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Releasing on Oct 12, 2023
- Netflix
- Oct 12, 2023
- Netflix
- Oct 12, 2023
Summary CEO Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood) must face his past when his children begin to die mysterious and violent ways in Mike Flanagan's adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name.
Created By: Mike Flanagan
- Netflix
- Oct 12, 2023
- Netflix
- Oct 12, 2023
The Fall of the House of Usher
Season 1
Season Premiere: Oct 12, 2023
76
User Score
Available after Oct 12, 2023
Summary CEO Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood) must face his past when his children begin to die mysterious and violent ways in Mike Flanagan's adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name.
Created By: Mike Flanagan
Season Episodes
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
76
80% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
20% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
76
80% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
20% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Mike Flanagan returns to form in The Fall of the House of Usher, delivering a deliciously macabre and contemporary reimagining of the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Classic tales marry with modern commentary in a limited series that delivers at every turn. You’ll scream, you’ll cry, and once it’s over you might just start it all over from the beginning again.
Iit is, much like his other works, about so much more than simple jump scares or overt violence. A story of the long tail impact of trauma, it is a darkly funny and emotionally rich tragedy that grounds itself in our universal longing for love and human connection.
Despite its somewhat bloated plot at times, The Fall of the House of Usher is suitably creepy, with Flanagan once again showing off his chops as a horror storyteller and ultimately hinging the story on strong, complex emotions that do more than just get your heart pounding.
It's clever and gripping even if the course it will follow is made clear by its second episode: Each kid gets an episode in the spotlight before meeting a violent end. But even if it takes on a slasher-like predictability by pushing characters toward inventive kills, one by one, Usher also grows darker and more somber as it progresses.
A bluntly entertaining exercise. It’s easily the most specifically topical of Flanagan’s Netflix minis, fueled by an often palpable anger. But that anger frequently gets in the way of the thematic richness that gave The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor and Midnight Mass their mournful charge. For eight hours, instead of rooting for people, you’re rooting for payback, leading to a satisfying, but surface-level experience.
Maybe for mega-fans of Poe, there will be more to embrace here, and they will come away loving every second of The Fall of the House of Usher. I myself came away feeling it was very much a mixed bag - impressive for its ambition, its performances, its horror and its staging, but trying to do both too much and not enough within its inflated runtime.
While "House of Usher" begins to sag under its own weight, it still occasionally delivers, and the "Succession" meets Poe scenario might be enough to thrill you this Halloween season. If not, you can always revisit "Hill House" instead.
User Reviews
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