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The Fall of the House of Usher: Quoth the Raven
Spoiler ravens incoming!
Created by a pair of ruthless twin siblings long ago, the current Usher pharmaceutical empire begins crumbling into dust as patriarch Roderick’s adult children begin dying off.
Oh this is a gorgeous one y’all, full of mood and tension and supernatural horror to knock your socks off, sure, but also sporting incredible performances from every single cast member. So let’s dive (off a high-rise balcony) into this!
In the beginning, young Roderick Usher (Zach Gilford) and his twin sister Madeline (Willa Fitzgerald) came from nothing. Their religious fanatic of a mother Eliza (Annabeth Gish) worked as a secretary and occasional mattress-toy for their father William Longfellow (Robert Longstreet), the former CEO of the Fortunato pharmaceutical company. Which is all a glorious irony, because when mother gets sickly, she adamantly refuses to see a doctor due to her religious beliefs, and the children are left to fend for themselves when their father callously denies both them, and their mother, acknowledgement of any kind. And paid a heavy price for it too, when an enraged spirit rose from her grave to exact her righteous vengeance.
Here in the present, old and haggard Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood), Fortunato pharmaceutical emperor, opioid king, is haunted by his past mistakes, but also by the specters of his dead adult children. Diagnosed with a heroic list of physical (and let’s face it, mental) ailments, Roderick decides to invite his old nemesis Auguste Dupin (Carl Lumbly) to a secret location, for a full confession of all his crimes, against the world and the courts and even Auggie himself, but most especially against his own family.
Every single one of Roderick’s children comes with a name from an Edgar Allen Poe story and a whole laundry list of odd issues and secrets. Frederick Usher (Henry Thomas), the eldest and heir to the Fortunato empire, has trust issues with his wife Morella (Cystal Balint), and apparently the only actual grandchild thus far, Lenore (Kyliegh Curran). Far as I can tell, Frederick doesn’t actually do anything, other than regurgitate Roderick’s business policies and family fixer-attorney Arthur Pym’s (Mark Hamill) warnings about close-mouthedness as far as the public, media, and especially the law goes. Lenore is of course absolutely beloved by her grandfather, while her mother Morella seems to have past issues with another of Roderick’s kids, Prospero, or Perry (Sauriyan Sapkota) as he prefers to be called.
Frederick’s eldest legitimate daughter, named Tamerlane (really? Wow) but of course she’s called Tammy (Samantha Sloyan) by most, has aspirations of being a different kind of family entrepreneur with her husband Bill Wilson (Matt Biedel) and his fitness influencer lifestyle. Tammy puts a lot of pressure on herself, has frankly utterly ridiculous demands her husband has to follow, and a very unusual way of using call girls to have a … one-some? practically every night. No kink-shaming here of course, but even I raised an eyebrow at Tammy’s nightly adventures and lack of actual sleep.
Camille L’Espanaye is one of Roderick’s several illegitimate children, sharp-tongued and savvy is she, as the head of public relations for Fortunato. Her hair an iconic silvery-white, likely a nod to the older L’Espanaye women of the Poe story, she stalks the scandals, social media, the backgrounds and vices of all the Ushers, and is utterly ruthless in using everything in her power to spin doctor every last Usher disaster as quickly as possible. The on-going trial with older Auggie barely registers in Camille’s arrogant countenance, as she works those sharp-as-steel wits in overtime to address the sudden domino deaths of her siblings. Camille’s casual mistreatment of her two aides Toby and Tina as little more than walking, not talking, sexual stress relievers, it’s apparently literally in their employment contracts and multiple NDAs, is just as horrific as the misdeeds as the other Ushers, and her death comeuppance has a delicious irony to it in this regard.
Victorine LaFourcade (T’Nia Miller) is the eldest of Roderick’s illegitimate children, tall and black and statuesque, a genius heart surgeon on whom Roderick places a ton of expectations and pride. Her partner Dr. Alessandra “Ali” Ruiz (Paola Nunez) is a partner in every sense of the word, both at work and at home, and while Ali has great faith in her gorgeous genius of a partner, she is also leery of using untried Fortunato products in their heart and pace-maker research. The grotesque labs full of monkey test animals and outright lies from an increasingly paranoid and pressured Victorine bring to mind the disaster that led to 28 Days Later, another master horrorpiece.
