Mike Flanagan, the director behind The Haunting of Hill House, bids farewell to Netflix and signs with another giant streaming platform. He inked a substantial contract at the end of last year, yet viewers are not left completely orphaned. The new project from the acclaimed horror auteur arrives on a major platform and is titled The Fall of the House of Usher. Comprising eight episodes, most directed by Flanagan himself, the series offers a boldly liberal reinterpretation of Poe’s Gothic universe set in 21st-century North America. While it did not achieve the same critical euphoria as Hill House, it remains a strong entry that horror fans will likely appreciate for its rich atmosphere and unsettling moments. Those who recognize Poe’s literary fingerprints and Flanagan’s distinctive style will find a movie-like experience that keeps them glued to the screen.
During his Netflix years, Flanagan immersed himself in the work of North American horror masters, translating their voices into new screen experiences. Hill House drew on Shirley Jackson’s classic tale, while The Curse of Bly Manor reimagined another timeless narrative with a twist inspired by Henry James. Midnight Mass, though not a direct adaptation, paid homage to Stephen King and the Salem’s Lot mystery. King, a known admirer of Flanagan’s craft, looms large in the conversation, a point we’ll revisit. Last year brought an adaptation featuring a teen-horror specialist, Christopher Pike, titled Midnight Club, produced for Amazon. The King adaptation project, Dark Tower, has long loomed as an ambitious link across the author’s universe, enduring fits and starts since a film version fell apart years ago. The future saga would seem to be in capable hands with Flanagan shepherding King’s sprawling world, including Doctor Sleep and its sequel Glare. Some fans appreciate Flanagan’s approach more than Stanley Kubrick’s handling of King’s material, and the two collaborators share a notably productive rapport.
Before moving ahead, Flanagan’s distinctive Poe-inspired vision arrives anew. Poe’s legacy has already inspired many cinema iterations, among the most renowned being those associated with Roger Corman and the collaborations with Vincent Price, a legacy that even influenced Tim Burton’s love for horror. Flanagan’s latest project breathes fresh life into the material, not by translating a single Poe tale but by weaving together the broader mythos that Poe helped shape. It nods to the author’s universe—much as Castle Rock nods to Stephen King’s fictional world—with chapter titles that echo Poe’s best-known stories and hint at possible directions for the plot. A playful moment crops up when a gorilla character appears, foreshadowing an episode titled Morgue Street Crimes, and a line of verse from The Future is read aloud in a scene that features a crow visiting a crime scene. The detective figure in the story, Arsene Dupin, evokes Poe’s literary forerunner, though the series frames him as a civil servant devoted to justice rather than a purely deductive sleuth.
The plot blends elements of prestige dramas with the undercurrents of opioid crisis storytelling, a theme that has echoed through American television. The Usher family rises to the pinnacle of the pharmaceutical industry through questionable methods, and the story accelerates when a mysterious woman from the patriarch’s past begins picking off the siblings. Each episode escalates with a new death, and the competitors among the brothers and sisters seem almost comically determined to prove who is the most rash or foolish. The murders, as usual in Flanagan’s world, land with a jolt, though the slightly slower pacing and episodes that run a bit long can temper the impact for some viewers.
As is customary with Flanagan, a trusted ensemble anchors the series. Carla Gugino returns in a vision of death reclaiming old debts, while Henry Thomas and Kate Siegel deliver performances that feel in sync with the director’s recurring cast. Bruce Greenwood and Mary McDonnell bring seasoned gravitas to the table, joining a group that has become a fixture in Flanagan’s universe. A recent addition, Mark Hamill, brings his iconic presence to the role of a stern family lawyer who must navigate the family’s darkest secrets, his darkly lit wardrobe echoing a metaphor for the power plays at work. Fans will relish seeing Luke Skywalker cast in a villainous shade as the plot thickens.
In sum, The Fall of the House of Usher presents a highly personal riff on Poe’s literary world. It may not eclipse Flanagan’s finest moments, yet it offers enough gripping scenes and ambitious ideas to justify a watch. The project reinforces Flanagan’s standing as a provocative voice in horror, with a body of work that continues to attract attention and curiosity about what comes next from this fearless filmmaker. The experience remains a compelling invitation to follow his evolving journey in genre storytelling.