If you’ve spent any time on Netflix lately, you’ve probably seen the decaying, neon-soaked faces of the Usher family staring back at you. Mike Flanagan’s 2023 miniseries didn’t just adapt a single Poe story. It basically took the entire bibliography of Edgar Allan Poe, threw it into a blender with a heavy dose of "Big Pharma" corporate greed, and poured out a bloody, Shakespearean tragedy.
It’s brutal. It’s loud. And honestly, it’s kinda heartbreaking by the time the credits roll on the final episode.
But for many, the confusion starts with the name. Is there a The Fall of the House of Usher movie you should be watching instead? Or is the 1960 Roger Corman classic the "real" version? To understand why this story keeps getting remade—and why Flanagan’s version feels so different—we have to look at how the Usher name went from a spooky 1839 short story to a modern-day indictment of the billionaire class.
The Many Faces of the Usher Legacy
Long before Netflix existed, Roger Corman brought the The Fall of the House of Usher movie to life in 1960. It starred the legendary Vincent Price as Roderick Usher. In that version, the "fall" is much more literal and Gothic. You have the creepy mansion, the foggy moors, and a family curse that feels like a weight pressing down on everyone’s chest. Price played Roderick as a man hypersensitive to everything—sound, light, the very air he breathed.
It’s a great flick. Super atmospheric.
Fast forward to 2023, and Flanagan pivots. He keeps the names but ditches the 19th-century velvet for tailored suits and private jets. Roderick Usher is no longer just a reclusive weirdo in a crumbling house; he’s the CEO of Fortunato Pharmaceuticals. He’s basically a stand-in for the real-world Sackler family, and his "house" is a corporate empire built on the bodies of people addicted to a fictional painkiller called Ligodone.
Why the 2023 Version Isn't Just One Story
If you go into the Netflix series expecting a beat-for-beat remake of the Poe story, you'll be lost by ten minutes in. Flanagan used the overarching plot of the 1839 tale as a "frame."
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Inside that frame, every single episode is an adaptation of a different Poe story:
- Episode 2 handles "The Masque of the Red Death" with a literal bloodbath at an underground rave.
- Episode 3 tackles "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," swapping the original ape for a laboratory chimp.
- Episode 4 brings in "The Black Cat," featuring a truly unhinged Rahul Kohli.
- Episode 8 finally brings us back to "The Raven" and the actual collapse of the house.
It’s a clever way to keep the "The Fall of the House of Usher movie" vibes alive while giving fans of Gothic horror a "greatest hits" compilation of Poe's darkest moments.
The Deal with Verna: Who (or What) Is She?
Carla Gugino is the standout here. She plays Verna, a mysterious woman who appears in various forms throughout the timeline. People have debated for ages: Is she a demon? The Devil? An angel of death?
The show is actually pretty literal about it once you look at her name. Verna is an anagram for Raven.
She represents the "bill" coming due. Back in 1979, a young Roderick and Madeline Usher (played by Zach Gilford and Willa Fitzgerald) made a deal with her in a bar on New Year’s Eve. The deal was simple: They could have all the wealth, power, and immunity from legal consequences they wanted. They would never be convicted of a crime. But there was a catch. When Roderick dies, his entire bloodline dies with him.
The kids? Collateral damage.
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They weren't just "unlucky." Their deaths were the direct result of a contract signed in blood and champagne decades before they were even born. This is where the horror shifts from "ghosts in the walls" to "the consequences of my own actions." It makes the 2023 The Fall of the House of Usher movie experience feel much more cynical and modern than Corman’s 1960 version.
The Brutal Reality of the Usher Deaths
Each Usher child dies in a way that mirrors a Poe story, but also mirrors their own specific brand of narcissism.
Take Prospero (Perry) Usher. He’s the youngest, obsessed with "The Masque of the Red Death" vibes. He throws an illegal party in an old warehouse, ignoring safety warnings. When he triggers the ceiling sprinklers for a "dramatic effect," he doesn't get water. He gets industrial-grade acid. It’s one of the most stomach-churning scenes in recent horror history.
Then you have Victorine, who is so desperate to prove her medical "breakthrough" that she basically loses her mind, echoing "The Tell-Tale Heart." The sound of a ticking, mechanical heart pump drives her to the edge. It’s not a ghost; it’s guilt manifesting as a sound she can't escape.
The Tragedy of Lenore
The only truly "good" person in the family is Lenore, Roderick’s granddaughter. Her death is the one that actually seems to hurt Verna. In the final episode, Verna tells Lenore that her mother will go on to do great things because of her. It’s a small mercy in a show that is otherwise remarkably cruel to its characters.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Ending
There’s a common misconception that the "House" in the The Fall of the House of Usher movie refers only to the family or the literal building. In Poe’s original text, the house and the family are inextricably linked. When the last Ushers die, the building literally cracks and sinks into the tarn.
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In the Netflix series, the "House" is three things at once:
- The literal childhood home where Roderick and Madeline grew up.
- The Usher bloodline (which is completely extinguished).
- The Fortunato Pharmaceuticals empire.
When Madeline returns from the basement—having been "buried alive" by Roderick just like in the original story—she kills him. As they die together, the literal house collapses, but the corporate house also falls. The assets are liquidated, the company is dismantled, and the money is finally used to help the victims of Ligodone.
It’s a rare moment of justice in a world that usually lets the rich get away with everything.
Actionable Insights for Fans of the Series
If you’ve finished the show and find yourself wanting more of that specific Gothic dread, don't just stop at the Netflix landing page. There are ways to deepen the experience that most people skip.
- Watch the 1960 Corman version: It’s only about 80 minutes long. Seeing Vincent Price’s take on Roderick helps you appreciate Bruce Greenwood’s performance even more. The 1960 film focuses on the "supernatural sensitivity" angle that the show mostly skips.
- Read the source poems: Don't just read the short stories. Read "Annabel Lee" and "The Raven." The show quotes these heavily, and knowing the rhythm of the poems makes the dialogue feel much more lyrical.
- Look for the "Easter Eggs": Every character's name is a reference. Arthur Pym is from Poe’s only novel. C. Auguste Dupin is the world’s first fictional detective. Tamerlane is named after a poem about a conqueror who realizes too late that he gave up love for power.
- Compare the "Buried Alive" trope: Poe was terrified of being buried alive (taphophobia). Notice how this happens multiple times in the series—not just with Madeline, but metaphorically with characters like Frederick, who is "buried" under the weight of his father’s expectations and his own jealousy.
The The Fall of the House of Usher movie or series isn't just about jump scares. It’s a study of how greed can rot a person from the inside out until there’s nothing left but a shell. Whether you prefer the 1960s Gothic charm or the 2023 corporate carnage, the message remains the same: nothing lasts forever, especially when it’s built on a foundation of lies.
For your next watch, try tracking the color red. In both the movie and the series, red isn't just for blood. It’s a signal of the "Red Death"—the inevitable end that no amount of money can buy your way out of.
Once you see it, you can't unsee it.