Series Review: "The Fall of the House of Usher" (2023).

"The creator of The Haunting of Hill House" comes The Fall of the House of Usher. This gothic horror drama miniseries created by Mike Flanagan, and loosely based on the short story of the same title and other works by Edgar Allan Poe. Ruthless siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher have built Fortunato Pharmaceuticals into an empire of wealth, privilege and power. But past secrets come to light when the heirs to the Usher dynasty start dying at the hands of a mysterious woman from their youth.

In October 2021, Netflix announced that Flanagan was developing a new miniseries based on Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher and other works. By late January 2022, Carla Gugino, Frank Langella, Zach Gilford, Mary McDonnell, Willa Fitzgerald, Lulu Wilson, Carl Lumbly, Malcolm Goodwin, Samantha Sloyan, T'Nia Miller, Rahul Kohli, Kate Siegel, Michael Trucco, Henry Thomas, and Mark Hamill were cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in early July. Filming took place at The Bridge Studios in Burnaby, as well as Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In April, Langella was fired from the series after a misconduct investigation, with his role set to be recast. By the end of the month, Bruce Greenwood was cast to replace Langella.

The series stars Gugino, Greenwood, Gilford, McDonnell, Fitzgerald, Wilson, Lumbly, Goodwin, Sloyan, Miller, Kohli, Siegel, Trucco, Thomas, and Hamill. If we didn't care so much about these characters-even the ones who do terrible things and then continue to be terrible - the series wouldn't be as moving and suspenseful as it is throughout. The most interesting characters are not just the Usher family members but also Dupin (Lumbly), Pym (Tamil), and Verna (Gugino).

The series is, as Flora from The Haunting of Bly Manor would say, perfectly splendid. It's not a ghost story, but, unambiguously, a terrifying story of karma. It's also a tale about greed and power that powerful people possess and abuse. The series is more of a slow burn than its predecessor but, like its predecessor, there's plenty to gleefully enjoy, especially if you love gothic stories. The series is a haunting familial horror story (in the most literary and dark sense of the word) that stays with you after it's finished. I expect we will be seeing the fifth Netflix series from Flanagan before long and I hope it is as distinct from the first four shows. This is absolutely a ghost story but will redefine what we consider horror in the best way. Do not go into this series expecting the same haunted house thrill ride we got with Hill House and Bly Manor, this tale is more a haunting and poetic gothic tragedy, one that had tears streaming down my face by its terrifying final moments. Even though it doesn't reach the heights of Hill House and Bly Manor, the series is still a grim and entertaining ghost tale with a talented cast, grat direction and flawless aesthetics.

Simon says The Fall of the House of Usher receives:

Also, see my review for The Midnight Club.