The Fall of the House of Usher

House of Usher is the sibling of the previous year’s The Pit and the Pendulum, which relied on a very similar premise but contained a bit more mystery and suspense, and its ending was more escalated. But the set designs, costumes and actors are just as excellent here. (08/08/2010)

A traditionally charismatic Vincent Price with his unmistakable, delicious delivery. Beautiful, intimate stylization. Unlike other Corman movies, this one even follows the book it’s based on. Which, paradoxically, was a huge mistake. This excellent tale by Poe just doesn’t have what it takes to fill the entire eighty-minute running time. And so the story-making places are filled with Philip Winthrop endlessly roaming the Usher’s family home. He walks and walks, then talks with Roderick or some butler and then he walks and walks again, and if the movie hadn’t ended, he would still be walking to this day... (01/02/2008)

One of Roger Corman’s best horror films, but nothing to write home about. It looks beautiful, but there’s not much happening, unfortunately. Thumbs certainly up anyway. 75 % (07/06/2011)

I love the atmosphere of huge and gloomy houses, behind each door of which there may be a dark secret hiding. So when unsuspecting Philip arrived at the Usher estate and the muffled voice of Price Roderick spoke for the first time, I purred with delight. When the master of the house grandly announced for the second time that the newcomer had no idea what was happening in the house, I glanced at my watch and thought that the supposedly terrifying "something" could already show itself. However, as the story progressed solely through regular plot twists followed by verbose dialogues, I realized that not every suspenseful story can be made into a gripping film. At least a well-graduated ending can offer breathtaking moments like the "hugely suspenseful scene full of evil faces in the paintings." It's not exactly disappointing, but it's difficult to find a pronounced surprise in the Usher house. (07/02/2008)