Streaming
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!
“The Electric State,” now streaming on Netflix, is a science fiction adventure directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. The screenplay, crafted by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, is loosely based on Simon Stålenhag’s 2018 illustrated novel of the same name. The film boasts a star-studded cast, including Millie Bobby Brown as Michelle, Chris Pratt as Keats, and features voices from Anthony Mackie and Woody Harrelson. With a runtime of 128 minutes, the movie transports viewers to a retro-futuristic 1990s America, where a teenage girl embarks on a quest to find her missing brother amidst a landscape populated by sentient robots.
Despite its ambitious premise and substantial $320 million budget, “The Electric State” has garnered predominantly negative reviews from critics. Many have pointed out the film’s lack of emotional depth and coherence. For instance, The Guardian described it as a “bogglingly expensive dud,” criticizing its soulless storytelling and lack of artistic merit. Similarly, Vulture labeled the film a “$320 million piece of junk,” highlighting issues with direction, character development, and overall execution.
The narrative follows Michelle, portrayed by Millie Bobby Brown, as she ventures into a dystopian version of the late 1990s, accompanied by Keats, a smuggler played by Chris Pratt. Their mission leads them into an exclusion zone inhabited by defeated robots, all in search of Michelle’s younger brother, Christopher. While the film’s special effects have been acknowledged for their quality, these visual achievements are overshadowed by a storyline that many found lacking in engagement and originality.
Audience reactions have been mixed, with some viewers appreciating the visual spectacle and performances, while others echo the critics’ sentiments regarding the film’s shortcomings. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a critic score of 17%, reflecting the overall negative critical reception.
In conclusion, “The Electric State” presents a visually impressive but narratively deficient experience. Despite the high-profile cast and substantial investment, the film struggles to deliver a compelling and cohesive story. Based on the critical consensus and audience feedback, I would rate this film a 4 out of 10.
Nicholas Cage is not the Dracula we deserve, but the Dracula we need!
With Nosferatu dominating the box offices with all its gothic, avant-garde glory you may need something a little more light-hearted to cleanse the palette. 2023’s Renfield is a fantastic recipe of dark comedy, satire, and not a small amount of heart (beating or otherwise). Renfield has recently been added to Netflix UK’s menu; for us all to feast upon!
Both Nick (Hoult and Cage respectively) give fantastic performances as master and long-suffering servant, proving that toxic relationships take many forms. Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) has been in the service of Dracula (Nicolas Cage) for ninety years. Renfield does everything short of cleaning the count’s iconic cape (it’s dry-clean only apparently) and he’s quite frankly sick of it.
After ninety years the duo’s options, and bank account, have become quite limited. This is why they are holed in an abandoned hospital in New Orleans. Renfield leaves most evenings to supply the ancient vampire with victims to drain blood, preferably of the pure variety. Hoult’s Renfield is a charming soft boy, a 6 ft 2 soft boy, who has some reservations about killing innocent people. He cleverly gets around this moral quandary by joining a support group for the victims of narcissistic abuse held in a local church and eh…dispatching the group members’ abusers to bring to his master. This works well until one night he gets tangled up with the criminal underworld on a ‘routine’ dispatching.
Awkwafina plays the pint-sized police officer with a foul mouth and a strict(ish) moral compass; Rebecca Quincy. Rebecca and Renfield cross paths and it’s up to them to save the city from both criminal and supernatural corruption. This results in many impressively choreographed fight scenes and not a small amount of blood, gore, and sarcasm! It’s strangely heartwarming to watch Renfield try to break the cycle of Dracula’s narcissistic abuse and create a place for himself in the world. As Rebecca states: sometimes you just fall under the thrall of a vampire for a few decades!
Nicholas Cage is every bit as fabulous and camp as you’d expect of a truly iconic Dracula performance. His delivery is as cutting and precise as his debonair velvet suits. One of the best things about the film is you can tell the cast is having fun with their characters, particularly Cage, I would bet my own soul that a lot of his lines were ad-libbed. Special shout-out goes to Brandon Scott Jones who played the painfully sincere narcissistic survivor group leader. Jones proves there is no part too small to make an impact!
