They tried to do Old English narration in a modern world. It was boring and looked cheap. Felt like college project. Acting was ok. It wasn't terrible, but needs improvement.probably don't watch it. Cuz will be waste of time.
12 Reviews
This was nothing special and not worth your time
kevin_robbins8 May 2023
The Fall of Usher (2021) is a movie that I recently watched on Prime. The storyline follows a young man taking care of his father with no other real purpose. He begins seeing strange things around his house and can't tell if they're real or his imagination; or simply, they are his demise and he's just here to tell you how and why...
This movie is written and directed by Brian Cunningham (Overtime) and stars Spencer Korcz (Wretch), Michael R Mcguire, James Tackett (United We Fall), Savannah Schafer (Beasts of the Field) and Riker Hill (Tears in the Snow).
Everything about the main character is annoying - his look, voice, narrations, mannerisms, your okay with pretty much anything that happens to him in the movie. The storyline is nothing special and the cinematography for a modern film was disappointing, even if there were a couple good scenes with how they used lighting. The background sound effects and corpses were good, but the horror elements were lacking and nothing special.
Overall, this was nothing special and not worth your time. I would score this a 2.5/10 and recommend skipping it.
This movie is written and directed by Brian Cunningham (Overtime) and stars Spencer Korcz (Wretch), Michael R Mcguire, James Tackett (United We Fall), Savannah Schafer (Beasts of the Field) and Riker Hill (Tears in the Snow).
Everything about the main character is annoying - his look, voice, narrations, mannerisms, your okay with pretty much anything that happens to him in the movie. The storyline is nothing special and the cinematography for a modern film was disappointing, even if there were a couple good scenes with how they used lighting. The background sound effects and corpses were good, but the horror elements were lacking and nothing special.
Overall, this was nothing special and not worth your time. I would score this a 2.5/10 and recommend skipping it.
20 minutes was enough
dougjmaggi14 July 2022
Oh. My. Gosh. I'd Rather Watch Paint Dry While Grass is Growing!
rebeltaz-1870528 August 2022
It is extremely rare that I will turn off a movie, no matter how bad it is. I like to at least see where it goes and I'm no quitter, but... I watched MAYBE twenty or thirty minutes of this snoozefest before I had to go to something else! The acting (if you want to call it that) is dry and emotionless. The story (what there is of it) is excruciatingly slow.
I am a huge fan of Edgar Allen Poe, but this would turn anyone off from ever reading the Master.
So apparently, you have to have 600 characters in a review. It's too bad there wasn't similar requirements on the writers, actors and directors when it came to creating this. Maybe it would have been better. Lord knows it couldn't have been worse.
I am a huge fan of Edgar Allen Poe, but this would turn anyone off from ever reading the Master.
So apparently, you have to have 600 characters in a review. It's too bad there wasn't similar requirements on the writers, actors and directors when it came to creating this. Maybe it would have been better. Lord knows it couldn't have been worse.
Dreadful
strictlytea19 January 2023
Who in their right mind would a modern day The Fall of Usher without reading the short story by Edgar Allan Poe. I watched the trailer thinking that is was a period piece boy was I wrong. It looked boring and there was something off about the movie that turned me off.
Quite frankly. The 1960's version of House of Usher is better than this version and this because of the great Vincent Price makes the movie really creepy and you have to have Roger Corman do the direction.
How about no more adaptions of Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall House of Usher. One is enough and that is about it.
Its up to you if you want to watch it.
Quite frankly. The 1960's version of House of Usher is better than this version and this because of the great Vincent Price makes the movie really creepy and you have to have Roger Corman do the direction.
How about no more adaptions of Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall House of Usher. One is enough and that is about it.
Its up to you if you want to watch it.
What a sack of garbage
jfgibson7312 October 2022
This movie couldn't have possibly been any worse. They made a terrible choice casting the lead role. I would say that hair and costuming made him look terrible, but it's more likely he just showed up wearing whatever he wanted to. No care was put into this. The narration is poorly written and exponentially more grating than your common movie narration, which is a pretty weak device in the first place. I'm sure the filmmakers have never read the source material and probably don't even really like Poe's stories. They just needed an IP to attach to their weak efforts for increased visibility. The worst ever.
