Fall of the House of Usher

Director: Mike Flanagan
Starring: Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Mary McDonnell, Henry Thomas, Mark Hamill, Rahul Kolhi, and more.

To secure their fortune (and future) two ruthless siblings build a family dynasty that begins to crumble when their heirs mysteriously die, one by one.

Okay, this isn’t a movie but a television mini-series. But honestly, it’s too good not to cover here. That and you might remember there was a little controversy in filming the show because halfway through the role of Roderick Usher was recast…

Fans of Edgar Allen Poe will love this dark and often terrifying thriller series for all the fantastic references to all his famous poems. Not only that, the story is about the fall of a wealthy family who profited off pharmaceuticals and the mystery of how they made their fortune is directly tied to their downfall.

Roderick Usher and his twin sister Madeline are worth a fortune, having profited from pharmaceutical painkillers which aligns with recent events in reality over the last decade or so. While Madeline never married or had children, Roderick has six children by several mothers. At the start of our story, we learn that all six of them died individually and in horrible, bizarre ways. He calls Assistant District Attorney C. Auguste Dupin, a man who has been both his ally and his nemesis. to talk about the strange events.

Where do I start? I love Mike Flanagan’s work but this show is now my favorite of his shows and the last one, for now, he’ll be producing for Netflix. 

Over the course of eight episodes, we take a closer look at all the broken members of this family. We learn what drives them and what demons they harbor. Who is killing Roderick’s children one by one and why?

I love this Netflix show and fully recommend it. It’s for the older crowd only because this is a lot darker than Flanagan’s usual fare peppered with violence and a couple of gross-out moments on top of it. The writing is sensational and the acting was amazing, particularly Carlo Gugino’s Verna. 

If you’re looking for something to binge on a chilly winter’s night, and you like a little horror with a solid mystery, you’ll love The Fall of the House of Usher.