The House of Usher (DVD)
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This version in a long line of many of Edgar Allen Poe's19th century tale, The House of Usher '06, is still gothic and atmospheric enough but it plays out more like a Hammer film as orchestrated by the Bronte Sisters. If you're down for a slower pace and long looks at Izabella Miko's pretty face, then you'll more than likely want to open this House.
This tried and true old tale — if you haven't seen it (the 1960 Vincent Price version seems to have endured, especially) then you're lucky and I won't reveal the twist — still holds up. Here's the set-up: Jill Michaelson (Miko), having finally mended her broken heart, gets an unexpected invitation from her former flame, Rick Usher (Austin Nicholas, who currently plays the title role in HBO's John from Cincinnati, and worked previously with Miko in Deadwood). The call is to inform her that his twin sister and her best friend, Maddy (Danielle McCarthy), has died after a long and horrible illness.
Once Jill has rushed to the Usher's old, stately home for the funeral she finds herself trapped within its dark red walls, held by psychological ties from which she cannot break free. She soon falls back in love with Rick, whom she discovers is also extremely ill, and finds herself at odds with the Usher's long-time housekeeper, the odd and stern Mrs. Thatcher (Beth Grant). Isolated in the gothic mansion with only madness as her constant companions, Jill begins to unravel. She starts to see an apparition which resembles Maddy. This ghostly creature spurs Jill to uncover the dark family secret of the House of Usher before history can repeat iself.
The House of Usher is Australian director Hayley Cloake’s debut feature, and she does a good job of evoking a sense of old-style scares with subtlety, while still maintaining a believability that the story's set in modern times. The tale, twisted from the usual male perspective to that of Jill's by screenwriter Collin Chang, is slow-paced but absorbing. The cinematography by Eric Trageser is lush and lovely, and is helped along by good sets and nice outdoor locations. The acting is decent, making The House of Usher a serviceable gothic suspenser worth the price of a rental.
There is no additional release material on the DVD.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson