Mike Flanagan and Michael Fimognari’s adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher may be Netflix’s most disturbing horror yet – with viewers saying they ‘couldn’t sleep’ after watching it.
The highly anticipated American miniseries – based on Poe’s 1839 short story – follows siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher, who have built a pharmaceutical company into an empire of wealth, privilege and power.
Roderick’s six children ruthlessly desire a piece of the Usher fortune – which draws the show’s comparison to Succession – but the dynasty begins to crumble when the heirs of the Usher dynasty begin to die, leading to a battle to survive.
Although the gripping story has received rave reviews from viewers and critics, with an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, many say they were upset by the disturbing scenes.
Following its release earlier this month, horror fans branded the series ‘gruesome’ and ‘gory’ after seeing graphic depictions of animal abuse, suicide and incest.
Viewers watching Netflix’s adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s book The Fall of the House of Usher say they were ‘so scared’ after seeing disturbing scenes
Netflix’s synopsis for the eight-episode horror series explains: “To secure their fortunes – and futures – two ruthless siblings build a family dynasty that begins to crumble when their heirs mysteriously die one by one.”
The series stars The Haunting of Hill House and Bly Manor actors Carla Gugino and Kate Siegel, Thirteen Days star Bruce Greenwood and Friday Night Light’s Zach Gilford.
With death being a common theme, reviews of the horror series acknowledge the disturbing elements of the show.
Nuha Hassan from FlipScreen said, “The series is different from the previous versions of horror stories that Flanagan has adapted; it’s darker and gorier, focusing on the characters’ disturbing deaths.”
In the same way, Richard Roper of Chicago Sun-Times said: ‘There are countless scenes that will give you instant goosebumps…’
In We Got This Covered, Scott Campbell wrote: ‘Mike Flanagan bids farewell to Netflix with what may be his best series yet; The Fall of the House of Usher drips with atmosphere, chills and subtext that takes the filmmaker to the highest level.’
Likewise, fans have taken to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share their thoughts on the ‘very dark’ and ‘gory’ show.
Horror fans have branded the new series ‘very dark’ and ‘gory’ as they issued a warning to others looking to watch the series
Scenes of animal cruelty are featured in the series, which aired on Netflix last month – and in time for Halloween
One user simply wrote: ‘This has ruined me.’
Another added: “The fall of the House of Usher is scary but also good so I just want to binge but I’m so scared.”
A third said: ‘The fall of the House of Usher is a succession of horror on acid.’
A fourth wrote: ‘Started with ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ last night and woke up at 3am from the scariest dream of my life and couldn’t go back to sleep. Lesson learned – no scary shows without a man in my house
Another user said, “The fall of the messenger’s house is so scary to me that I literally hide behind my pillow every time Roderick sits in that chair talking to Dupin.”
Fans flocked to social media to share their thoughts on the new Netflix horror, leaving many terrified
A sixth added: ‘The fall of the House of Usher is decadently gruesome and bloody.’
‘Seen the fall of the House of Usher. It’s very good. Just look at it.
‘I won’t say anything. However, it is VERY dark.
“Too many content warnings to list, be warned,” another horror fan explained.
One said: ‘Wow. ‘Fall of the House of Usher’ was really good. Very disturbing and quite gory, but whatever. I’m going to think about it for a long time.