Mike Flanagan leaves no stone unturned as he delivers a deliciously macabre family drama packed with his signature horror storytelling style infused with morbid humour — a testament that the foundation of the Flanagan house stands strong.
Flanagan co-wrote and directed most of the episodes of The Fall of the House of Usher, which is a loose adaptation of the many works of Edgar Allan Poe. A juicy family drama about 1 percenters is always enticing, but through the incredibly layered lens of gothic horror, Flanagan ropes viewers in with effective dialogue from a great cast, proving he's still among the best horror storytellers today. He smartly uses the work of Edgar Allan Poe to haunt fans with something more grisly than expected, with episodes that become more gory as the Usher empire falls.
The story centres on Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood), the patriarch of a billion-dollar empire that he led successfully through the opioid epidemic. He has fathered six kids, each from a different mother and he's open to giving them – and anyone who claims their birthright to his empire – a chance to prove themselves as he hands them cash to start their ventures.
The show opens with Roderick mourning the death of all six of his adult children. By his side are his ruthless twin sister Madeline (Mary McDonnell), granddaughter Lenore (Kyleigh Curran) and fixer Arthur Pym (Mark Hamill in an unrecognizable turn).
Each episode details the death of one of Roderick's children. Frederick (Henry Thomas) is the eldest son who tries very much to please his father at all costs; Tamerlane (Samantha Sloyan), the eldest daughter with her own goop-esque business; Victorine (T'Nia Miller), the scientist cutting corners with her clinical trials; Leo (Rahul Kohli), a self-involved video game designer; Camille L'Espanaye (Kate Siegel), the shrewd PR mastermind for the family's dirty secrets; and Prospero (Sauriyan Sapkota), the youngest with the desire for parties and drugs and blackmail-the-rich schemes — the irony here is sublime.
As each episode unravels, viewers learn about the misdeeds of the Usher kids and how they eventually pay for the sins of their father. Each of them is haunted by a mysterious woman, played by Carla Gugino. The final episode reveals all, putting together the pieces of the puzzle in true Flanagan style.
The show isn't buried in the horror genre like the Haunting series, but is housed as a chilling thriller, so that fans of Succession can enjoy the satisfying satire. It's not just the satire of the fall of the rich and privileged that's entertaining as ever — which it is, in every way — but the cast that come together to deliver morbid humour. The added bonus is that almost every actor has previously been cast in Flanagan's Haunting series, so at times it feels like another instalment in the Haunting series (though it never really is).
Carla Gugino and Kate Siegel never disappoint. as they continue to remain highlights of the series, as in past Flanagan projects, and Henry Thomas gives it his all in some very memorable scenes.
The Fall of the House of Usher is a wickedly entertaining series with original yet nasty kills that thrill, and dialogue that's as sharp as the deadly stabs of the nepo babies.
(Netflix)Flanagan co-wrote and directed most of the episodes of The Fall of the House of Usher, which is a loose adaptation of the many works of Edgar Allan Poe. A juicy family drama about 1 percenters is always enticing, but through the incredibly layered lens of gothic horror, Flanagan ropes viewers in with effective dialogue from a great cast, proving he's still among the best horror storytellers today. He smartly uses the work of Edgar Allan Poe to haunt fans with something more grisly than expected, with episodes that become more gory as the Usher empire falls.
The story centres on Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood), the patriarch of a billion-dollar empire that he led successfully through the opioid epidemic. He has fathered six kids, each from a different mother and he's open to giving them – and anyone who claims their birthright to his empire – a chance to prove themselves as he hands them cash to start their ventures.
The show opens with Roderick mourning the death of all six of his adult children. By his side are his ruthless twin sister Madeline (Mary McDonnell), granddaughter Lenore (Kyleigh Curran) and fixer Arthur Pym (Mark Hamill in an unrecognizable turn).
Each episode details the death of one of Roderick's children. Frederick (Henry Thomas) is the eldest son who tries very much to please his father at all costs; Tamerlane (Samantha Sloyan), the eldest daughter with her own goop-esque business; Victorine (T'Nia Miller), the scientist cutting corners with her clinical trials; Leo (Rahul Kohli), a self-involved video game designer; Camille L'Espanaye (Kate Siegel), the shrewd PR mastermind for the family's dirty secrets; and Prospero (Sauriyan Sapkota), the youngest with the desire for parties and drugs and blackmail-the-rich schemes — the irony here is sublime.
As each episode unravels, viewers learn about the misdeeds of the Usher kids and how they eventually pay for the sins of their father. Each of them is haunted by a mysterious woman, played by Carla Gugino. The final episode reveals all, putting together the pieces of the puzzle in true Flanagan style.
The show isn't buried in the horror genre like the Haunting series, but is housed as a chilling thriller, so that fans of Succession can enjoy the satisfying satire. It's not just the satire of the fall of the rich and privileged that's entertaining as ever — which it is, in every way — but the cast that come together to deliver morbid humour. The added bonus is that almost every actor has previously been cast in Flanagan's Haunting series, so at times it feels like another instalment in the Haunting series (though it never really is).
Carla Gugino and Kate Siegel never disappoint. as they continue to remain highlights of the series, as in past Flanagan projects, and Henry Thomas gives it his all in some very memorable scenes.
The Fall of the House of Usher is a wickedly entertaining series with original yet nasty kills that thrill, and dialogue that's as sharp as the deadly stabs of the nepo babies.