The Fall Of The House Of Usher: A Homage To Edgar Allan Poe
All of the Usher family heirs have died mysteriously one by one.
Tragedy or cosmic justice? After all, the family of Roderick and Madeline Usher are responsible for creating one of the most addictive opioids on the market. And why is this strange woman found at all of the deaths?
Those eerie details set the stage for the haunting version of Netflix’s The Fall of the House of Usher. Originally a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, the eight-episode limited series expands on Poe’s characters and successfully analyzes them in a modern-day setting.
With the source material being so short, the series delves deep into the world of Poe, with each episode containing pieces of different stories. Interwoven in the dialogue are excerpts from Poe’s work that flows. That technique works well without being pretentious or awkward.
The writing is creative, combining a large collection of characters and stories. It flows naturally while being placed in the modern world flawlessly. The Fall of the House of Usher also serves as social commentary on the themes of privilege and corruption.
The Ushers are used to throwing money at problems and getting away with it. They attempt to justify that it’s the birthright of a wealthy family. The nature of their money is just as sinister because their company mirrors the current opioid crisis and the accusations pharmaceutical companies face.
And the Usher family? They can be described as morally bankrupt at best and pure evil at their worst. They lie, cheat, break every environmental law under the sun, and murder—all in the name of filling their already billionaire pockets. They are shocking without coming off as cartoonishly evil and feel like scandals that could be found on True Crime, minus the hauntings and supernatural figures.
But you can’t stop watching them, desperately trying to figure out what will happen next. The actors really sell the Ushers by showcasing all the hues of morally gray and making them more than two-dimensional villains. Just as you’re about to feel sorry for an Usher, they do something that affirms why the family is cursed.
The Fall of the House of Usher is a love letter to the gothic horror genre and masterfully blending its storyline in eight episodes. Do the Ushers deserve their tragic fate? What is true karma and justice? Do motivations matter when the results lead to suffering? It is ultimately for the viewers to decide as they watch the Usher family go the way we all must go—back into the Earth. Death does not care about money and power. It comes for us all, a lesson the Ushers learn the hard way.
