A short story by Edgar Allen Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher” was first published in 1839 in Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine as a work of “Gothic Fiction”. The tale speaks of a set of twins that are both ill, the sister, Madeline, falls into a cataleptic (death like trance) and her brother (Roderick) buries her (unknowingly alive). Following, the brother goes into a hysterical state talking of hearing strange noises for days. During a raging storm, Madeline appears, having escaped from her tomb and in a fit of rage, attacks her brother and scares him to death. As the storm rages on, the house they are in splits in two and the pieces sink into the adjacent lake. (Mind you this is the short, short version).
In classic Flanagan form, in The Fall of the House of Usher, Flanagan has taken this short story by Poe, along with many other of his works, and brilliantly interwoven them into his latest masterpiece. Yes, I did just use that word on purpose. This is series number five. First being The Haunting of Hill House (2018), Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), Midnight Mass (2021), The Midnight Club (2022) all huge successes. And I can say this new series does not stand apart from that success it stands proud alongside them, even though it’s different than the rest.
Creator: Mike Flanagan (google him. If you’re not familiar! And watch EVERYTHING under his name).
Cast: Returning actors and actresses out of the Flanaverse: Carla Gugino (“Verna”) and Bruce Greenwood and Mary McDonnell (cut throat siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher), Henry Thomas as Frederick Usher, SamanthaSloyan as Tamerlane Usher and Rahul Kohli as Leo Usher, Kate Siegal (Camille L’Espanaye), T’Nia Miller (Victorine La Fourcade), Sauriyan Sapkota (Perry Usher) the latter 3 being the ‘bastard’ Usher children. Additional cast of known Fanavers actors and actresses, but also adding in a well-known face: Mark Hamill as Arthur Pym (the family’s “fixer/lawyer”)
Where to watch it: Netflix
In an interview, Carla Gugino calls Usher “batshit crazy in the best possible way”. Her character (Verna, being pivotal in the rise and fall of the Usher family, a sort of harbinger of death, so to speak, note that Verna is an anagram for Raven, one of Poe’s most famous works). She essentially gives them an ‘offer’ they don’t refuse (not can’t but don’t), but the ‘deal’ they agree to is that they will come to rise in their industry with no one that could get in their way or cross their paths, but in return, they both had to consent that at the end of Roderick’s fated death (at a decent old age), his entire bloodline would die with him, including his sister. They both agree.
In typical Flanagan fashion, we get a wealth of character development, stepping back and forth in time to understand in a liner fashion, but not immediately, how we’ve come to the ‘current’ time in which the Usher family is plagued by mysterious, almost outlandish, “freak accidents”. As Roderick and Madeline try to uncover what is going on, their ‘go-to, fix-it’ man, Pym starts to gather evidence that there is a mysterious woman at each and every location prior to their bloodline’s deaths. All the while, Flanagan injects Poe adaptations, references, poems and characters across his impressive body of work modernizing the gothic poems into this amazing 8-episode Drama, Horror, Mystery. So sit back, grab a soft blankie and some snack and drinks because we are certain that this series, you’ll start and not stop until the entire Usher family is dust.
Image Source: movieplyaer.it
By the way, if you want to really dive deep, Tudum (by Netflix) has collected all the references, characters and Poe stories that are utilized for this series in one article:
Be aware, there are spoilers in this article.
My Reel Rating
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