Mind-Bending Netflix Series: Unveiling Mike Flanagan's Hidden Stephen King Twist!

Summary

Flanagan's upcoming Netflix series, The Fall of the House of Usher, includes a nod to his adaptation of Stephen King's Doctor Sleep.

The protagonist of The Fall of the House of Usher can be compared to Danny Torrance from The Shining, highlighting potential similarities.

The bar scene depicted in The Fall of the House of Usher's trailer indicates a potential shift towards a darker comedic tone, in contrast to the tragic tone of Doctor Sleep.

The Fall of the House of Usher, directed by Mike Flanagan, includes a reference to his adaptation of Stephen King's Doctor Sleep, which may provide a significant story clue. Despite being based on Edgar Allan Poe's works, The Fall of the House of Usher subtly acknowledges one of Flanagan's Stephen King adaptations. The show depicts the gruesome demise of a wealthy family when a vengeful spirit targets the patriarch. In addition to Poe's eponymous short story, The Fall of the House of Usher draws inspiration from The Masque of Red Death and The Raven.

However, the nods to other works are not limited to the content itself. The promotional materials for The Fall of the House of Usher also feature a scene resembling a barroom conversation in Doctor Sleep. Both scenes depict the protagonist being alone in an empty bar, only to encounter a supernatural presence behind the bar who taunts them. In Doctor Sleep, the ghost of Jack Torrance appears as a bartender, while his adult son Danny sits at the bar.

Fall Of The House Of Usher's Stephen King Reference Teases A Major Twist

This sequence, which is not present in Stephen King's book, directly references Stanley Kubrick's 1980 movie adaptation of The Shining. It is not only a clear reference to a previous work by Mike Flanagan, but also provides an important clue to the story of the new Netflix TV show, The Fall of the House of Usher. The visual similarity between the two scenes in The Fall of the House of Usher and Doctor Sleep is too striking to be coincidental, suggesting that Mike Flanagan purposely included this shot to reveal a significant twist involving the Usher family.

In Doctor Sleep, the haunting is experienced by the son while the ghost is the father. However, in The Fall of the House of Usher, it is the father figure who is haunted, with the ghost of Verna appearing before patriarch Roderick Usher. The similarities to Doctor Sleep imply that Verna's presence and haunting of Roderick may be connected to their familial relationship, similar to how Jack and Danny are connected in the story. Although Verna is described as a shape-shifting demon inspired by Poe's The Raven, her haunting of the Usher family is unlikely to be random. By reusing this significant moment from Doctor Sleep, Mike Flanagan may be indicating that the true connection between Verna and the Usher family is by blood.

How Mike Flanagan's New Netflix Show Will Be Different From Doctor Sleep

The bar scene depicted in The Fall of the House of Usher's trailer indicates that the new Netflix series will have a darker yet comedic tone, unlike the tragic vibe of Doctor Sleep. In the book version of Doctor Sleep, Jack's ghost comes to Danny's rescue, but in the film adaptation, he torments his troubled son. In contrast, in The Fall of the House of Usher's trailer, Verna, played by Carla Gugino, is the character who taunts the main protagonist. Unlike Stephen King's flawed but relatable Danny, Mike Flanagan's The Fall of the House of Usher presents a lead who is an unapologetic and less sympathetic villain, who has undoubtedly deserved the supernatural events unfolding in the story.