Here we go again. Normally, wetalk about updating Shakespeareto modern times, but now they’ve come for Edgar Allen Poe. The need for studios to recycle older stories seems to be turning into a debilitation. So why are they still insisting on it?
As Netflix prepares to release its upcoming horror series,The Fall of the House of Usher, let’s take a look at why Hollywood continues to modernize classic tales.
Poe and The Fall of the House of Usher
The original story waswritten by Edgar Allen Poein 1839 and involves a narrator traveling to see his friend after an urgent message. He arrives at the Usher estate, where the entire story takes place. The friend is confused and somewhat delirious, explaining that his sister is also in the house but rarely seen due to an illness. When the sister eventually dies, they place her body in the deepest depths of the mansion because they cannot properly bury her. Unfortunately, her brother becomes even more paranoid, announcing that he can still hear his sister. It turns out that she is, in fact, undead and comes back for vengeance.
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The story is an essential gothic horror story kept bottled in the old house. It is the classic “dark and stormy night” type of tale. When Edgar Allan Poe wrote the story, he was at the height of his writing and considered it one of his best works.
Many of the themes have been carried over since then, and the story may even seem tame by today’s standards. It is not often taught in schools, where teachers may prefer to discuss The Raven around Halloween as a way of getting through Poe without having to spend too much time.
Literary scholars will note that Poe had a hugeinfluence on modern horror, and his work has been turned into television and film throughout the decades since the book was written.
Names and Faces
One of the worst parts about remakes is the fact that when they are updated, they are often placed in modern times and given a bevy of acclaimed actors to carry them. In the case ofHouse of Usher, we are given a number of great actors: Carla Gugino, Mark Hamill, Mary McDonnell, and Rahul Kohli.
These are all very capable character actors, but in a case such as this, it can be considered stunt acting. They are big gets for a limited Netflix series but may end up underused in smaller parts.
The series is definitively an ensemble, meaning that actors are not necessarily top-billed in the way they normally would be. However, an ensemble also means a leveling of the playing field. Therefore, the less well-known are often given more clout by pairing with their more famous counterparts.
Why Not Condense Everything?
This series is already confusing some people aware of Poe’s work because it is not simply a retelling of theFall of the House of Usher. In fact, it appears to be a mashup of most of Poe’s works. The cast names and brief looks at the trailer give us an idea of the various characters being slammed together to try and tell one coherent scary story.
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Consider the characters and situations revealed before the series hits Netflix. First, there are the Usher siblings, Roderick and Madeline (The Fall of the House of Usher), and their children: Tamerlane (from the poemTamerlane), Prospero (The Masque of the Red Death), and Lenore (from the poemThe Raven). There are also the characters of Arthur Pym (The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket) and C. Auguste Dupin (The Murders in the Rue Morgue).
It is a complete and total smash of characters from the works of Poe. Then, consider the fact that we see flashes of images that relate to many of these same works. A swinging pendulum that calls back toThe Pit and the Pendulum, a party with a person wearing a death mask fromThe Masque of the Red Death, and even a Raven cawing from outside a grim and stately mansion.
It appears that the goal of this series isto kill everyonebased on the book or poem they are associated with. Whether the viewer will be left to realize this or if they will be smashed over the head with direct explanations is unknown.
Will It Work for Modern Audiences?
With all this talk of people not knowing the classics,The Fall of the House of Usherplansto bring back every single one. This seems a bit of an overachievement. It also feels like writers patting themselves on the back for creating a “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” situation by bringing these disparate characters together.
Netflix is upping the creepy factor and using something we all know and seem to love: a family built on crime. This is no stretch for any series, especially since we have recently seen shows such asSuccession,where the characters had no need for gothic horror to be awful to each other. This new series is a Frankenstein’s creation, sewn together and placed before people in the hopes that they see a beautiful, new creature and not a mangled monster of a series.
This time of year isfull of Halloween horror. Whether big-budget film or small-screen gore, the industry seems to think it must feed the beast. Yet, to meet this end, Netflix is attempting to cash in on well-worn tropes. Unfortunately, with modern viewing audiences and how the streaming service pushes directed content into viewers’ faces, it might just work.
The Fall of the House of Usherwill premiere on Netflix on October 12.
