Mike Flanagan’s newest Netflix sequence is a ghoulishly enjoyable cross between Succession and Edgar Allan Poe.
PLOT: On this depraved sequence primarily based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, ruthless siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher have constructed Fortunato Prescription drugs into an empire of wealth, privilege and energy. However previous secrets and techniques come to mild when the heirs to the Usher dynasty begin dying by the hands of a mysterious girl from their youth.
REVIEW: Because the premiere of Earlier than I Wake and Hush on Netflix in 2016, Mike Flanagan has known as the streaming platform his artistic house. However, it was not till The Haunting of Hill Home that Flanagan grew to become a recognizable title to the plenty. With an authentic movie and 4 sequence for Netflix, Mike Flanagan’s remaining undertaking beneath his total deal could also be his most bold till he rolls on his potential adaptation of Stephen King’s The Darkish Tower. Drawing inspiration from one other grasp of the macabre, Flanagan’s The Fall of the Home of Usher is an unconventional twist on the enduring quick story of the identical title. Bringing collectively his repertory gamers from nearly all of his movies and sequence thus far, Flanagan’s model of The Fall of the Home of Usher is a grand guignol mix of gothic horror with the cutthroat world of the ultra-wealthy. Take into account it Succession if Edgar Allan Poe wrote it, and you understand what you might be in for. It is a spooky sequence with some really modern takes on the supply materials that may please followers of Flanagan and Poe alike.
Realizing what Flanagan has finished with the traditional tales of Shirley Jackson and Henry James, I anticipated a up to date twist on The Fall of the Home of Usher. As a substitute of updating that single Poe yarn, Flanagan took a cue from final 12 months’s Christopher Pike mash-up The Midnight Membership and modernized a number of tales from the traditional writer. At its core, the Fall of the Home of Usher tells the story of Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood), a wealthy man whose crumbling manse represents his personal downfall. However, by widening the dimensions of the story, Flanagan inserts a best hits compilation of Edgar Allan Poe tales organically into the narrative construction. From the trailer alone, you’ll be able to inform that Usher consists of riffs on “The Masque of the Purple Dying,” “The Black Cat,” “The Inform-Story Coronary heart,” “The Murders at Rue Morgue,” “The Raven,” and plenty of extra. The sheer variety of Poe references on this sequence is staggering and goes past full tales into names pulled from the writer’s poems and contemporaries from his life. In need of a real biopic, The Fall of the Home of Usher is the last word homage to one of many icons of horror literature.
The Fall of the Home of Usher begins with Roderick Usher’s six youngsters lifeless with out divulging how every Poe story components into the general narrative. Amid an enormous lawsuit towards his firm, Fortuna Prescription drugs, Roderick invitations prosecutor C. August Dupain (Carl Lumbly) to his house, the place he plans to inform the lawyer his confession. Over the eight-episode sequence, Usher’s story features a chapter centered on the demise of every of his youngsters and flashbacks to what set this whole sequence of occasions in movement. By permitting every chapter to connect with the following and function {a partially} standalone story, The Fall of the Home of Usher works as each an anthology and a singular story anchored by the central dialog between Usher and Dupain. Bruce Greenwood, who stepped in for Frank Langella early in manufacturing, beforehand labored with Flanagan on the Stephen King adaptation of Gerald’s Sport. Usher is a triumphant function for the veteran actor who has appeared in every thing from J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek to taking part in John F. Kennedy within the movie 13 Days. Whereas spending most of his time with Lumbly, a veteran of Flanagan’s Physician Sleep, Greenwood is astoundingly good because the patriarch watching his empire and household crumble earlier than him.
