Fall Of The House Of Usher (Netflix)

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

]Just dropping this into your field of vision if you haven't run across it yet, as it's been released just in time for Halloween.

And if there's a comic book connection, or a Paragon one, every good comic needs the Creys of the world.

 

This follows the (mis)fortunes of the Sackler Usher family as they negotiate a make-or-break drug trial. It's got vibes of Succession, a touch of Mad Men as it flashes back through time, heavy elements of madness and obsession, Mark Hamill guesting as an absolutely terrifying golem of a lawyer...

 

...oh, and some out and out nasty horror, with great slow-burn setups, and some wonderful, elegantly evil touches. Plus a whole bunch of Edgar Allen Poe references from subtle to obvious to slightly damn dumb, but the Red Death episode takes the whole idea and rolls with it spectacularly. Even giving Prospero the chance to stop everything and avoid the fate he's due. You can almost guess what's going to happen before it does but it doesn't stop you tensing up ready for it. And you still won't get it right. Dear Sweet Freya in Asgard...

 

Oh, and Bruce Greenwood's "lemons" speech is almost as good as the "forces of Nature" speech from Network.

The kind of writing actors would kill for. And Carla Gugino is amazing in her multiple, multiple roles, from seductive strangers to animalistic, screaming visions of pain. And you can't say she didn't warn 'em...

 

EDIT: finished the series now. For the most part, a nicely balanced blend of psychological and actual full-on hand-over-mouth-gutwrenching...

 

Spoiler

...particularly Roderick's exit - and yes, it seems you can p*ss off Verna/The Devil/Fate/Death enough to make things extra nasty for you.

 

You can also earn their respect - as shown by Lenore's gentlest of partings, and the equally delicate touch of the feather on her gravestone: and the conversation as professional equals with Hamill's magnificently murderous minion Arthur Pym, who respectfully declines any deal that puts him at a disadvantage.

 

If I have a complaint, it's that they bottled the final deaths. What should have been one last magnificent murder was a ghost train-level flop. Took the whole of Auggie's clean-up explainer to stop being hacked off about.

Stellar casting - once again, all plaudits to Gugino: and that one last point in the spoiler box aside, cracking script, direction and... executions. Recommended.

Edited October 16, 2023 by ThaOGDreamWeaver