The Untold Horror: The Sinister Secret Hidden in House of Usher's Family

Summary

Netflix's The Fall of the House of Usher revamps Edgar Allan Poe's original story by removing the incestuous history of the Usher family.

Director Mike Flanagan has received accolades for his ability to transform Poe's eerie tales into visually stunning miniseries. By excluding the incest storyline, Flanagan delves deeper into Roderick's moral decline and the potential for love and redemption within his character.

Netflix’s adaptation, "The Fall of the House of Usher," explores the dark and corrupt nature of a morally bankrupt family. Based on Edgar Allan Poe’s gothic horror short story from 1839, the series focuses on the unscrupulous CEO of a pharmaceutical company who confronts the consequences of his past when his children mysteriously and inexplicably die. Under the direction of Mike Flanagan, known for his work on "Gerald’s Game," the miniseries has received widespread acclaim from critics. Flanagan's talent in visually capturing the essence of Poe's chilling narratives, as he previously did with Stephen King's tales of the eerie, has been highly praised. Comparable to the morally bankrupt Roy dynasty from "Succession," the Usher family reveals their truly despicable nature throughout the eight episodes. However, Flanagan decided to make a crucial alteration to the source material, preventing the family from sinking even deeper into depravity.

Edgar Allan Poe's Original Story Revealed The Usher Family Tree Was Incestuous

Poe’s original short story, "The Fall of the House of Usher," reveals that the Usher family lineage, preceding Fortunato Pharmaceuticals CEO Roderick Usher and his twin sister, COO Madeline, was rooted in incestuous relationships. The implication is that this pattern carries on with Roderick and Madeline themselves. However, despite their incestuous relationship, Roderick and Madeline have no offspring in the short story, marking the end of the Usher line and its generations-long incestuous practices.

Though the story does not explicitly depict any acts of incest between Roderick and Madeline, some scholars perceive Roderick's language when describing his sister as an indication of their involvement in an incestuous relationship. Furthermore, these scholars argue that the incestuous relationship is the true cause of the downfall of the Usher family and the ultimate termination of their lineage. According to this interpretation, despite its honest portrayal of incest, "The Fall of the House of Usher" takes an unequivocal stance against the practice.

Mike Flanagan Dropping Roderick & Madeline's Incestuous History Was The Right Choice

In the end, Flanagan's decision to remove the incest storyline from The Fall of the House of Usher was the right one. Although there remains a peculiar bond between Roderick and Madeline, it is for the best that the series portrays him experiencing love and loss from external sources, illustrating his gradual moral decay. The presence of an incestuous backstory suggested that Roderick and Madeline were destined for failure from the beginning. However, the show effectively demonstrates his capacity for genuine love and hope through his relationships with Annabel Lee and his children prior to assuming the role of CEO.