The Fall Of The House Of Usher - Release Date, Trailer, Cast, Plot And More Info
Mike Flanagan, the master of soulful horror whose previous Netflix series include "The Haunting of Hill House," "The Haunting of Bly Manor," "Midnight Mass," and "The Midnight Club," is returning this year with a mix of familiar cast members and fresh faces for "The Fall of the House of Usher." Though it takes its name from the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, the series is set in the modern era and incorporates a number of other Poe tales.
Netflix has built up a solid library of original horror series, from mega-hit "Stranger Things" to lesser-recognized gems like "Marianne." Following the success of "The Haunting Hill House," Netflix inked a multi-year overall television deal with Flanagan and his longtime producing partner, Trevor Macy. The pair were poached by Amazon in December 2022, so "The Fall of the House of Usher" will be the last "Flana-verse" show to arrive on Netflix for the foreseeable future.
Here's everything horror fans might want to know about this new take on "The Fall of the House of Usher."
When does The Fall of the House of Usher premiere?
Can you hear the foundations creaking already? "The Fall of the House of Usher" has been foretold, and all eight episodes will arrive at Netflix's doorstep on Thursday, October 12, 2023. Responding to a fan question on Tumblr about the length of his various Netflix horror series, Flanagan explained:
"'Hill House' fit nicely at 10, 'Bly' felt like we were stretching so we went with 9. It also let us do a really cool 3-act structure — it was 3 episodes per act [...] But Usher just feels lean, mean, and perfect at 8. It's really laid out just right."
Like most Netflix shows, "The Fall of the House of Usher" will release when the clock strikes midnight ... on the west coast. If you're on east coast time, you can start watching at 3 a.m., aka the witching hour. And if you live in the U.K. the episodes will drop at 8 a.m., which is not a traditionally spooky time, but it might be filled with a sense of dread if you have a 9-5 job.
What are the plot details of The Fall of the House of Usher?
Edgar Allan Poe's original short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" is told by a narrator who visits his childhood friend, Roderick Usher, after receiving a letter describing a deep malady and pleading for a friendly face. In the story, Roderick and his sister Madeline are all that remains of the wizened Usher family tree, which has no branches and has descendants only through the direct line ... with all that that implies. Inside the decaying walls of the Usher family home, the narrator learns that Madeline is also very sick, and soon finds himself tasked with helping Roderick Usher entomb her body in the family vault. From there the story is best left unspoiled, but since it's in the public domain you can read it in full online.
Now, here's the official synopsis for Netflix's "The Fall of the House of Usher":
Ruthless siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher have built Fortunato Pharmaceuticals into an empire of wealth, privilege and power. But past secrets come to light when the heirs to the Usher dynasty start dying at the hands of a mysterious woman from their youth.
The series is described as being "based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe," and Flanagan has said that its influences will be far-reaching: "The entire catalogue of Poe is wide open. It's all public domain. We can cherry pick whatever we want."
The character names offer some clues to which stories "House of Usher," will draw from. Carl Lumbly is playing Auguste Dupin, who shares a name with the detective from "Murders in the Rue Morgue," and Kate Siegel's character, Camille L'Espanaye, is lifted from the same story. Then there's the raven motif on the poster and the presence of a character called Lenore, which are both nods to Poe's famous poem, "The Raven."
Who is in the cast of The Fall of the House of Usher?
If you've seen Mike Flanagan's previous Netflix shows, or his movies like "Doctor Sleep," "Gerald's Game," and "Ouija: Origin of Evil," you'll encounter many familiar faces in "The Fall of the House of Usher." Carla Gugino, one of Flanagan's regular collaborators, is playing a "demonic shape-shifter" called Verna, whom Netflix has teased as being based on a "very famous Poe character." (Putting that clue together with the raven mask on the poster, you can probably solve the mystery.) Gugino herself describes Verna as "the executor of fate or the executor of karma."
The rest of the cast includes...
- Bruce Greenwood as Roderick Usher
- Mary McDonnell as Madeline Usher
- Carl Lumbly as Auguste Dupin
- Mark Hamill as Arthur Pym
- Michael Trucco as Rufus Griswold
- T'Nia Miller as Victorine Lafourcade
- Paola Núñez as Dr. Allessandra Ruiz
- Henry Thomas as Frederick Usher
- Kyliegh Curran as Lenore Usher
- Samantha Sloyan as Tamerlane Usher
- Rahul Kohli as Napoleon "Leo" Usher
- Kate Siegel as Camille L'Espanaye
- Sauriyan Sapkota as Prospero "Perry" Usher
- Katie Parker as Annabel Lee
- Crystal Balint as Morelle "Morrie" Usher
- Matt Biedel as William "Bill" T. Wilson
- Ruth Codd as Juno Usher
- Annabeth Gish as Eliza
- Igby Rigney as Toby
- Robert Longstreet as Longfellow
- Aya Furukawa as Tina
- Daniel Jun as Julius
- Zach Gilford as Young Roderick
- Willa Fitzgerald as Young Madeline
- Malcolm Goodwin as Young Dupin
As mentioned, some of these names are nods to other Edgar Allan Poe stories — including Matt Biedel's character, whose name is taken from "William Wilson," a story about a man who is haunted by his doppelganger. Rufus Griswold, meanwhile, is named after Poe's nemesis, so presumably he's antagonist-flavored.
Who is the director of The Fall of the House of Usher?
Four episodes of "The Fall of the House of Usher" were directed by series creator Mike Flanagan, while the other four were directed by Michael Fimognari, who has worked with Flanagan for years as a cinematographer and directed two episodes of "The Midnight Club."
Flanagan first gained attention with his 2011 indie horror "Absentia," and he followed that up with the modest box office hit "Oculus." The director loves to pack his movies and TV shows with Easter eggs, and recently revealed on Tumblr that the evil mirror from "Oculus" has a cameo role in "The Fall of the House of Usher." Flanagan is a big fan of Stephen King and has directed two adaptations of King's work so far: "Gerald's Game," which was released on Netflix, and "Doctor Sleep," the sequel to "The Shining."
Speaking to TheWrap about "The Fall of the House of Usher" in 2022, Flanagan described it as "the closest I will get to giallo," adding:
"It's wild. It is colorful and dark and blood-soaked and wicked and funny, and aggressive and scary and hilarious. I've never gotten to work on anything like it. We left everything on the field with it, and it's just bombastic fun."
Though Flanagan is known for slow-burn horror, he said that "House of Usher" is "crazy" and "unlike anything I've ever done." This description was echoed by star Carla Gugino, who told Tudum that the series is "bats*** crazy in the best possible way."
Who are the writers and producers of The Fall of the House of Usher?
Mike Flanagan is also an executive producer on "The Fall of the House of Usher," alongside his regular collaborator, Trevor Macy. The pair produced the series through their company, Intrepid Pictures, and Intrepid's vice president of development, Melinda Nishioka, is also an EP on "House of Usher," as is director/cinematographer Michael Fimognari. New to the team this time around is Emmy Grinwis, who is credited as both a writer and EP on the series. Grinwis' previous producing and writing credits include the FX/Hulu series "Snowfall" and Apple TV+'s fugitive thriller series "The Mosquito Coast."
Flanagan has confirmed that the Newton Brothers, who have composed the scores for all of his projects since "Oculus," also wrote the music for "The Fall of the House of Usher." He hyped the soundtrack as being "in the very top tier of their work."
Has The Fall of the House of Usher released a trailer?
Netflix finally conjured up a trailer for "The Fall of the House of Usher" in September of 2023, delivering a ton of tantalizing glimpses of Mike Flanagan's Poe pastiche. The two-and-a-half-minute preview teases references not just to the titular story, but to other classics like "The Raven" and "The Masque of the Red Death." All of it, though, through the slick, spooky lens of a modern-day tale about a "crime family" tearing itself apart from the inside.
There's also a healthy blend of both comedy and horror, as images of bloodletting and shadowy figures intermingle with some slapstick and a hilarious conversation about the merits of satin as funeral fashion. Though the clips are too brief to infer a whole lot of plot details, the trailer does make it very clear that "The Fall of the House of Usher" will be something like Poe by way of "Succession," a combination sure to please longtime Flanagan fans.
What is The Fall of the House of Usher rated?
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is not yet rated by Netflix, but based on Flanagan's description of the series, it's probably not going to be suitable for kids. In an interview last year the writer/director enthused, "We're just going to go ballistic," teasing "buckets of blood pouring out of the ceiling on page two" — and he's used the phrase "blood-soaked" to describe the series more than once.
All of Flanagan's Netflix horror series so far have been rated TV-MA for mature audiences, so it's very likely that "House of Usher" will end up with a TV-MA rating as well. Beyond the usual ratings flags of profanity, sexual content, and violence, Flanagan's shows also frequently tackle difficult topics such as depression, addiction, and suicide, so even grown-ups may want to brace themselves going in.