Old Edgar Allen Poe Story Set In Modern Times
markwiseman5-988-10320717 July 2022
I remember watching Romeo & Juliette several years ago with Leonardo DiCaprio and liking it a lot. Sure, it's not easy to process old Shakespearean English in our day & age - and it's similar here, with "The Fall of Usher." I especially liked the part where Romeos' father says, "Bring me my broadsword," while grabbing a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun.
But, if you can get past that aspect of the film, I rather like the way Edgar Allen Poe wrote, way back when. And after that, I found the rest of this movie enjoyable enough. It's generally pretty slow in the narration and story-telling, and not necessarily really "scary" or containing a lot of cheap "jump scares."
Here, the horror lies in the descent of a mans' consciousness into madness and the process by which he finds himself undone. It's a slow, psychological kind of horror. I found the movie enjoyable enough.
But, if you can get past that aspect of the film, I rather like the way Edgar Allen Poe wrote, way back when. And after that, I found the rest of this movie enjoyable enough. It's generally pretty slow in the narration and story-telling, and not necessarily really "scary" or containing a lot of cheap "jump scares."
Here, the horror lies in the descent of a mans' consciousness into madness and the process by which he finds himself undone. It's a slow, psychological kind of horror. I found the movie enjoyable enough.
A Dark, Unrelenting, Atmospheric Love Letter to Poe
griessen9 December 2022
This may not be a movie for everyone, as the previous and only other review clearly indicates. But, it truly is a work for fans of Poe's writing.
It is dark. It is unrelenting. And the atmosphere descends through black depths as the truths of the horror unfold.
Poe's writing is not scary in the modern horror-movie-fan sense, rather, it is dark, ominous, and unrelenting as the reader peels back layer after layer of the narrator's insanity to uncover the actual horror story.
The Fall of Usher is not a retelling or modernization of any specific works of Poe, but a re-weaving of many of the themes and atmospheres from multiple stories.
The movie opens with a classic Poe device of the main character talking directly to the audience (or perhaps just himself), and although that specific device does not return, the use of archaic Poe language, dialogue, narration and silent movie-esque cards, keeps the viewer grounded in Poe's era even while the setting remains modern day.
This is the definition of slow-burn done right--not boring, not plotted poorly, but rather the viewer is taken on a ride of reveal after reveal, a step-by-step uncovering the actual reality that is being hidden deep in the mind of the unreliable and insane narrator. Even the tiny cast and small set evoke the claustrophobia which lies at the core of several of Poe's stories.
Most "fans" of Poe, are not really fans of his actual writing--most find it overly complex and opaque, even if they love the soul of the horror story as told. The Fall of Usher definitely follows not only the "soul" of Poe's works, but the actual complex, opaque devices and dialogue, and because of that, it's true that its audience may be niche.
If you truly love to *read* the works of Poe, if you swoon over the complex language he uses to evoke his dark atmospheres, if you live for half-page-long sentences, stuffed with iterative atmospheric descriptions, then you will find SO much to love in this movie!
It is dark. It is unrelenting. And the atmosphere descends through black depths as the truths of the horror unfold.
Poe's writing is not scary in the modern horror-movie-fan sense, rather, it is dark, ominous, and unrelenting as the reader peels back layer after layer of the narrator's insanity to uncover the actual horror story.
The Fall of Usher is not a retelling or modernization of any specific works of Poe, but a re-weaving of many of the themes and atmospheres from multiple stories.
The movie opens with a classic Poe device of the main character talking directly to the audience (or perhaps just himself), and although that specific device does not return, the use of archaic Poe language, dialogue, narration and silent movie-esque cards, keeps the viewer grounded in Poe's era even while the setting remains modern day.
This is the definition of slow-burn done right--not boring, not plotted poorly, but rather the viewer is taken on a ride of reveal after reveal, a step-by-step uncovering the actual reality that is being hidden deep in the mind of the unreliable and insane narrator. Even the tiny cast and small set evoke the claustrophobia which lies at the core of several of Poe's stories.
Most "fans" of Poe, are not really fans of his actual writing--most find it overly complex and opaque, even if they love the soul of the horror story as told. The Fall of Usher definitely follows not only the "soul" of Poe's works, but the actual complex, opaque devices and dialogue, and because of that, it's true that its audience may be niche.
