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With the dissolution of the family line, so too falls the house. Because the last of the Usher line are twins, that the crack divides the house in two signals their eternal separation in death. They get whatever they want, and any children they have will want for nothing. What's better, a shorter life of luxury, or a longer life full of uncertainties?
of the Best Home Decor Shops in Los Angeles, According to Top Designers
Roderick knows that she is still alive, but convinces Winthrop that she is dead and rushes to have her entombed in the family crypt beneath the house. As Philip is preparing to leave following the entombment, the butler, Bristol (Harry Ellerbe), lets slip that Madeline suffered from catalepsy. Starting with 2018’s “The Haunting of Hill House,” Flanagan has become synonymous with a slow-burn balance of visceral scares and empathetic human stories, not to mention a preternatural ability to build a mounting sense of dread from every moment. By contrast, “Usher” asks viewers to root against its main characters rather than for them, consistently highlighting how undeserving they are of our sympathy. And the result is a story that holds the viewer at arm’s length from its own emotional core.
Sauriyan Sapkota as Prospero 'Perry' Usher
How Every Fall of the House of Usher Character Died - CBR
How Every Fall of the House of Usher Character Died.
Posted: Wed, 31 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
After Roderick gives Auguste his final confession, Madeline bursts through the door of the basement and strangles her brother to death — the same way their mother killed their father. Auguste stands outside in horror, as Verna stands atop the wreckage. Roderick and Madeline sold their souls the night they killed Fortunato CEO Rufus Griswold (Michael Trucco) — the same night they met Verna, on New Year’s Eve 1979. Using Griswold as a fall guy to begin Roderick’s takeover, the twins drugged him on the night of the company holiday party. When Griswold woke, he found that they’re sealing him behind a brick wall in the basement of the new Fortunato building he’s constructing. His cries for help were useless, because the holidays meant no one would be back in the building for days.
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The Sacklers, horror, and 'The Fall of the House of Usher' - STAT - STAT
The Sacklers, horror, and 'The Fall of the House of Usher' - STAT.
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But he wouldn’t last the night anyway — Madeline poisoned him with cyanide. That [denial] sort of seeps in more and more and more,” Miller said. Throwing a bookend at Alessandra’s head “was not out of spite or cruelty,” said Miller. Unlike other people in this episode, her death wasn’t about that. She truly wanted to save everyone.” Yeah, well, so much for that.
The Masque of the Red Death
Landing on Netflix on October 12th, ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ has Mike Flanagan –– who knows a thing or two about scary stories –– remixing Edgar Allan Poe (ditto) for a truly fun new horror limited series. Of course, Verna has the last word of the series, having known its ending right from the start. She visits the Ushers' graves and places relevant objects on each of their gravestones, including a white rose and raven feather for Lenore, and a whiskey glass for Roderick. Through it all, she recites Poe's poem "Spirits of the Dead" as a strange kind of elegy for the fallen Ushers. Unlike the gruesome deaths of her fathers, aunts, and uncles, Lenore dies peacefully after a visit from Verna.
And if you’re a fan of Flanagan’s spookier offerings, such as his chilling ghost stories, this might not exactly be what you’re hoping for from him. But give it time; it’ll start to win your over with its audacious mix of classic horror and modern sensibilities. Madeline actually attempts to find a loophole in this part of the deal by encouraging Roderick to overdose in episode 7, thinking that the Ushers' reckoning would end with his death. At the start of "The Raven," she brings Roderick back to life and continues her work.
“The Haunted Palace”
A-list musicians can easily sell millions of concert tickets for over $100 each. But it stands as one of the best shows (especially in the wake of the slightly less-than-thrilling ‘The Midnight Club’) that Mike Flanagan and his repertory company have produced. Smartly, Flanagan never pushes the weird style to excess except in certain moments where it actually serves the story; he’s careful to keep the characters largely believable. Anchored by Greenwood, McDonnell and Lumbly, there are few weak links in the ensemble, who bring the various Usher children (plus spouses, offspring, victims and more) to life. Carla Gugino, meanwhile, is pure smoldering brilliance as Verna, the architect of all their pain. Flanagan directed half of the series’ eight episodes, while Michael Fimognari handled the others.
Mary McDonnell as Madeline Usher
The interior defies its exterior in that the interior is eccentric in many ways. I like it, especially the white and dark living room with green furniture. Of course these days, album sales aren’t like they used to be. Now music is streamed on Spotify and Apple Music (we use Spotify and love it). Artists still earn from streaming services, but it’s a different model than the longstanding album sales model. While streaming has hurt artists’ overall revenue, the plus side is that concert tickets sell for way more than they did 20 years ago.
The man behind ‘The Haunting of Hill House’, ‘Midnight Mass’ and other chillers is back with a pointed set of Poe stories combined in a morality play. But wait, Auguste asks, is Roderick sure Madeline actually died? Because based on the sounds coming from the basement, it still seems like she's alive and kicking.
‘Usher’ is Flanagan in a wilder, campier mindset than the mostly moody ‘Midnight Mass’, but that’s not to say that this new series doesn’t work. In fact, a blend of ‘Succession’ and the spooky justice that befalls people in Poe’s stories offers up truly entertaining snark and gore. Based on the quality of ‘House of Usher’, Netflix should be kicking themselves that they let this talented filmmaker slip from their grasp. The latest limited series from Flanagan finds him leaning almost into Ryan Murphy mode with its tale of spoiled siblings and the supernatural comeuppance that hunts them down. The plot for this one takes its inspiration from various Poe stories and poems, including ‘The Pit and the Pendulum,’ ‘The Masque of the Red Death’, ‘Annabel Lee’ and more, weaved in either as narrative elements, settings or character names.
These fill in how the Ushers made their fortune, but they’re kind of a narrative drag. It’s important that Roderick and Madeline are cruel, selfish creatures—less so how they got that way. What’s more interesting is to watch how the fallout of their decisions fell on Roderick’s many children, all torn apart by some of Poe’s most memorable creations.
As the narrator reads of the knight's forcible entry into the dwelling, he and Roderick hear cracking and ripping sounds from somewhere in the house. When the dragon's death cries are described, a real shriek is heard, again within the house. As he relates the shield falling from off the wall, a hollow metallic reverberation can be heard throughout the house. At first, the narrator ignores the noises, but Roderick becomes increasingly hysterical. Roderick eventually declares that he has been hearing these sounds for days, and that they are being made by his sister, who was in fact alive when she was entombed. The Fall of the House of Usher is an American gothic horror drama television miniseries created by Mike Flanagan.
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