Poor Napoleon, or Leo (Rahul Kohli) as he rightfully prefers to be called, tatted up and drugged out of his mind more often than not, can’t even rightly claim being a video game designer, as he tries to. No, Leo is a video game publisher and is adrift on the Usher money and lifestyle, both pulling away and edging back to the family that finds him a few shades disappointing. His boyfriend Julius (Daniel Jun) tries so very hard to be just chill about Leo’s increasing paranoia, depression, and hey, feud with that damnable black cat.
The youngest of the illegitimate Usher children, Prospero known as Perry seems determined to live the life of a young bacchanal, full of drugs and sex with multiple partners, an exclusive VIP party that seemingly never ends, and Perry would be the gatekeeper, the overlord of the orgy. His eager ideas for a very posh orgy-porgy amongst the bright young things of the city, with him emperor Dionysus above all, while cute, lacks anything resembling common sense. Indeed, Perry thinks the best place to have his pop-up party of the century is a disused private lab testing site for Fortunato pharma and was meant to have been torn down long ago, but since the Usher family owns these sites (allegedly) he can go ahead and use them worry-free, right? Gives a whole new terrifying spin to, “Make it rain!”
The whole thing with the trial and an elderly but still spry Auguste, and how it directly relates back to that time in the ‘80’s when a much younger Auggie (Malcolm Goodwin) and younger Mads (Willa Fitzgerald) and younger Roderick (Zach Gilford) all wanted to take on current Fortunato head Rufus Griswold (Michael Trucco) and the absolute ass of a jester he’s acting like, is the kind of full-circle irony that a tidy universe loves to show us. Indeed, it’s way back here on a fateful night where, after a beleaguered Roderick has betrayed pretty much everyone but his twin sister, because Mads always has a plan for long-term revenge, that they meet a very strange bartender, who offers them both the deal of several lifetimes.
The woman, or rather the entity that we come to associate as the specter of Death, is never actually given a name. The show BTS information calls her Verna (Carla Gugino), a rearrangement of raven, arguably Poe’s most well-known poem and known in many cultures as the bringer of death, if not Death itself. As the Usher children begin dying, Verna pops up and either guides them through it, or in a rather Final Destination fashion, outright causes their deaths to happen. Verna made a rather monstrous offer of a deal to the Usher twins long ago, they both had to take her up on it, which begins the domino effect that leads all the way to the real fall of the House of Usher, and its lasting legacy on the entire Usher bloodline. Verna encourages the Usher empire founders to think of themselves like that, referring to Mads as Cleopatra and nudging Roderick with his obsession of suicide by khopesh, or the legendary sapphire eyes of Egyptian Queen Twosret, none of which helps the mindset of the Usher family.
The Poe references splashed throughout, the use of light and shadow as each Usher character declines into madness (or dives), absolutely stellar performances from a powerhouse cast, all make for a ride through the haunted legacy of the House of Usher worth repeated viewings! Be there for the collapse of an empire in The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix now!
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VidaayMuyarchi

“Vidaamuyarchi,” now streaming on Netflix, is a 2025 Indian Tamil-language action thriller directed and written by Magizh Thirumeni. Produced by Subaskaran Allirajah under Lyca Productions, the film boasts a runtime of 150 minutes. The narrative follows Arjun (Ajith Kumar) on a relentless quest to rescue his wife Kayal (Trisha Krishnan) after she is abducted by a mysterious group in Azerbaijan. The ensemble cast includes Arjun Sarja, Regina Cassandra, and Arav in pivotal roles.
Drawing inspiration from the 1997 American film “Breakdown,” “Vidaamuyarchi” offers a familiar storyline but is elevated by compelling performances. Ajith Kumar delivers a commendable portrayal of a husband battling against time and adversities, while Trisha Krishnan effectively captures the emotional depth of her character. The film’s cinematography by Om Prakash enhances the tension and atmosphere, and Anirudh Ravichander’s music complements the narrative’s intensity.
However, the film’s predictability and pacing issues may deter some viewers. Despite these shortcomings, “Vidaamuyarchi” provides an engaging experience for fans of the action thriller genre.
Rating: 6.5/10
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The Ugly Stepsister Review

I probably don’t have to say this for a film that debuted at Sundance in January 2025 and distributed by the horror speciality subscription service Shudder but this film is very much not for children! It’s a Norwegian body horror.
A beautiful castle with a stunning backdrop of woodland, four noblewomen bedecked in fine dresses, and a handsome prince looking for a virginal bride. All the trademarks of a fairytale yet this tale is quite unlike any other!
