Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Adrienne Lee I own a movie review blog and I reviewed this movie recently. IMDb does not allowed me to include URL's, so I will just paste what you would have found on my blog as my review of this film. "Based off the popular Edgar Allen Poe short story The Fall of the House of Usher. This 2006 adaptation was nothing like the Poe story. Other than a few names being the same I don't know how they can claim this as an adaptation. It was incredibly confusing. And the film ended leaving my mother and I with tons of questions. What was originally a story about two (male) college buddies somehow became about a girl and her old college lover in this film. There was some sexual content, not severe, but totally pointless. Not to mention the way the Rodrick Usher kisses his lover Jill makes me want to vomit. It was like he was trying to eat her face! Slirping and smacking and....ugh make me shiver just to recall it. No one should ever kiss like that, especially on film. There was a pointless character added in named Mrs. Thatcher. What she was supposed to bring to the plot I do not know. She was basically just a creepy old woman thrown in to add ambiance I guess. The acting was to be desired, but the scenery was pretty cool. I liked the old large manor, though it lacked the foggy green glow that the Usher manor was described as having in the short story. Overall, I would not see this film unless you want to be confused. Its not scary, its not suspenseful, its not accurate to the original story, (and if go for the hot and steamy films) the sex in this film isn't even sexy. All around fail in my book. "

catfish-er *** CONTAINS SPOILERS *** The main character serves as the narrator in the Poe story. Unfortunately, in that short story, the character is a man; but, in this version of the story, the role is given to a young woman. She is a former lover of Roderick, instead of a childhood friend.Except for that one difference; and, a few modern contrivances (like the isolation tank), the story is incredibly faithful to the Poe story… well, and the family curse is changed here too.But, more on that later.The role of the narrator is to act as an observer through which we see the story unfold. This helps us build empathy with the character, without all the messy foreshadowing and flashbacks that would have happened, had we seen the movie through Roderick's or Maddie's eyes.Given that perspective, I think the acting is very good; and, I think the casting was brilliant. Austin Nichols plays the role of Roderick to a tee – embodying the twisted perceptions, hyper-sensitivity (suffering from Neurasthenia), and photo sensitivity brilliantly. In the Roger Corman version; which I think is the definitive telling of the Poe story, Vincent Price never could have (nor should have) done as well.And, Izabella Miko is an absolute delight. Not just for the eyes, because there's plenty there to see; but, she also builds the suspense incredibly well as Jill Michaelson. As the events unfold around this young woman; and, as Roderick and Mrs. Thatcher (played brilliantly by Beth Grant) begin to manipulate her reality, she reacts honestly and credibly.The Usher family's secret is a curse indeed! As Jill said, "They are all one line." Brother and sister as parents of the next line of twins… and, all suffering the same family curse. However, the secret is revealed when Jill takes down the family pictures -- parents have twins and those twins have twins and those twins have twins... All you have to do is listen to the names as she reads them off.However, as Roderick's book unfolds with the movie, we find out that Jill is there as a surrogate for Maddie, who went insane because of the incest. And, Roderick and Thatcher are trying to keep her hidden; she's not dead at all! In this telling, she is trying to prevent the curse from going on - WOW, what a twist on Poe, with re-curring themes of being buried alive!OKAY, now watch the rest of the movie, because the last 15-to-20 minutes make it all worthwhile.

nerowolfgal I love horror movies and I am very fond of anything based even vaguely on Poe. So, I settled down happily with a bowl of popcorn to watch this movie.At first it had all the things that make a horror freak happy. There was a gloomy house, an equally gloomy housekeeper with dire warnings, and a mysterious figure seem at twilight and hiding in shadows.And at first, pieces of the movie seem to be in place. Main character girl instead of traditional male: nice twist. Hints that she had a sexual past with both the Usher twins: interesting update. Male Usher twin obsessive sexual interest in her: nicely creepy. Usher twin getting her pregnant and locking her in the house: again nicely creepy.And then it happens. Main character finds family photos. She sees that for the past seven generations the family has produced a set of male and female twins. She mutters something in a horrified voice which cannot be understood no matter how often the movie is replayed.This something is enough for the housekeeper(who would you'd think, know the "curse" all along) to suddenly say the family is cursed, to try to end the main character's pregnancy, and to try to kill the male twin. There is running and screaming and people dying, with the viewer with no idea WHY. There is a "twist" ending which makes no sense, again because the "curse" is unknown, and if the main character does supposedly know it, why is she happily having the babies? The visuals are good in the movie, the director is fairly good, the early creep factor at a decent level but because of the ending I can't give this movie a good rating.

oldwivestales In this very serviceable thriller, a young woman named Jill hears from her former lover Roderick. He and his sister Maddie, her best friend when the three of them were at college together, disappeared suddenly from her life several years ago and she had not heard from either of them since. Roderick tells her that Maddie has died, and asks Jill to come for the funeral.Roderick suffers from an illness that makes him sensitive to light and touch. He is a novelist and writes at night, wearing gloves and headphones to drown out sensation. He frequently communicates through typewritten notes that bear the Usher seal, weighty symbol of the burden of the Usher legacy. The novel he is writing parallels the happenings in the house, and he won't let Jill read it, saying that he isn't sure yet how it is going to turn out.Roderick asks Jill to stay because he needs her, but she only gradually discovers his full intent. Austin Nichols is the restrained Roderick to Izabella Miko's translucent but determined Jill. Both are well cast in their roles.The opening music and the repeated warnings of the housekeeper are a bit heavy-handed and the film might have done better to let the story unfold without them. The second half of the film has lots of plot twists that make for great after-viewing discussion. The artistry of the filming earned this film the best cinematography award at the Boston Film Festival where it premiered.I recommend seeing this movie (but not alone!)