As a lot as The Fall of the Home of Usher is a greatest-hits compilation of Poe tales, additionally it is a mega-cast of Mike Flanagan’s prolonged roster of expertise. The primary solid consists of actors from a number of of the director’s tasks, together with Carla Gugino as Verna, Henry Thomas as Frederick Usher, Kate Seigel as Camille L’Espanaye, Samantha Sloyan as Tamerlane Usher, T’Nia Miller as Victorine LaFourcade, Rahul Kohli as Napoleon Usher, Sauriyan Sapkota as Prospero Usher, and Ruth Codd as Juno Usher, Amongst the supporting solid are Katie Parker from Flanagan’s Absentia, Michael Trucco from Hush, Annabeth Gish from Earlier than I Wake, Lulu Wilson from Ouija: Origin of Evil, Kyleigh Curran from Physician Sleep, Robert Longstreet from The Haunting of Bly Manor, in addition to Crystal Balint, Matt Biedel and Zach Gilford from Midnight Mass, and Igby Rigney and Aya Furukawa from The Midnight Membership. New additions to Flanagan’s world are Willa Fitzgerald and Mary McDonnell as Madeline Usher, Mark Hamill as Arthur Pym, and Paola Nunez as Alessandra Ruiz. Everybody on this solid is well-suited for Flanagan’s fashion, which the sequence’ tone accentuates. A pitch-black humorousness pervades the somber themes, but it surely by no means boils over into pulp or melodrama. That being stated, this sequence is nearer to The Midnight Membership than Midnight Mass.
Primarily based on the character names listed, you could possibly dig by means of Poe’s bibliography to find out which tales they’re related to. Nonetheless, Flanagan and co-writers Justina Eire, Dani Parker, Jamie Flanagan, Emmy Grinwis, Matt Johnson, Rebecca Klingel, and Kiele Sanchez aren’t beholden to the supply materials. The core of the tales are translated right here, however the narrators and victims from the written web page are switched round typically to maintain the viewer on their toes. However, as every Usher member of the family meets their premature demise, you’ll make no mistake as to which Poe story their comeuppance was sourced from. Flanagan, who directed half of the sequence and handed the opposite 4 episodes to his long-time cinematographer Michael Fimognari, takes a cue from his idol Stephen King in imbuing real-world occasions into the combo. The Ushers are accountable for the opioid epidemic on this story, a well timed connection to present information. There are additionally many jabs at political figures who stay anonymous, however an astute viewer will know precisely who the writers are mocking.
As a giant Flanagan fan, I can not assist however discover components of this sequence uneven. So many of those performances are wonderful, particularly Bruce Greenwood, Carl Lumbly, and the all the time nice Carla Gugino, however there are additionally some odd missteps alongside the way in which. Ruth Codd, who rose to fame on social media and stood out in The Midnight Membership, is oddly solid right here as Roderick Usher’s new spouse, Juno. The function feels considerably pressured and didn’t solely work for me as Juno appears extra comedian reduction than an important a part of the story. Mark Hamill is sweet in an understated function because the Usher’s major legal professional and fixer. Nonetheless, Mary McDonnell’s terrible wig typically overshadows him once they share scenes collectively. Rahul Kohli and Samantha Sloyan personal their scenes as two Usher siblings. Nevertheless, their performances generally really feel like takes on Kieran Culkin and Sarah Snook in Succession quite than authentic creations. These are nitpicks within the grand scheme of issues, as The Fall of the Home of Usher is constructed round the principle characters being on the point of loss of life. We’ve a front-row seat to their karmic retribution, however I couldn’t assist however really feel that many character traits are launched that don’t get defined in a worthwhile method because the sequence heads towards the massive reveal on the finish.
The Fall of the Home of Usher doesn’t fairly attain the extent of The Haunting of Hill Home or Midnight Mass. I count on followers will discover this sequence nearer to The Haunting of Bly Manor, which I don’t imply as a slight in any manner. Like Edgar Allan Poe’s tales, this sequence focuses on quick tales with romantic and gothic tones that characteristic a primary character getting their simply desserts. Flanagan brings his eye for the macabre and injects the correct quantity of blood and guts to make this a ghoulish expertise. Most of those characters deserve what’s coming, so witnessing them undergo is a cathartic expertise. By incorporating Poe’s poetry and figures from the writer’s actual life, Mike Flanagan and his writing workforce have constructed a ravishing ode to Poe and one that ought to open an entire new era to take a look at his writing. The Fall of the Home of Usher is a haunting and exquisite sequence. Whereas just a few characters and subplots don’t fairly work, the overwhelming majority of them do. This isn’t as scary as Hill Home, however it’s each bit the worthy Halloween binge this October.
The Fall of the Home of Usher premieres on October twelfth on Netflix.
7
