Mike Flanagan's Succession is the nickname this series has had. However, Flanagan does not need to be compared to others. Its own name says enough about the quality one can expect. Mike Flanagan has been building his reputation as a renowned horror maker for some time now. We have been enjoying the collaboration between Flanagan and Netflix for several years now. In 2018, the two parties, together with Trevor Macy, signed a five-year deal. We as an audience have been able to reap the fruits of this very richly. The first series was The Haunting of Hill House, based on the book of the same name by Shirley Jackson. A success with both critics and viewers. The Haunting of Bly Manor, based on The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, followed. Original series Midnight Mass and The Midnight Club, based on Christopher Pike's books, were numbers three and four. The deal with Netflix is now coming to an end. At the last minute, Flanagan brings us The Fall of the House of Usher, an ode to Edgar Allan Poe.
Flanagan doesn't make an obvious horror. I don't pretend to be an absolute horror expert, but I would describe his series as psychological horror. Something along those lines. In any case, Wikipedia often calls it gothic horror, with supernatural elements. What is characteristic is that you are completely sucked in. What is going on? How exactly does this work? It's never what you expect and that makes it great.
''What was it—I paused to think—what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher?''' - Edgar Allan Poe
The Fall of the House of Usher follows the wealthy Usher family. They are in the pharmaceutical branch of the business world and rule there with an iron fist, without thinking too much about ethics and morality. When the family is taken to court again, the six children of patriarch Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood, The Resident) begin dying one by one in bizarre incidents. All this seems to lead back to a moment from Roderick's past. In the first episode, he invites lawyer C. Auguste Dupine (Carl Lumbly, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) to his parental home. He will tell his story for one. Why it's his fault that all his children have died under mysterious circumstances in the past two weeks.
The cast of The Fall of the House of Usher consists largely of familiar faces from the Flanafam. Mike Flanagan is known for using the same actors and actresses in his films and series. Many of the cast members (but certainly not all) have already appeared in one or more of his other four Netflix series, or one of his films. A prominent new face to the Flanafam is Mary McDonnell (Fargo) as Roderick's twin sister Madeline Usher. Her younger version is played by new family member Willa Fitzgerald (Scream) while the younger version of Roderick is played by Zach Gilford (three Flanagan collaborations, L.A.'s Finest). The mysterious woman at the heart of this series is played by the great Carla Gugino (five collaborations, Wayward Pines).
The six Usher children are all played by familiar faces. From youngest to oldest: Prospero Usher (Sauriyan Sapkota, two collaborations, The Midnight Club), Camille L'Espanaye (Kate Siegel, wife of Flanagan, eight collaborations, The Time Traveler's Wife), Napoleon Usher (Rahul Kohli, four collaborations, iZombie ), Victorine LaFourcade (T'Nia Miller, two collaborations, The Peripheral), Tamerlane Usher (Samantha Sloyan, five collaborations, Grey's Anatomy) and Frederick Usher (Henry Thomas, eight collaborations, Stargirl). There are also many supporting roles that are often played by well-known Flanafam members.
Flanagan adapts classic horror in a modern way. He already did a great job with his two The Haunting series and he won't turn his back on that this time either. The series title and six of the eight-episode titles are all short stories by Edgar Allen Poe. The first and last episodes refer to the famous poem 'The Raven'. In addition, all the character names are references to Poe's poems and stories and the characters that appear in them. For true Poe connoisseurs, it will be a joy to find every hidden reference and hidden hint and perhaps interpret it as a harbinger in the story.
I think The Haunting of Hill House is the best horror series made in recent years. The Fall of the House of Usher takes up this battle, because I am a huge fan. How the first episode sets up and introduces the story is blood-curdlingly exciting. You're on the edge of your seat and you don't know what to expect and you don't know exactly what happens. That makes a Flanagan series wonderful. At the time of writing this review, I have secretly seen more than just the first episode. I couldn't turn it off. So trust that it is really, really good.
The first episode gets a great 9.0 from me! I can even imagine that after seeing the entire series (I've already seen a few more), it will be even higher! Let's hope Flanagan's new deal with Amazon Prime will yield equally fantastic projects.
Terribly bad series. I have never seen a series that is so full of sexual perversions and in which there is swearing and f..ckting in almost every sentence. From what sick mind does such a story originate? And then also on the back of Edgar Poe to make some false advertising. Shame on you Flanagan.
