If you had told me that of the two Netflix horror miniseries of note that would come out in 2023 I would absolutely loathe the one with Guillermo Del Toro’s name attached but enjoy the retelling of the Edgar Allan Poe classic, I’d, well… I’d be surprised but not necessarily shocked. Edgar Allan Poe is one of my favorite authors and I’ve read his timeless tale The Fall of the House of Usher numerous times. It also happens to be a rather short story that I wouldn’t think could be spread out over the course of a miniseries. That is, perhaps, why the show creators instead made their own story with the Usher tale and other Poe classics as the foundational backdrop of the series. As skeptical as I was about everything, enough friends convinced me to see it through to its finale.

Pros

Acting from the cast is stellar
Creepy and horrific moments scattered throughout the series
Certain character rants are well-written and delivered exceptionally
Story is told in a way to hook you with its mystery
Surprising willingness to paint the pharmaceutical industry as the immoral conglomerate goliaths they are in a post-Covid-propaganda world

Cons

Some of the Ushers are far less interesting than other characters
Certain tie-ins to the original Poe stories feel forced or are too “on the nose”
The story of the young Roderick Usher’s metamorphosis does not feel complete by the end

Plot & Thoughts

The heads of the Usher family, Roderick (Bruce Greenwood) and Madeline (Mary McDonnell), are the chief executives of the Fortunado pharmaceutical corporation. They and their extended family have an infamous reputation for being heartless monsters willing to destroy all who stand in their way of greatness. Unfortunately for them, all of Roderick’s children have died within the past few weeks due to somewhat mysterious circumstances. Despite having a long-standing rivalry against the district attorney, August Dupin (Carl Lumbly), who is prosecuting the Ushers in a public trial, Roderick invites Dupin to his childhood home which has long since been abandoned like other houses in the empty neighborhood. Though Dupin is suspicious of the invitation, he accepts when Roderick promises to confess to his crimes as well as explain how his offspring died. From there, the story jumps back and forth to different periods in time and occasionally returns to Roderick’s confession with Dupin. Each episode explains more about how the Ushers rose to prominence, as well how each child of Roderick came to die.

If you have read any of the more famous Edgar Allan Poe short stories, you’re likely to pick up on all the different references throughout the show. From the titles of the episodes alone, you might be able to predict what occurs at some point. Some episodes are more direct with their reference to the source material, like the episode titled “Masque of the Red Death.” Other episodes, like “Goldbug,” use the Poe material as a jumping-off point but don’t really stick too close to the original story. The show manages to incorporate enough of Poe’s work for you to recognize it, but it never feels like the show is necessarily trying to retell the original story, which works immensely to its benefit. It doesn’t come across as a retelling because it has its own identity, and and has enough complexity to its story and characters to keep you engaged. There are a few times throughout the entire series where the references felt a little forced, but that’s really only a minor nitpick.

The main strengths of The Fall of the House of Usher are in the writing and acting. Mike Flannigan is credited as the series creator, primary writer, and director of at least four episodes. Flannigan is also the chief creative behind the other Netflix shows The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, which were two shows I didn’t watch from start to finish, but recognized their quality being a cut above others with their solid writing and acting. Flannigan has established himself as one of the few creatives out there with the talent to create complex characters and interesting stories, even with somewhat limited premises. You wouldn’t think that a movie about a haunted mirror or yet another haunted Ouija board would be interesting, but when put in Flannigan’s hands, they’ve turned out to be surprisingly good. The same can be said for his Netflix shows and this one in particular.

A lot of the same actors who were involved in previous Flannigan series and movies are utilized here to great effect. Kate Siegel as Camille steals the show for me in the few episodes she’s featured. Camille manages to be the most entertaining character for me because she comes across as the rudest and most barbaric member of the family. While I’d argue some of the other Usher children are not as interesting, several of them get some really great moments for the actors to shine. Samantha Sloyan’s Tamerlane Usher doesn’t have too much to do in the first half of the series, however, by the time her story is over, she has had some of the best scenes to deliver some truly cruel and heartless lines. T'Nia Miller, who was extremely compelling in Bly Manor, seemed like she was overacting a little at first during the Usher episode that focuses on her character’s demise, but I was then able to see how she was playing multiple personalities at once and rescinded my initial opinion. And Carla Gugino manages to play a variety of different characters throughout the series while still managing to have the malevolent undertones of a deadly spirit haunting the Usher family. She often steals the scene whenever she shows up and not just because you know something terrible is about to go down.

In addition to the Usher children, the actors who play the leaders of the family, in both the past and present, do a commendable job. Bruce Greenwood manages to make you see Roderick as a monster, but one who is still slightly empathetic. A sympathetic monster is not easy to pull off, but that has long been one of Flannigan’s strengths in his storytelling and Greenwood’s performance helps stick it all together as he dominates each scene he is in. You want to hear what he has to say because of the charisma Greenwood brings to the role, but also because he manages to convey the undertones of guilt and regret he has over the years of ruling a heartless corporation as well as the growing desperation he has as death gets closer and closer. During his conversations with Dupin, he speaks with confidence and often goes into lengthy rants or explanations that give him control of the conversation until a scary moment occurs or Dupin asks a specific question that shakes him in a way that he becomes fearful or sad. The episodes also have numerous moments with Roderick that mimic different stages of grief as he comes to deal with the fact that his family is cursed and his offspring are dying because of something he did.

Also notable is the character of Madeline and how well the actresses who play her manage to fit the role. Mary McDonnell’s performance as the ruthless matriarch with endless ambition blends perfectly with how Willa Fitzgerald portrays the character in her youth. The mannerisms and cadence of their speech between the two actresses are very similar to help make the character feel more cohesive across time. When jumping back and forth between the past and the present, her character is extremely consistent. That being said, it also brings up what I think is the main criticism I have of the show.

While Madeline feels fully realized, and while Bruce Greenwood does a great job of making Roderick Usher a compelling character, I still don’t feel like Roderick’s past was done in a way that his journey felt complete. That isn’t a knock against the actor who played the young Roderick, as Zach Gilford does a good job of making Roderick seem more unsure of himself and his life than his headstrong sister. It’s more that we never saw the true transition from the humble, poor father with hidden ambition into the tyrannical business tycoon. There are signs that it would inevitably happen, with some of his boss’ language being regurgitated by the older Roderick, but we don’t actually see the real transition in the character. The two Rodericks felt like separate characters who never quite meet on screen in stark contrast to how consistently Madeline is portrayed.

The last thing I’ll say is that this show can be quite gruesome and brutal with its horror. Poe did not shy away from gore and viscera in his macabre tales, so it suits the series just fine. There are some good moments that are genuinely creepy with both subtlety and intensity. However, there are plenty of scenes towards the end of several episodes that can be shocking, so viewers beware.

TL;DR

I was rather skeptical of a modern interpretation of Edgar Allan Poe’s most popular stories, but Mike Flannigan and his talented team managed to pleasantly surprise me. The mystery surrounding the Usher family and their demise was enough to hook me and the performances of the cast managed to make me curious about how everything would get wrapped up. Not everything felt fully realized by its end, but I think that this show manages to tell an interesting enough story that even Poe would approve of its quality.

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