The House of Usher is a sort of modern retelling of Poe’s masterpiece. It brings the tale to the 21st century and attempts to recapture the eeriness of the original. Read on to see if it succeeds.
The Movie
Jill Michaelson (Izabella Miko) returns from a night out on the town to discover a voicemail, informing her that her former best friend and schoolmate, Maddy Usher, is dead. Soon, Jill is on the road to the Usher house, both to mourn the loss of her former friend and to provide moral support for Maddy’s twin brother (and Jill’s former lover), Rick.
After the funeral, Rick (Austin Nichols) asks Jill to stay for a while, to help him through his grief. She decides to stay, and the two are soon well on their way to making up for lost time. Jill eventually learns that Rick has the same hereditary disease that killed his sister, and that he must receive daily injections to counteract the symptoms. She decides to stay even longer, completely ignoring the cryptic warnings of house caretaker Mrs. Thatcher (Beth Grant). Before long, she begins to see the figure of a woman dressed in white, wandering the grounds outside the house. Could it be Maddy?
This movie really shouldn’t be compared to the story on which it is based. Poe’s story certainly serves as inspiration, but that is basically where the similarity ends. If you watch the movie looking for a faithful adaptation of the original, you will likely be disappointed. If you watch the movie as I attempted to, and think of it as its own standalone story, it really isn’t bad.
Don’t get me wrong; this isn’t a must-see movie by any stretch of the imagination. It has its flaws, and the pace is sort of slow, so I could see a lot of people getting bored and turning it off well before the credits roll. What this movie is, however, is an interesting reinterpretation of the story from which it takes its name.
The DVD
The House of Usher comes on a single DVD in a standard case. I really like the cover art on the case; it shows Jill, Rick, and Mrs. Thatcher, standing in front of the Usher house. The image looks sort of like an old sepia-toned photograph, and it definitely emits a creepy vibe. It managed to attract my attention when I first saw it, which is generally no easy task, so I am impressed.
Video is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The image quality is nice, and the dark, grainy look of the film gives it even more of an eerie feel.
Audio is presented in Dolby 5.1 surround in English and Spanish, which (if you ask me) is nice, if a bit much. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the capability is included, but there are very few scenes in which surround could really even be utilized, and even then it isn’t a necessity.
Special Features
Special features are seriously limited on this DVD. There are the standard deleted scenes and director’s commentary, but not much else. The only other “features” are a few movie trailers, including one for this movie.
Overall
If you’re looking for a movie that has an interesting take on a classic story, you might enjoy The House of Usher. If, however, you are a die-hard Poe fan or a casual movie watcher, looking for something wildly entertaining, my guess is that you probably won’t like this movie very much. In any case, I would recommend renting it before buying, because you may find that one viewing is enough.
Overall: 5.5