‘The House of Usher’ Review: Death by Poe
metroweekly.comThe Fall of The House of Usher (★★★★★), a wide-ranging descent into the terror of wealth.Armed with Poe’s bibliography and his cast of regulars, Flanagan uses Usher to show everything he has learned and assert himself as one of the best directors in horror.House of Usher is based on practically every Poe short story — from The Tell-Tale Heart to The Pit and the Pendulum.
Its overarching story concerns Roderick and Madeline Usher (Bruce Greenwood and Mary McDonnell), two illegitimate twins who become the creators of Ligidone, a “non-addictive” opioid that ends up making them wealthy beyond belief.We meet the Ushers at a funeral for three of Roderick’s children, three others having died a week before.
Their ghosts — and a woman wearing a raven mask (Carla Guigino) — haunt Roderick as he decides to spill the entire story to Assistant U.S.
Attorney Dupin (Carl Lumbly).House of Usher wouldn’t be a Flanagan production without the inclusion of his regulars, including Henry Thomas, Katey Siegal, Samantha Sloyan, Rahul Kohli, and T’Nia Miller playing the doomed Usher children, while other regulars like Annabeth Gish, Zach Gilford, and Willa Fitzgerald also make supporting turns.Almost all of the children become infected by the loss of humanity that comes with extreme wealth, and they all being well-suited for the horrific behavior they demonstrate.
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