Directed by Mike Flanagan, The Fall of the House of Usher uses some of Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories to tell the story of how the Usher family falls apart when past secrets come to light. The Netflix original series follows Roderick and Madeline Usher and the legacy they have created. Roderick is the CEO of Fortunato Pharmaceutical with Madeline as the COO of the company. They have dominated the pharmaceutical industry, even though there is a lot of scrutiny and secrets behind their product. Secrets from the past come back to bite both Roderick and Madeline and slowly start killing off each one of Roderick’s children and in turn killing the Usher bloodline. The whole story is told in a flashback-like fashion told by Roderick as he confesses to various crimes to District Attorney Auguste Dupin. 

While The Fall of the House of Usher is not an exact adaptation of Poe’s works, there are several references to many of Poe’s short stories. For example, the company Roderick and Madeline own is called Fortunato Pharmaceuticals. Fortunato is a character from Poe’s ‘Cask of Amontillado’ in which Montresor takes revenge on Fortunato and traps him behind a brick wall. Another reference is Victorine Usher, Roderick’s third eldest child, hearing a mechanical heartbeat everywhere she goes throughout one of the episodes. This is a reference to Poe’s ‘A Tell-Tale Heart’ in which a man hears a heartbeat from beneath the floorboards of his home. It is later found out in the story, the man killed an old man and hid his body in the floor of his home. His guilty conscience makes him conjure a heartbeat to remind him of the crimes he committed, which is the same thing that is happening to Victrine Usher. These are just a couple of examples of how Flanagan has incorporated Poe’s works into The Fall of the House of Usher.

Personally, I thought the show was well executed and had the same uneasy feeling that Poe’s short stories give. The way Flanagan was able to portray how greed and wealth can destroy a person and those around them was incredible. Most of the time, shows do not provide the same jump scares that horror movies do. However, The Fall of the House of Usher had several that I was not expecting or anticipating. I think the show was amazing and is something that a lot of horror fanatics will love. I will give a warning that there is quite a bit of gore and if you are easily disturbed by that, I would not recommend this show. However, if gore is something that doesn’t bother you and you like something that is bone-chilling and mysterious, The Fall of the House of Usher is for you!