The Fall of the House of Usher

This low-budget thriller was one of the first independent experimental films made in the USA. Heavily influenced by German Expressionist filmmaking (and in particular "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari") this film makes effective use of odd camera angles and stylized sets, and is still quite interesting to watch today as a sort of Gothic mood piece.

A traveler arrives at the Usher mansion to find that the sibling inhabitants, Roderick and Madeline Usher, are living under a mysterious family curse: Roderick's senses have become painfully acute, while Madeline has become nearly catatonic. As the visitor's stay at the mansion continues, the effects of the curse reach their terrifying climax.

This is a very odd film, and one that can quite correctly be called "Avant garde" or "experimental". Some rudimentary special effects were tested here, all of which had to be done in-camera. The camera itself is often off-kilter, giving a disorienting effect. We also have plenty of double exposures and what looks like kaleidoscope vision. The words "beat", "crack" and "scream" take on a life of their own.

Roderick is particularly creepy, and one wonders what influence -- if any -- this had on later versions of the Usher story. Today, the best known one is likely the Roger Corman and Vincent Price picture, but to compare that to this film would be difficult... even the most basic plot elements here are mysterious.

This film is also not to be confused with another film that came out the same year with the same name, starring Charles Lamy and Jean Debucourt. This other version had Luis Buñuel as Assistant Director, and is probably the better of the two.

This unusual and memorable movie version of Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" has some creative details, and although it is one of the more obscure versions of the story, it offers a distinctive look at a couple of its many interesting aspects. The style is deliberately murky, and it has not so much as an inter-title, so that you do need to know at least the basic plot in order to understand what is happening.

The original story is psychologically provocative and often uncomfortable, even by Poe's usual standards, and this adaptation is pretty successful in using symbolism and visual images to bring out various aspects of the mental disorientation and dread that the characters struggle with. You can watch it a couple of times and still notice new details that the film-makers inserted at various points. It focuses particularly on the peculiarly complex relationship between Roderick and Madeline, with the narrator of the original story much less prominent here.

Poe's fascinating short story has been the source for many different movie versions, and Jean Epstein made a particularly good one in the same year as this feature. This Watson/Webber version, with its short length and its avant-garde approach, is hard to compare with the full-length versions. For what it tries to do, though, it works pretty well.

Intriguing early experimental treatment of Poe from the same filmmakers who would bring us the even more astonishing "Lot In Sodom" in 1933. Doesn't compete with the equally avant-garde feature length version made at the same time by Jean Epstein & Luis Bunuel, yet stands well on its own. More of a tribute to UFA & German Expressionism than an outright imitation, with specific nods to Caligari, Der Golem, and Faust. Visually rewarding for lighting, cinematography, sets, makeup. Compiled in a skewed fashion reminiscent of the structure of a nightmare. Captures the wonderfully gloomy, morbid atmosphere of Poe's work, the claustrophobic ambiance of "Usher" in particular. A treat for fans of the genre, in addition to being sufficiently unusual & brief (just over 12 minutes) to hold the average viewer's attention. At one time, this film was available on an anthology videotape called "American Avant-Garde" along with the aforementioned "Lot In Sodom." Great stuff if you're lucky enough to track it down.

Fall of the House of Usher, The (1928)

*** (out of 4)

While this thing is missing the wonderful Vincent Price performance it does manage to outshine the Corman film with its use of brilliant visual effects, which are quite remarkable considering when this was made. The infamous Poe tale is retold in this short, which uses various visual effects to get the horror across. Those into weird cinema will certainly want to check this film out, which manages to have a couple creepy spots

Certainly worth checking out.