If you’ve enjoyed some of Mike Flanagan’s works like The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass (my personal favorite!), then The Fall of the House of Usher should be next on your binge-watch list! The Salem native filmmaker is most famous for his recurring cast of actors who follow him from project to project including Victoria Pedretti, Henry Thomas, and his very talented wife, Kate Siegel (pictured below as her character, Camille L’Espanaye).
As a master of storytelling himself, Flanagan often takes inspiration from other famous horror stories and poems like the works of Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, and Henry James. This time he referenced many motifs from the dark, iconic tales of Edgar Allen Poe such as The Masque of the Red Death, Murder in the Rue Morgue, The Black Cat, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Raven, and namely, Poe’s short story of the same name, Fall of the House of Usher.
“My favorite way to describe it to people is like Hill House is kind of a string quartet, and Bly Manor is this delicate, kind of beautiful piece of classical piano music, and The Fall of the House of Usher is heavy metal. It’s rock and roll.”- Mike Flanagan
Chitwood, Adam. “Mike Flanagan Says ‘Fall of the House of Usher’ Series Is ‘Blood-Soaked’: ‘It’s the Closest I Will Get to Giallo’”. The Wrap, 22 October 2022, https://www.thewrap.com/mike-flanagan-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-netflix-series-giallo/
Plot
Siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher, along with the former’s conglomerate of children from different mothers, run a giant pharmaceutical company. Each child is undoubtedly spoiled and selfish, using their father’s money to fund each of their own business ventures and interests. Each has questionable morals in their own unique ways, except for his first and only grandchild, Lenore (Reference to Poe’s The Raven). Lenore is sweet and cares deeply for her family, the only innocent character in the entire show.
Viewers learn within the first 10 minutes of the first episode that all of Roderick’s children die within two weeks of each other. The rest of the 10 episodes tell the story of these mysterious deaths through a sit-down sort of interview between Roderick Usher and Auguste Dupin, a lawyer who has been after Fortunato Pharmaceuticals for over 30 years. Roderick first introduced a pain-relieving drug, Ligadone, to the market as he climbed his way to the top, crushing anyone in the way of his family’s success. He indirectly caused tens of thousands of deaths from Ligadone abuse and overdoses, all while claiming the drug is not addictive.
A mysterious woman, Verna (it’s questionable whether she’s human or a paranormal being), appears throughout the series, haunting Roderick and Madeline, as well as foreshadowing each of the characters’ untimely demises. She is played by Flanagan’s main inspiration, Carla Gugino, who first starred in his movie, Gerald’s Game adapted from the Stephen King novel of the same name. Her layered performance was by far the highlight of the show, taking Poe’s “raven” trope to a whole new level and giving her character an insane range of depth.
Everything about this show was meticulously crafted, from the cinematography and set design to the little easter eggs Mike is known for. As a viewer, I felt transported into this world that felt familiar and realistic but also like an ethereal dream at the same time. The different timelines and one-off anecdotes woven through the plot make you question the reality and legitimacy of Roderick’s confession to Auguste.
If you love jump-scares, complicated unreliable narrators, and hard-hitting monologues, I cannot recommend this show enough. The Fall of the House of Usher and any of Mike Flanagan’s other mildly scary masterpieces are the perfect binge-watch for this Halloween season!