The Fall of the House of Usher

The creepy production values are top-notch and the scares are not only frightening but disturbing. .... One of the best series Netflix has ever produced.

A good adaptation is faithful to the essence of the original material. A great adaptation manages to be faithful while using the original to build something new. In Netflix’s The Fall of the House of Usher, the preservation of mood pays proper homage to the author’s words. The show’s social commentary, in turn, allows a retelling of an old story to resonate powerfully in our current moment.

Flanagan finishes his Netflix contract on a high, gleefully capturing Poe’s magic, eerie romance and sense of dread.

It’s a great ensemble, brought together by the boundless potential of what a creative personality like Mike Flanagan could do with Edgar Allen Poe. That some of that potential feels too unbridled and shapeless is something that Poe didn’t often allow his characters: forgivable.

You have a pretty good idea from the first couple where things are headed. It’s a journey-is-the-reward situation. That journey works better as stand-alone chapters rather than as a build-up to a final destination.

Flanagan (who directed half the episodes, with Michael Fimognari handling the rest) has more resources at his disposal, and rewards Netflix with another watchable title just in time for Halloween – if not, Fortunato’s corporate sins notwithstanding, one that’s not as addictive as it could or should be.

The Fall of the House of Usher displays a surface-level appreciation for the writer. His genius is ultimately sacrificed on the altar of the Flanagan’s desire to give us a spooky Succession.

One of the best work of Flanagan so far, much better than most of the other series. The trailer ****, making it look like a goofy horror comedy, while it’s actually quite far from that. I agree that the Poe references are wasted (or rather pointless), but if you get past that and judge the episodes on their own merit, the series really delivers a memorable story with some great acting.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

It`s not about Poe at all (while "Hill House" and "Bly Manor" tried to capture the essence of the literary works they adapted). It`s "Succession" with gore. It`s like a more restrained season of "American Horror Story". Not bad (and the framing device about two old men around a fireplace is perfect), but not particulary scary and without the depths of Flanagan`s other work.

Flanagan makes another boring and unscary soap opera. Don't mistake this for a horror series, because it's not. It's a mishmash of ham-fisted social commentary with Edgar Allan Poe tropes sprinkled in without rhyme or reason. If you like corny overdramatized soap operas, then give it a watch, but if you want horror, this is just awful. Flanagan's one and only trick to create a scare is a quick jump-cut to someone in gore makeup every 20-30 minutes. It's boring. But that's not even the offensive part. This series is ostensibly a collection of Poe's works put into a single linear story, but it's not that. The show feels like someone skimmed a handful of Poe's "Best Of" poems, then decided to add elements of those into an already-written screenplay like square pegs into a round hole. They also have characters randomly quote Poe poems for no real reason other than to try to fool the audience into thinking the writing is better than it actually is. If you want horror, this show is not for you. If you want intelligent social commentary, this show is not for you. If you're a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, this show is REALLY not for you. If you want 8 grueling hours of hate mail to big pharma, then you'll think this is the best show ever.

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