Netflix’s 8-Part Sci-Fi Masterpiece Turns 1 Moment Into Streaming’s Hardest Watch

Netflix has a healthy stream of limited programming, and there is no creator more dependable in that arena than Mike Flanagan. The horror director burst on the scene in the 2010s, best known for his adaptations of Stephen King. It was his bleak and heart-wrenching limited series, The Haunting of Hill House, however, that cemented his status as one of the best horror filmmakers of the modern era. Flanagan’s deal with Netflix allowed him to release consistent shows that never missed the mark.

After the success of putting his spin on Shirley Jackson, Flanagan turned to Edgar Allan Poe. 2023’s The Fall of the House of Usher took the original short story and contextualized it for the modern era. The series wasn’t just a rehash of one of Poe’s seminal works, but a love letter to many of the poet’s contributions. The result was another Flanagan production that redefined what it means to be a part of a terrible family and even what viewers were willing to allow into their living rooms.

‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ Weaponizes One of Poe’s Famous Stories

Mike Flanagan’s appreciation for Edgar Allan Poe’s work shines through in every element of The Fall of the House of Usher. Its lack of subtlety is an asset, as each of the main characters is named after figures in Poe’s work. Even a young version of Roderick Usher (Zach Gilford) writes the poem “Annabel Lee” for his wife in the series. Flanagan uses one of Poe’s most famous works, “The Masque of the Red Death,” in horrifying fashion in the second episode of the series.

Similar to the story, Roderick’s (Bruce Greenwood) youngest illegitimate child, Prospero “Perry” Usher, throws a masquerade, which becomes the site of a gruesome scene. In the series, Perry is motivated by his hedonistic lifestyle and a sense of revenge for his family members who don’t believe in his pursuits. He invites everyone to an exclusive party at a condemned building belonging to the Ushers’ company, Fortunato Pharmaceuticals. The rave is meant to inspire the worst urges in people, which should have culminated in being rained on by the sprinklers in the building.

Perry hooks up the sprinklers to the water tanks on the building, unaware that they were filled with corrosive chemicals that Fortunato was trying to hide. When Perry turns on the sprinklers, the entire party is disintegrated with acid, including himself. He dies horribly, just like his character in the story. Although Poe’s work often pairs vivid, occasionally beautiful gore with lyricism, Flanagan’s The Fall of the House of Usher is grimmer and less aesthetically pleasing.

This episode is Poe through the lens of Flanagan, who has never been one to shy away from the brutalities of horror. He had already made one of the most grueling scenes of all time in Doctor Sleep with the torture and murder of a 12-year-old boy. Episode 2 is much the same, except on a grander scale. When the scene is first presented to the audience, there is no indication that there is something other than water in the sprinkler system.

Perry looks up to the ceiling, beckoning the spray of the sprinkler, only for it to immediately start sizzling flesh. As soon as the carnage starts, it takes some time for it to stop. The party-goers are unable to escape the room, as Carla Gugino‘s Verna locked the exits. Viewers had to watch the excruciating scene as the skin melts off the flesh of all the characters.

Though most of the characters in the scene aren’t the easiest to empathize with, there is no joy in watching this scene. Flanagan is known for the emotional violence he inflicts upon his characters, but this is something different. This locks viewers along with the characters in the room, desperate for escape. When the torture does end, the remaining corpses are some of the most disturbing images put on screen. Flanagan proves that he is a horror director first: The Fall of the House of Usher promises to deliver on that front.