‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ spooks its way to #1 on Netflix: Mike Flanagan’s ‘deliciously dark lens’ reimagines Edgar Allan Poe classics [Review Round-Up]
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On October 12, 2023, “The Fall of the House of Usher” was released on Netflix and quickly ascended to become the streamer’s most-watch TV series. Created by Mike Flanigan, the limited series is loosely based on the short story of the same name and other works by Edgar Allan Poe. 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.
Receiving predominantly positive reviews, the thriller holds fresh on Rotten Tomatoes at 91%. The critics consensus reads, “Presenting vintage Poe stories filtered through Mike Flanagan’s deliciously dark lens, ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ will get a rise out of horror fans.” Read our full review round-up below.
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Keith Phipps of TV Guide writes, “Even if it takes on a slasher-like predictability by pushing characters toward inventive kills, one by one, ‘Usher’ also grows darker and more somber as it progresses and reckons with the real-world offenses mirrored in the Usher story.” Phipps continues, “Episode titles like ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ and ‘The Black Cat’ make no secret of those deaths’ inspirations, but ‘Usher ‘consistently finds clever spins on these familiar stories (even if one episode has to bend itself in knots to make the connection work).”
Therese Lacson of Collider says, “Flanagan’s ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ might not appear, on the surface, to embody what we imagine being the Gothic. It’s about a pharmaceutical magnate and his family which consists of everything from a gamer to a cake decorator — but that is merely the veneer of this story. Beneath the glossy surface that reminds us more of the Roys of ‘Succession’ than the ‘House of Usher,’ it’s clear that Flanagan has fully embraced what Poe has to offer. In blending the modern with the Romantic era, Flanagan is able to put his own unique stamp on some much-beloved stories.”
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Chris Evangelista of Slashfilm was less impressed, noting, “What if Edgar Allan Poe had penned ‘Succession’? The result might be ‘The Fall of the House of Usher,’ the latest streaming terror from Mike Flanagan (‘Midnight Mass’). Flanagan, once again working with his usual stable of players, takes a ‘shut up and play the hits’ approach to Poe here, dipping into the legendary author’s work to reference nearly everything you can think of — ‘The Raven,’ ‘The Tell-Tale Heart,’ ‘The Masque of the Red Death,’ ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue,’ and on and on. Even Poe’s famous detective character C. Auguste Dupin has a part to play, only now he’s been upgraded from a sleuth to a crusading district attorney, played with calm gravitas by Carl Lumbly. “
Amelia Emberwing of IGN Movies praises the series, stating, “The first thing you need to know about Mike Flanagan’s ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ is that it’s not the story you’re expecting. Don’t take that to mean that reverence for Edgar Allan Poe isn’t front and center, though: Every minute of this series worships Poe. But rather than directly translating the author’s tale of a man whose internal rot is symbolized by his crumbling abode, Flanagan uses the short story as what could almost be described as the wraparound segment in an anthology, with each chapter tackling another one of Poe’s fables while mummified in the wrappings of ‘The Fall of the House of Usher.’ What comes out of that mummification is some of Flanagan’s best work.”
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