If you truly love to *read* the works of Poe, if you swoon over the complex language he uses to evoke his dark atmospheres, if you live for half-page-long sentences, stuffed with iterative atmospheric descriptions, then you will find SO much to love in this movie!
Good acting not typical horror
edstuart117 January 2023
This mimics the style of Poes tales so it's a psychological horror movie presented by an unreliable narrator. I'm not a fan of the typical slasher horror genre. This movie is not so easily classified. The set is confined to one house and is narrated by someone who seems to be on the brink of insanity. This movie held my attention and I found the focus on the main character dealing with extreme stress intriguing. It does have graphic violence but not to the excess of many horror movies. It's not for children and no typical slutty sex of some horror genres. It explores relationships so it's more for adults who appreciate such. I think it's worth watching.
Slow start but gripping there after
wagnerkyle-9637931 July 2023
I'll agree with others that the start of the story was slow, but one you make it through the first 20 minutes, you find yourself wondering how all the bits are going to tie together and what's going to happen next. It's anybodies guess and the macabre of Poe, is really evident. The music show is fantastic and the acting and direction was well done when considering this is isn't a multi million dollar blockbuster budget. It was low budget and should be compared as such. It reminds me of when movies were made for the passion of art of the story, not as an investment opportunity. Definitely worth a watch.
Good Indie watch
marymakk27 December 2022
I see others dismissing this as a "college project" or condemning it because it isn't some a high budget flick. Is it a blockbuster? No, and it doesn't claim to be. It's more an arthouse film, but what it lacks in frills, it makes up in the overall aesthetics, IMO. While far from a direct translation of Poe's Fall of the House of Usher, the overall style & feel of the storytelling is there, with distinct nods to the theme. This film is an homage and took me right back to my "Poe era", when I just couldn't read enough of his darkly skewed creations.
The pacing isn't quick or to the point, because why would it be? Not every story has to be a fast paced info-dump. Part of the charm of Poe's writings was in his stylistic meandering and poetic phrasing, even in his non-prose works. This film gives that nuanced pacing and I enjoyed the similar phrasing of the narration. It adds to the aesthetic of the story and theme. It is it's own poetry of sorts. It takes a rather mundane setting of modern age and brings the dreary Gothic Dark Romanticism of Poe's unique style to life.
The plot is influenced, but still it's own animal, and I enjoyed the reveals within. I thought the acting was, in fact, very well done. There is a simplicity to each portrayal that spoke to realism and humanity of the characters.
In closing, if you love the style of Edgar Allen Poe's writings, and you don't mind a cerebral film experience, this is a great watch. One just has to be open-minded.
The pacing isn't quick or to the point, because why would it be? Not every story has to be a fast paced info-dump. Part of the charm of Poe's writings was in his stylistic meandering and poetic phrasing, even in his non-prose works. This film gives that nuanced pacing and I enjoyed the similar phrasing of the narration. It adds to the aesthetic of the story and theme. It is it's own poetry of sorts. It takes a rather mundane setting of modern age and brings the dreary Gothic Dark Romanticism of Poe's unique style to life.
The plot is influenced, but still it's own animal, and I enjoyed the reveals within. I thought the acting was, in fact, very well done. There is a simplicity to each portrayal that spoke to realism and humanity of the characters.
In closing, if you love the style of Edgar Allen Poe's writings, and you don't mind a cerebral film experience, this is a great watch. One just has to be open-minded.
For the love of Edgar Allan Poe
dracforever9 March 2023
Not a specific Poe story but one wrapped in the delightful trappings of his grasp of the decent into madness then the mayhem that results from the incessant pondering which consumes the perpetrator's sanity slowly like emergence of a rock formation in a cave. Anyone that enjoys Poe's writings will find this a tasty fare.
I have been a fan of Edgar Allan Poe for years and was overjoyed to have found this movie. I felt that it faithfully captured his flair of prose that I love so much. I highly recommend a watch of this for anyone that likes Poe's macabre expression of the deep dark depths of the twisted recesses of the mysterious yet fascinating organ we call a brain.
I have been a fan of Edgar Allan Poe for years and was overjoyed to have found this movie. I felt that it faithfully captured his flair of prose that I love so much. I highly recommend a watch of this for anyone that likes Poe's macabre expression of the deep dark depths of the twisted recesses of the mysterious yet fascinating organ we call a brain.
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