revealing that Roberts and Kenworthy would appear, Murphy posted this throwback of Jessica Lange. Some fans were hoping this was a teaser that she'd make it back on the AHS screen too. 

Lange was a mainstay for the first four seasons of AHS, but sat out Roanoke, Hotel, and Cult before showing up again briefly in Apocalypse — perhaps that marked her full-time return to the series. An '80s star in her own right, Lange would be a perfect addition to a season set in that era. Murphy posted this tribute to Lange in a fur coat, and without giving anything away, he captioned it, "Bundled up." 

Two major '80s slasher films premiered in 1984 — Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter and Nightmare on Elm Street — and the AHS season clearly draws inspiration from them. 

"Friday the 13th" cover image
photo: Paramount Pictures

Even the lettering on the AHS: 1984 poster pays homage to the final installment of this iconic slasher film. Two of the most iconic masked-killer movies came out that year, making it a frightening summer for '80s kids. Emma Roberts, who has been deemed a "Scream Queen" by Murphy show's in the ninth season, further proves that slashing and killing are to be expected. The masked villain in the teaser trailer for 1984 could be inspired by iconic killers such as Jason and Freddy Krueger.