Losing one filmmaker is hardly going to put a noticeable dent in Netflix’s armor as the market-leading streaming service, but the loss of Mike Flanagan is most definitely going to be felt once The Fall of the House of Usher releases to signal the filmmaker’s final project for the platform before heading off to rival Prime Video.
Having become a byword for greatness in the horror genre, especially as it relates to episodic exclusives that can’t be found anywhere other than Netflix, it’s going to be a sad day for subscribers and boardroom members alike when the Edgar Allan Poe adaptation premieres on Oct. 12 to signal the writer, director, and producer’s swansong before he departs to pastures new.
Looking at the seven originals to have been delivered so far, it’s clear that Flanagan is going to leave behind both an incredible legacy and gaping chasm to fill. Even the largely-forgotten feature Before I Wake – comfortably his worst-reviewed effort for the company – still secured a Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes of 67 percent.
Hush seized a 93 percent rating, with Gerald’s Game faring almost as well at 91. On the TV front, The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and The Midnight Club secured 93, 88, 87, and 86 respectively, but he’s signing off in style after The Fall of the House of Usher debuted on the aggregation site as the best-reviewed project of his entire career.
At the time of writing, the miniseries holds a Flanagan-high approval rating of 95 percent, and as much as those numbers will fluctuate between now and release, he’s bowing out with his head held high either way.
