--- title: "The Fall of the House of Usher: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/tv/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher" critics_score: 68 critics_reviews: 13 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Fall of the House of Usher (2023): what the critics said Critics' score 68 from 13 reviews: 9 positive, 2 mixed, 2 negative. Most critics enjoy this one, and enjoy it loudly. Nine of the thirteen reviews are positive, and the praise gathers around the same things: the relish with which Mike Flanagan dispatches a Sackler-like pharmaceutical family, the operatic staging of each death, and a cast that several reviews single out, with Bruce Greenwood and Carla Gugino named most often. The anger at the very rich is taken as a feature rather than a flaw, and a few critics call it among Flanagan’s best work. The reservations are consistent even among admirers: middle episodes that drag, a plot that feels bloated, Poe references that sometimes sit awkwardly, and a sense that it is shallower than Midnight Mass or Hill House. /Film finds the tone uncommitted to either scares or comedy. The spread is wide, from near-raves at Paste and Consequence to outright dismissals from The Telegraph and The Independent, which call it overstuffed and muddled respectively. The dissent, notably, comes from the British papers. ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 12 October 2023. The critic highlights the series as a giddy, gory delight and an unexpected shift for Flanagan, praising its contempt for the wealthy, disgust with selfishness, and gleeful portrayal of the characters' increasingly gnarly demises in this Poe-inspired tale. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-review-mike-flanagan-netflix-horror.html) ## Empire — Olly Richards Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 25 September 2023. The critic finds the series a bloody, OTT and highly entertaining take on Poe, with smartly woven stories and confident direction from Flanagan. It builds a towering, dark-hearted horror story that is horribly good fun, with strong performances especially from Greenwood. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/) ## The AV Club — David Cote Rating B. 10 October 2023. The critic finds the series campy and acted with flair, with lush operatic death sequences (crediting director Michael Fimognari), but notes it is sparkly yet not deep and lacks the narrative momentum or emotional resonance of Flanagan's best prior work like Midnight Mass or The Haunting of Hill House. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-review-tv-netflix-1850898903) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 12 October 2023. The series is a spooky, grisly, sumptuously gothic treat that ranks among Mike Flanagan’s finest works. It captures Poe’s magic and sense of dread effectively, though some CGI and thematic choices are flawed. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/oct/12/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-review-a-gleefully-terrifying-take-on-edgar-allan-poe) ## Variety — Aramide Tinubu Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 2023. The series is a gruesome family drama that showcases the demise of a powerful family paying for their monstrosity, with strong use of Poe references and engrossing monologues. It has some dragging middle episodes and leans too heavily on opioid epidemic parallels, but offers a reminder that debts must be paid. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2023/tv/reviews/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-review-netflix-1235740556/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Daniel Fienberg Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 26 September 2023. Flanagan's series is a bluntly entertaining exercise in karmic catharsis and topical takedown of a pharma family, with palpable anger and Grand Guignol set pieces. The anger sometimes gets in the way of deeper thematic richness, leading to a satisfying but surface-level experience compared to the creator's best work. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-review-mike-flanagan-netflix-1235597310/) ## The Telegraph Rating 2/5. 12 October 2023. The loose adaptation is an over-stuffed and under-cooked horror bore that fails to deliver as a spooky Succession. It sacrifices Poe’s genius for excessive ambition. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2023/10/12/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-netflix-review/) ## The Independent — Louis Chilton Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 17 October 2023. The series is a trashy mess of a literary reboot that remixes Poe stories into a muddled hodge-podge without heart. It is ersatz and indiscernible despite strong source material. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/fall-house-usher-netflix-edgar-allan-poe-b2430532.html) ## Consequence Rating A-. 22 September 2023. The series may be Flanagan's best yet, blending Poe's poetry and themes with a sharp critique of a Sackler-like pharma family in a meaty, human-centered horror story. A strong cast, especially Carla Gugino, elevates the deliberate focus on the author's words and dysfunctional dynamics. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2023/09/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-review-netflix/) ## Paste — Lacy Baugher Milas Rating 9.0/10. 22 September 2023. Flanagan's Poe mashup is a darkly comedic and emotionally rich tragedy that excoriates the uber-rich while exploring family trauma and the longing for connection. It stands out as a big, splashy, and unhinged ode to the horror master with strong performances throughout. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/netflix/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-review) ## Collider — Therese Lacson Rating B+. 22 September 2023. The show succeeds as a family drama centered on the dysfunctional Ushers while incorporating creepy horror elements and emotional depth. Flanagan blends modern themes with Poe's works effectively, though the plot occasionally feels bloated. [Read the review](https://collider.com/fall-of-the-house-of-usher-review/) ## The Ringer — Miles Surrey Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 12 October 2023. The critic calls the series a strong send-off for Flanagan on Netflix, praising its effective blend of prestige drama trappings with slasher-level body count and satisfying comeuppances for the characters. They single out the dysfunctional Usher family dynamics and pointed allusions to the opioid crisis and unchecked capitalism as highlights, while noting some awkward Poe references as a drawback. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2023/10/12/tv/fall-of-the-house-of-usher-review-netflix-mike-flanagan-series) ## /Film — Chris Evangelista Rating 5.5/10. 22 September 2023. The series mixes Poe references with a Succession-like family drama but struggles with inconsistent tone, never fully committing to scares or humor. It delivers some grand guignol moments but falls short of Flanagan's stronger prior Netflix works. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1401513/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/tv/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher.md