The Fall of the House of Usher

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.

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.

I enjoyed pretty much everything about this series. The creative way the Poe stories were integrated to each episode and then tied all together with one big Usher bow. Just great.

However, the standout for me was Bruce Greenwood's performance. He, to me, really rose above the rest. I think it lies within the fact that he played against what we normally see from him: strong, stoic, often aloof characters. Seeing him as a sometimes pathetic soul: crying, crawling on the ground in terror, etc. Was fresh, unexpected and played perfectly (In my not so humble opinion). This will be a Halloween season classic for me from now on. Loved it.

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).

A huge family run empire at the height of its powers begins so crumble, as one by one the heirs and offspring begin to die.

It's a binge worthy eight part series, one you won't want to end. It's a twisted look at one greed and vanity can do, even among siblings.

It's dark and twisted, it gets better with every passing episode, Flanagan knows only too well how to spin a yarn, and this is another wonderful series. The final episode was perhaps my favourite segment, how rare for a series to end on such a high note, it's wonderful.

Beautifully produced as you'd expect, you get a real insight into what life is like for those that live with huge wealth, sadly they're all monstrous, every single time you think an Usher has come good, you have to think again.

It highlights what it is to have everything, and what it is to have nothing, only you have to question what exactly is worth having, does wealth amount to anything at all ultimately?

Lots of familiar faces, and they all perform, it's worth seeing for Mark Hamill alone, although it owes a great debt to the versatility of Carla Gugino, who gets some show stealing scenes.

Am already counting down for the next Flanagan series.

9/10.