Renfield takes the usual Dracula tropes and puts a hilarious spin on them. Asking the real questions like; do vampires need a verbal invite or will a ‘welcome’ mat suffice to enter a home? Quick someone page Buffy!
Even with the gratuitous gore and violence Renfield manages to be touching at times and ironically breathes fresh life into the reanimated corpses of both Dracula and Renfield.
Three and a half stars.
TW: Discussions of Sexual Assault.
I did myself a favour and watched the cult classic Jennifer’s Body (which I highly recommend you do, too). Watching this clever, funny, thought-provoking movie in 2025, it is hard to believe that it was a major flop when it was released in 2009.
‘00s nostalgia spurts throughout the film. From the frosted eyeshadow to the digital cameras, it’s enough to bring a tear to a millennial’s eye. However, not everything about the film is dated. In fact Jennifer’s Body is hailed today as a modern feminist classic.
This is particularly intriguing when remembering how badly the film bombed in 2009. Looking at Rotten Tomatoes scores, Jennifer’s Body has a rather pitiful 46% critic score and an even worse 36% audience score. Was this comedy-horror simply ahead of its time? Many believe so.
In pre-#MeToo 2009, Jennifer’s Body was marketed as a fun, sexy romp aimed at straight men. Sex symbol Megan Fox in the starring role as Jennifer, fresh from her scantily-clad Transformers fame, audience thought they knew what to expect from the actress. And Fox is wrist-achingly beautiful in the film; there is no doubt about that, but many complained she remained disappointingly fully clothed. There was also the promised same-sex kiss between Fox and Amanda Seyfrie,d which was framed more as an uncomfortable, confused, and tragic scene between two childhood friends rather than sexy.
In short, Jennifer’s Body was marketed for the male gaze, even with a female writer (Diablo Cody) and director (Karyn Kusama) instead of what it is, which was a commentary about the treatment of female bodies (the clue was in the title, really).
Many have theorised that the film is essentially a rape-revenge fantasy. The premise is (spoilers!) that Jennifer is kidnapped by an indie boyband after a gig. The group’s plan is to sacrifice young Jennifer to Satan in exchange for fame (obviously). Their plan goes awry when Jennifer lies about being a virgin, when she is not in fact even a “backdoor virgin”. This little lie causes Jennifer to turn into a creature-monster-succubus-type thing. This is a clear commentary on how women are only seen as useful or worthy if their virginity is intact. Also, how the music industry sacrifices young women to the altar of male lust.
Later that night, Jennifer appears at her childhood friend Needy’s (Amanda Seyfried) home drenched in blood and covered in bruises, with a vacant stare. After this, Jennifer begins to indiscriminately kill young men from her school.
I theorise that the film is cleverly inverting the expectation of young women being targeted. Jennifer is indiscriminate in her choosing of victims. A school jock, a sensitive emo guy, and a foreign exchange student walking home alone at night. She lures them to secluded areas with the promise of sex and tears them apart until they look like “lasagne with teeth”.
With Jennifer’s murder spree terrifying the small town, its young men are warned not to go anywhere alone. Johnny Simmon’s character, Chip, is even given mace by his mother to protect him on prom night.
Jennifer’s Body cleverly inverts many of the horror movie tropes. For example, the ‘nerdy girl’, Needy is not a virgin either. Needy and her boyfriend Chip actually have regular, no-consequence sex, which is unusual for a female character in a horror movie.
This cult classic may have died on its initial release but it was resurrected by the dashboards of Tumblr and feminist blogs. Seyfried even teased the possibility of a sequel soon. Suffice to say there is definitely more to Jennifer’s Body than meets the eye!
Upcoming NTR Junior projects
“Death of a Unicorn: A24’s Twisted Fairytale You Won’t Forget”
WonderCon 2025: A Faith Full Dickens Tale & The King of Kings Animated Movie
WonderCon 2025: Fade to Black Interviews
Top 10 Unexpected Movies Where The Bad Guy Wins
