The Fall of the House of Usher in the Media

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MIKE FLANAGAN'S SHOWS & MOVIES RANKED

#7 - The Fall of the House of Usher

The Fall of the House of Usher marks the concluding collaboration between Flanagan and Netflix, and this extensive partnership concludes on a relatively subdued note. Adapted from Edgar Allan Poe’s eponymous tale, the 8-episode series centers on a repulsive assembly of individuals striving to preserve their family’s wealth amid its disintegration. While Flanagan has a knack for crafting characters who resonate with audiences, this proves challenging in this instance due to the unsympathetic nature of the family. Their unlikability is central to the narrative, yet many characters remain irredeemable. Regrettably, the series doesn’t reach the same heights of cleverness or profundity as Flanagan’s previous works. Nevertheless, it delivers a macabre, chilling, and atmospheric experience that secures it a middle-tier position in this list.

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Mike Flanagan’s Netflix Shows, Ranked: Which Series Is Head, Bent Neck and Shoulders Above the Rest?

MOST EFFECTIVE JUMP SCARE: The Fall of the House of Usher

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It’s tough to beat Hill House’s ghost that bursts, screaming, out of a car’s center console. But on the whole, Roderick Usher’s dead children appearing, unannounced — and in at least one case, dropping from the ceiling and interrupting dad’s confessional monologue — give the latest series the edge.

 

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Carla Gugino is Mike Flanagan's Raven | The Fall of the House of Usher | Netflix

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‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ Production Designer on Building the Series’ Multiple Houses and Odes to Edgar Allen Poe

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Laurin Kelsey, who previously worked with Flanagan on The Midnight Club and Midnight Mass (as an art director), had the joy of building not one but multiple homes of the macabre — one for each member of the Usher family. They were also assigned colors — red for Perry, blue for Frederick, orange for Vic, silver for Camille, green for Tamerlane, yellow for Leo, purple for Madeline and gold for Roderick — that made their space distinct, whether they were inside their residence or beyond it.

 

[Bastet]

Both Madelines nominated for a Critics Choice Award (for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series).  I haven't seen any of the nominees for Best Limited Series, but it seems criminal this show is not among them.  Still, cheers to Mary McDonnell and Willa Fitzgerald, who were indeed impressive in a cast stacked to the rafters with talent and made Madeline Usher the show's most fascinating character to me.

[fastiller]

10 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Both Madelines nominated for a Critics Choice Award (for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series).  I haven't seen any of the nominees for Best Limited Series, but it seems criminal this show is not among them.  Still, cheers to Mary McDonnell and Willa Fitzgerald, who were indeed impressive in a cast stacked to the rafters with talent and made Madeline Usher the show's most fascinating character to me.

Yep; it's criminal that the show itself wasn't nominated.

[Bastet]

58 minutes ago, fastiller said:

Yep; it's criminal that the show itself wasn't nominated.

Like I said, I haven't seen any of the nominated shows, so maybe I shouldn't make that kind of pronouncement, but I'm doing it anyway, because I haven't been this captivated by television in a while.  The writing is razor sharp (intelligent, witty, intriguing, and provides meaningful social commentary), the acting is sublime, the visuals are striking - and scary at all the right times -  and the characters are unapologetically awful people but largely without being cartoons.  There cannot possibly have been a whopping eight limited series that were even better than this, there just can't.