House of Usher (2008)

Victor Reynolds arrives at the notorious House of Usher, whereupon he is greeted by old acquaintances Roderick and Madeline Usher and their servant, Markus. As Victor uncovers more about ... See full summary »

Director:

David DeCoteau

Writer:

Simon Savory

Stars:

Michael Cardelle, Frank Mentier, Jaimyse Haft

Cast

Cast overview:
Michael Cardelle	...	Victor Reynolds
Frank Mentier	...	Roderick Usher
Jaimyse Haft	...	Madeline Usher
Jack Carlisle	...	Markus
Bart Voitila	...	Sam
Jill Jacobson	...	Nurse Cabot
Ian Shaw	...	The Narrator (voice)

Storyline

Victor Reynolds arrives at the notorious House of Usher, whereupon he is greeted by old acquaintances Roderick and Madeline Usher and their servant, Markus. As Victor uncovers more about the history of the house and the disappearances of those that entered it previously, he begins to realize that he is in mortal danger.

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Plot Keywords:

house | mansion | undressing each other | estate | bare chested male | 

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Taglines:

Many have arrived. Few have survived.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Here! TV Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 May 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Edgar Allan Poe's House of Usher

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$891 (USA) (9 May 2008)

Gross:

$1,529 (USA) (13 June 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rapid Heart Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Madeline Usher: Life is nothing but the period between birth and death.

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Connections

Referenced in The Pit and the Pendulum (2009)

User Reviews

Interesting Twist

I'm always fond of writing comments on movies that are either underrated or unnoticed and yet possess some degree of depth or sensibility. When I started watching this movie, I prepared myself for something really profound. But then I saw man-to-man kissing. Not that I have something against that or on movies that contain similar scenes, it's just that I did not intend to watch that kind of movie that afternoon.

For the benefit of the doubt, I continued watching and gave it a try anyway. Soon I started appreciating it – first on the choice of words in the dialogue, quite sensible; and then on the overall script that practically ushers the audience gradually into something bigger, becoming more dreadful by the minute – reason enough for fans of horror and suspense-thriller movies to get hooked up after all; and then the directing that made the actors essentially effective, the narrating, and practically every scene in the movie quite creepy. I could not overlook how the director successfully managed to utilize the main actor's tears in complete silence at the end of the movie to convey lots of messages – could be for a love that ended tragically or because he failed and abandoned someone he loved for quite some time or for the failure of Usher to get him out of such misery. And then there is this quite interesting twist in the end that changed the perspective of the movie. While all along, it was Usher who seemed to be needing a redemption, in the end though, it is the other way around after all.

Yes, the movie contained some partial male nudity and gay relationship but all these seemed to fall into the backdrop as one focuses his attention on the overall message being conveyed by the movie – the fall of the house of Usher is the product of the failure to save a loved one, whether it is in the point of view of Usher, Usher's sister, or even Victor…*