Mike Flanagan is the creator of the American gothic horror drama television miniseries, The Fall of the House of Usher. On October 12, 2023, Netflix made all eight of the episodes available to stream. Michael Fimognari, who also served as the show’s cinematographer, and Flanagan both directed the episodes.

The show, which is loosely inspired on many works by 19th-century author Edgar Allan Poe (most notably the eponymous short storey published in 1840), combines Poe’s usually unconnected events and characters into a continuous, nonlinear storyline that spans the years 1953 to 2023.

It tells the storey of how Roderick Usher, the strong CEO of a dishonest pharmaceutical business, rose to prominence, how his sister Madeline Usher, the brilliant COO of the company, met her end, and how all six of Roderick’s children died. The film features a group of actors including Bruce Greenwood as an ageing Roderick, Mary McDonnell as an ageing Madeline, and Carla Gugino as an enigmatic woman haunting the Ushers.

The Fall of the House of Usher’s first two episodes debuted at Fantastic Fest in September 2023 and were seen over 13 million times in their first two weeks of availability on Netflix the following month.

Critics gave it favourable reviews, complimenting the directing, performances (especially those of Gugino, Greenwood, and Mark Hamill), and production qualities. However, many disagreed on the storyline, particularly as it related to the original materials.

Release Date of The Fall of the House of Usher Miniseries In September 2023, the first two episodes made their premieres at Fantastic Fest and at Towson University, where Flanagan received a pre-screening. Netflix launched the series on October 12, 2023.

The Plot

The story starts in November 2023, shortly after the wealthy and influential CEO of Fortunato Pharmaceuticals, Roderick Usher, passes away in two weeks from the deaths of all six of his children, Prospero, Camille, Napoleon, Victorine, Tamerlane, and Frederick (the only two not born of separate mothers or outside marriage). 

The night following his children’s last funeral, Roderick extends an invitation to C. Auguste Dupin, an Assistant United States Attorney who has devoted his professional life to exposing Fortunato Pharmaceuticals’ corruption, to visit his childhood home. There, he tells Dupin the truth about his family and gradually reveals the darkest secrets of the Ushers.

In addition to the conversation between Roderick and Dupin, which is shown onscreen as told by Roderick, the series follows two timelines: the first, which spans the years 1953 to 1980, describes Roderick’s childhood and ascent to power along with his twin sister Madeline, while the second, which covers the two weeks leading up to the conversation, centres on all of the Ushers and uncovers the truth about Roderick’s children’s deaths.

Cast

• Carla Gugino as Verna
• Bruce Greenwood and Zach Gilford as Roderick Usher
• Graham Verchere as teen Roderick Usher
• Lincoln Russo as kid Roderick Usher
• Mary McDonnell and Willa Fitzgerald as Madeline Usher

Storyline of The Fall of the House of Usher Miniseries

In two weeks, Fortunato Pharmaceuticals’ dishonest CEO Roderick Usher loses all six of his children. After attending the funerals of his three eldest children, he passes out and begs assistant US Attorney C. Auguste Dupin, his archenemy, to admit his wrongdoing. Eliza, the mother of Roderick and Madeline, assassinated her violent boss, William Longfellow, the CEO of Fortunato, in 1962 and was buried early. 

The Usher family is being held accountable in court for the number of fatalities caused by Ligodone use and the subsequent opioid crisis. Dupin talks about a family informant who predicts that on New Year’s Eve 1979, the siblings’ lives would change drastically.

Dupin looks into fatal exhumations connected to a medication experiment in 1979. Living with Madeline, Annabel Lee, and the kids Frederick and Tamerlane, Roderick fails to convince Fortunato CEO Rufus Griswold to buy Ligodone. Perry, Frederick, and Pym currently have environmental issues with their homes. At a foreclosed property, Perry throws a masquerade-themed party and signals an orgy with water from the facility’s tanks. While Madeline utilises Lenore’s memories to develop artificial intelligence, Roderick, who suffers from CADASIL, uses Victorine’s heart mesh. Verna shows up dressed as a disguise, but all but one of the guests die from the sprinklers’ rain of acid and chemical waste.

In a flashback, Griswold gives Roderick the blame for Ligodone, which gives him more clout at Fortunato. After Morella and Perry’s bodies are discovered, Roderick admits to concealing corrosive waste in tanks in order to get around federal laws. When Camille learns that Victorine’s illicit heart mesh experiments were a failure, Verna assumes the role of the first human test subject. Leo thinks that while under the influence of drugs, he murdered Pluto, a black cat. Verna, a security guard, is encountered by Camille, and one of the testing chimpanzees’ mauls Camille to death.

After salvaging the business in 1979, Griswold appoints Roderick as his right-hand man. Madeline and Roderick kill and frame Griswold on New Year’s Eve in order to seize control of Fortunato. The Usher line dies before the siblings do as they bargain with Verna for riches and influence. Pym declines Verna’s immunity offer. Verna says her mother will get better and establish a charitable foundation.

Madeline, who is insane and blind, hears Roderick’s confession. When Madeline chokes Roderick, the home falls apart. Juno disbands Fortunato after inheriting it and establishes a foundation for addiction treatment. Dupin steps down and Pym is arrested. Verna recites Poe’s “Spirits of the Dead” and places a memento on each Usher tomb.

Review

With six million views during its first week of release, The Fall of the House of Usher became the most popular English-language fiction show on Netflix that week and the third most popular overall, behind the French series Lupin and the documentary series Beckham. With 7.9 million views the following week, it was Netflix’s second most-watched series. Ninety percent of the 105 reviews from reviewers on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes are good, with an average rating of 7.9 out of 10.