With Midnight Mass being a smashing success for Netflix, Mike Flanagan has cemented himself as the go-to horror filmmaker for the streaming service. Netflix has distributed three of his films and three of his mini-series, with two more on the way. Flanagan’s most recently announced collaboration with Netflix will be titled The Fall of the House of Usher, which is based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe.
Flanagan has taken a liking to adapting the works of literary horror giants in the past like Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, and Henry James. Poe is one of the most iconic horror authors in history, so it only makes sense that the filmmaker would adapt his stories. Little is known about the upcoming series other than the title. However, Flanagan recently had a chance to do a deep dive on what to expect.
“A lot of the stuff I do is a slow burn. The Fall of the House of Usher is a brush fire,” Flanagan said on Bloody Disgusting’s The Boo Crew Podcast. “It is an explosion. It is as aggressive and rock ‘n roll and over the top and just violent and insane and horrific as anything I have ever done… by a lot. We’re gonna pull all the all-stars from the Intrepid group of actors and some great new faces and we’re just gonna f***ing jam.”
Based on this description, The Fall of the House of Usher could be vastly different from some of Flanagan’s recent works but should feature his hallmarks, especially actors Henry Thomas and Kate Siegel. Flanagan wasn’t done giving insight on the series.
“We want just buckets of blood pouring out of the ceiling on page two,” he said. “And we’re just gonna go ballistic. And we’re gonna do it all to the music of one of the most intensely effective gothic horror writers. This is what we’ve been craving. A chance to just go ballistic on something. The entire catalog of Poe is wide open. It’s all public domain. We can cherry-pick whatever we want and put it into one giant, crazy, heavy metal riff that’s just blood-soaked and wild. In a sense, we get to blow off steam after five very emotional years. And it lets me play in a corner of the genre I haven’t gotten to play in a long time. It’s a relief really. It’s fun to have fun.”
Flanagan has avoided over-the-top horror over his last several projects, and it looks like he’s ready to do something less serious. Considering his track record, it’s hard to imagine the series doesn’t end up being a good time. Flanagan noted that the series will start shooting in January.
