5.1
A traveler arrives at the Usher mansion to visit his old friend, Roderick Usher. Upon arriving, however, he discovers that Roderick and his sister, Madeline, have been afflicted with a mysterious malady: Roderick's senses have become painfully acute, while Madeline has become nearly catatonic. That evening, Roderick tells his guest of an old Usher family curse: any time there has been more than one Usher child, all of the siblings have gone insane and died horrible deaths. As the days wear on, the effects of the curse reach their terrifying climax.
Gwen Watford
Lady Usher
Kaye Tendeter
Lord Roderick Usher
Irving Steen
Jonathan
Vernon Charles
Dr. Cordwall
Connie Goodwin
Louise
Lucy Pavey
The Hag
Robert Woollard
Greville
Keith Lorraine
George
Tony Powell-Bristow
Richard
Director
Ivan Barnett
Short Story
Edgar Allan Poe
Writer
Kenneth Thompson
Writer
Dorothy Catt
December 27, 2022
4
This is a bit wooden, to be honest... The budget was clearly stretched by the bar bill from the opening, introductory, sequence in the gentleman's club where one of the group starts to read this story from a compendium of Poe stories. We are quickly transferred to the sinister mansion in which the "Usher" siblings - "Lord Roderick" (Kaye Tendeter) and "Lady Madeleine" (Gwen Watford) abide. "Jonathan" (Irving Steen) arrives at the house to visit his friend and discovers that both have been afflicted by strange maladies that their doctor can only explain by suggesting "Jonathan" leave, and leave quickly... What ensues is not the best story Poe ever wrote, and this depiction is truly static. The staging is theatrical in the most third rate "rep" of fashions: lines are delivered as if being individually cued, the photography is almost as stilted and the overall pace of the film - though not entirely devoid of peril and aided well by eerie scenarios and a great storm sequence at the end, just flows like treacle. Like many stories from this author, there isn't a conclusion as such, just an ending - but in this case, sadly, it couldn't really come quick enough.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00