The Fall of the House of Usher

In my opinion, polarising creations are always fascinating, and generally I don't think ill of people who happen to dislike what I enjoy very much. I'm not particularly fond of being meta in my reviews either, but I feel that in the case of "The Fall of the House of Usher" something needs to be said on this matter.

I'm not going to question personal taste when it comes to the technical aspects of this show, such as acting, directing, and production value. Personally, I think is an excellent TV series graced by some seriously spectacular money shots (the rave party's abrupt ending comes to mind), but that's just my take.

The hill I'm ready to die on is about whether or not Flanagan did justice to Poe's work, and I'm afraid I won't be very forgiving to whoever says he didn't.

Poe didn't just write Gothic literature, he added heavy personal touches to it that would eventually become genre-defying, and ultimately, the most iconic aspects of his work. If you ask Chat GPT to write like Poe, that's what you'll get.

But whilst extremely picturesque and entertaining - and tempting, from a Production's pov (the costumes, the Victorian gloomy setting, the riddles, it's a guaranteed spectacle) - those elements are the proverbial arabesques on top of something infinitely more substantial.

The deep psychological implications of his work is what makes Poe a genius, and not just a good writer. The man described illnesses and neuro-divergences centuries before there was even a name for them. He delved in universal fears and anxieties that not only have transcended his time, they couldn't be more relevant today: the unhealthy approach toward death, living in an alienating society that has lost its human touch, feeling the constant pressure of uncertainty.

The core of Poe's work is bleak and modern, and Flanagan captured it to perfection with "The Fall of the House of Usher". Above the must-have iconic references, he resisted the easy road of a shallow costume piece, and focused his script to what's underneath instead. I, for once, can't praise him enough for it.

The only reservation I may have with this TV series is about the title's choice, which may have mislead some spectator to believe that this was going to be an adaptation of the eponymous short novel instead of a broad homage to Poe's greatest hits.

Other than that, as a longtime fan of Poe's work, I won't shy from stating that "The Fall of the House of Usher" is storytelling at its best, and nothing short of one of the most quintessential Poe-esque piece of content in existence.

The Fall of the House of Usher isn't for everyone. It's a slow-burning, ponderous journey into the heart of madness and the mind of opulence.

But, Mike Flanagan understood his assignment.

Though this miniseries is very loosely based on the Edgar Allen Poe short story of the same name, it has almost nothing to do with it. Instead, it uses some of Poe's best works and his most poignant prose to tell a unique tale through the lens of surreal, horrific rapacity.

On that note, the horror elements on display are mostly subdued and thematic, sans a couple of admittedly shocking, fun death scenes. Thus, if you're looking for a visceral horror experience, then you should look elsewhere.

Instead, The Fall of the House of Usher is a strange, dark descent into the soul of a broken family. A family that has been dealing with the devil in bad faith for so long that evil is a pervasive normalcy. A family that has an inevitable price to pay for every deed.

Or is it the tale of the Fortunato pharmaceutical company told from the vengeful perspective of Montresor Flanagan?

Either way, the series is shot exceptionally and the acting is top-tier.

I learned recently that Mike Flanagan has a wave of haters, as all successful creators have, but I've seen him as somewhat of an auteur in the horror genre since he burst onto the scene with Absentia and Oculus. He's a master storyteller, and he understands the essence of horror like few other directors.

You know what the greatest filmmakers and the Adult Film industry have in common? When you see them, you know it.

I just know a Flanagan project when I see it, because he has a defined cinematic style and a measured approach to writing. Everything is both whimsical and grounded at once, which can lend surprising levity to often complex, or even convoluted, plot structures.

And that's probably The Fall of the House of Usher's biggest shortcoming. The pacing is all over the place, especially considering such an outrageous story.

Oddly, I sometimes feel the same way about Poe's stories, so maybe that disparity is intentional.

Still, I found many of the slower scenes, and there are many, to be meandering and circular. Exposition is delivered in long closeups to the background of long strings focusing on long faces.

I think if this were a six hour movie instead of an eight hour movie, it would have been a masterpiece.

But, what I got is still a beautiful, haunting delve into the world of Edgar Allen Poe and the mind of Mike Flanagan. The Fall of the House of Usher was clearly a passion project for all involved, and the story ended with a satisfying finale that gave me chills, just like Poe's best works.

Will I watch it again? Nevermore. But I'm not mad that I did.

I recommend this one to fans of slow-burn cerebral horror or tragic, dark family drama.

8/10 - Great.

The bulk of the reviews seem to have this polarized Mike Flannagan hate going on. So you can really write off half the reviews. If you havent liked Flannagan's work, why are you people watching it?

What you need to know, is that this is a homage to all of Poe's work. Rating it poorly because it isn't a prevoius remake, seems extremely short sighted.

By now you've read the story is set around the house of Usher. Like many of Flannagan's stories, they are designed to be end to end stories. Which is what I prefer. The Usher house hold is the story of rich people, greed, and overall evil people.

Many people cite the parallels of Succession, and they feel like it's underwhelming by comparison. I, however, do not. I actually don't like Succession. Just like many of HBO's series they are drawn out wwwwaaaayyyy to long. This is not. You get what you get for the 8 episodes.

Mike gets a lot of the actors he continues to work with,and Carla Gugino absolutely kills it in this role. She uses a myriad of accents, and makes the central theme of the series take on a life of it's own.

Many persons point to predictability in the plot, but if you've read The Raven, or any of Poe's other works you'll know how things are going to go down. This is a homage again. Looking for something new and exciting other than story telling and visuals will set you up for disappointment.

I loved the show and the performances. What I don't actually love is seeing negative reviews of people that keep expecting Flanagan to make a series that's similar to the haunting of hill house. Don't get me wrong,that show was also my favorite like it was to many other people but I believe that every series should be appreciated in its own way. I would recommend everybody to give this series a try because it won't disappoint you. Also what I really enjoy is the fact that Flanagan recasts the same actors,they are all very talented and I've grown to admire them very much. I'm already waiting for Flanagan's next project(hopefully it will be as good as the others and not like midnight club which is the only one that I didn't particularly like).

Mike Flanagan is clearly a Poe fan. The fall of the house of usher is my favorite Poe story. The 1960 Vincent Price film of that story is one of my favorite movies of all time. I came into this expecting a similar story told longer. That is not what I got.

After the first episode I was actually kind of annoyed because I wasn't getting it. I didn't get how this was the house of usher. I thought it was beautiful and it definitely grabbed my attention but it wasn't what I was expecting to be. And then after a few episodes I realized what was happening. Every episode is a modern retelling of an Edgar Allan Poe story. And then tying each of those stories into the house of usher. It was genius. Some people will catch that by reading the titles of each episode but I honestly didn't pay any attention to that until I was four episodes in. Obviously the episode title does give away what the story in that episode will be but then the creative journey will show us how it ties to our main story.

I think from start to finish this entire project was so well done. The acting is outstanding. Every special effect was marvelous. The sets were beautiful and unique. The writing and the directing are top knots. There are definitely some beautiful and unique shots in this work. I could honestly write a book about how much I loved this. This is something I will watch again and again.