Our protagonist, Elvira (Lea Myren), is the quintessential ‘ugly stepsister’. Though I must stress that ugly is rather an unfair description. Yes, Elvira may not possess the conventional ethereal beauty of Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Naess), her stepsister (the films Cinderella), but she is in no way ‘ugly’. If only Elvira could see this herself, or at the very least her own mother, Rebekka, could see it. Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp) puts a new spin on the evil stepmother. Although she clearly wants what is best for her daughter (a rich husband), as well as for her family. After the untimely death of Rebekka’s new husband and Agnes’s father; Rebekka laments that no one wants a widow with “saggy tits and two hopeless daughters”. Elvira swears she will get married to provide for the family, but her mother tells her to “ look in the mirror, sweetheart”.
Elvira spends a lot of the movie woefully looking into the mirror. The teenager may not have access to a front-facing phone camera, but there is something oh-so-familiar about her despair. Elvira wears braces, and when those are pulled out to reveal her perfect teeth, it’s still not enough for her mother. After Rebekka chooses a more flattering shape from a brochure, Elvira is strapped down for a nose job as Dr Esthétique (Adam Lundgren) unceremoniously breaks her nose and attaches a (fittingly) medieval-looking device to her face in order to ‘shape’ the nose. Steampunk chic to be sure, but looks painful.
To the modern eye, Elvira’s methods to achieve ‘beauty’ may seem extreme; from swallowing a tapeworm egg to having eyelash extensions sewn (yes, sewn!) into her eyes. But this quest for perfection is disturbingly familiar. Is it any different from people injecting themselves with a neurotoxin or fillers into their faces? And with Ozempic taking the world by storm, tapeworms don’t seem that bizarre. In our way, we are all trying to fit into the coveted ‘slipper’ that is the narrow view of femininity and beauty.
The film was written by Emilie Blichfeldt and stands as her directorial debut. The script reflects her own struggles with body confidence. We feel empathy towards Elvira whilst watching her stare at her naked body in disgust, envying Agnes’s effortless beauty, even when her beautiful stepsister is demoted to a house servant. Elvira is asked to move to the back of the dance class, being told her natural talent is wasted on someone as ugly as her, while Agnes is met only with smiles and attention.
The film is littered with both metaphorical and physical phalluses, reminding us how these unfortunate women are being, repeatedly, crushed living under the patriarchy. The penultimate scenes are a tour de force of body horror where Elvira’s desperation for beauty and acceptance is made visible in all its ugly glory. Not for the faint-hearted or the weak-stomached!
Three stars.
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Movie Review: Wolf Children (2025)

Genre: Supernatural Drama / Coming-of-Age
Runtime: 1 hour 57 minutes
Studio: A24
Director: Karyn Kusama
Writer: Celeste Ng (based on an original screenplay)
Starring: Florence Pugh, Evan Peters, Naomi Scott, and Kodi Smit-McPhee
In Wolf Children, director Karyn Kusama delivers a haunting and lyrical drama about identity, nature, and survival. Set in the misty woodlands of the Pacific Northwest, the film follows Lena (Florence Pugh), a reclusive biologist raising her two children, both born with the ability to shift into wolves, after the mysterious disappearance of her partner.
From the start, the tone is atmospheric and unsettling. A24’s trademark eerie quiet pairs well with Kusama’s gift for tension, and the lush cinematography by Autumn Durald Arkapaw (Loki, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) paints a world that feels both grounded and otherworldly.
Florence Pugh gives a deeply human, raw performance as a mother on the edge of isolation and desperation. Evan Peters plays the estranged uncle torn between loyalty and fear, while Naomi Scott shines as a local teacher trying to connect with the children. But the standout is Kodi Smit-McPhee, whose portrayal of the older child caught between animal instinct and human longing adds poignant complexity.
Celeste Ng’s screenplay offers more than fantasy—it’s a social allegory about being “othered” and trying to fit into a world that fears what it doesn’t understand. Themes of motherhood, heritage, and personal agency run deep.
At times, the pacing lags, especially in the second act, where introspection overtakes momentum. And while the wolf transformation scenes are emotionally loaded, the limited visual effects may disappoint viewers expecting genre thrills.
But make no mistake—Wolf Children isn’t a horror flick. It’s a moving, melancholic fairy tale for adults, and one that lingers after the credits.
Rating: 8.5/10
A tender, eerie, and evocative film that blends supernatural themes with emotional depth.