‘The Fall of the House of Usher’: The most WTF moments

All of Mike Flanagan’s Netflix series — from the very creepy Haunting of Hill House to the poignant The Midnight Club — are packed full of WTF moments. But the director’s latest adaptation, The Fall of the House of Usher, might just have topped all those that went before it in the Flanaverse.

From gory and shocking deaths to some truly unexpected twists for the Usher family, we’ve broken down the most WTF moments of the Edgar Allan Poe-based series.

Perry’s rave getting showered by a rain of acid, episode 2

You can’t really get much more WTF than an orgy coming to an abrupt end due to acid raining down from the ceiling, can you? The first of the Usher siblings to die, Perry’s (Sauriyan Sapkota) death really stays with you, after his partygoers are melted at midnight thanks to the toxic waste-filled water sprinklers in Fortunato’s abandoned testing facility. It makes it clear, from the get-go, that The Fall of the House of Usher isn’t going to pull any punches with how its characters – and, in this case, their very unlucky friends – meet their end.

Verna jumping on the table like a chimp, episode 3

Camille’s (Kate Siegel’s) death by chimpanzee is disturbing in general, but the moment when Verna (Carla Gugino) suddenly leaps onto the table with the physicality of one is the point where you know things are about to go wrong. Humans acting like animals will never not be unnerving.

Leo blinding his own cat, episode 4

Leo (Rahul Kohli) descending into psychosis is disturbing all-round, but the moment where he blinds his malevolent new cat by poking his thumbs into its eyes – despite this ultimately being revealed as a hallucination – is certainly an image that stays with you.

Victorine’s wild disregard for medical ethics, episode 5

OK, so it’s not disturbing in the same way that death by acid is, but you’ve got to admit that Victorine (T’Nia Miller) casually signing up a stranger for an experimental human trial – all without even telling her partner – is a long way from ideal. What makes this even more disturbing is that Victorine comes across as the most rational one of the Usher children.

The discovery of Victorine’s dead partner, episode 5

Victorine’s downward spiral in episode 5 is quick and horrible, starting with that ominous beat-squish sound she keeps hearing and ending with the discovery of what’s making the noise: her murdered partner, Dr Alessandra Ruiz (Paola Núñez), her chest ripped open with the lab’s experimental heart contraption beating uselessly inside.

Roderick betraying Dupin, episode 7

It’s not visually shocking, but young Roderick’s (Zach Gilford) last-minute betrayal of detective C. Auguste Dupin (Malcolm Goodwin) in the Fortunato board room certainly took us by surprise. Up until this point, Roderick has seemed like the kind of guy who wants to do the right thing, and his burgeoning friendship with Dupin seemed genuine. But from the present day relationship between the two, we know something went down in the past, and this is the first time he shows his true colours.

Everything Frederick does, episode 7

Frederick’s (Henry Thomas) abusive actions towards his incapacitated wife Morella (Crystal Balint) in episode 7 are the most disturbing part of the whole show, from the way he isolates her in her own house to the awful violence he inflicts on her before Lenore (Kyliegh Curran), and ultimately Verna (Carla Gugino), intervene.

Roderick and Madeline bricking up the boss in the basement, episode 8

It’s hard to feel much sympathy for Roderick’s boss Rufus Griswold (Michael Trucco), given how much of a awful person he is. But despite Roderick (Bruce Greenwood) and Madeline’s (Mary McDonnell) revenge on the Fortunato CEO being sort of satisfying, the method is undeniably grim.

The falling bodies, episode 8

“I’ve worked with a lot of truly influential people over the years,” Verna tells Roderick in his boardroom in the final episode, “but when it comes to sheer body count, you’re in my top five.” She tells him to look out of the window and he’s greeted by a truly nightmarish vision of bodies falling out of the sky like rain drops. “Those are your bodies,” she says.

Lenore’s death, episode 8

On the one hand, Lenore’s death – a quick closing of the eyes before she crumples backwards onto the bed – is certainly the least dramatic of the series. But you could also make a strong case for it being the most WTF death of all, purely because she’s the one truly innocent character in the whole show. Heck, even Verna feels a bit bad killing her.

Madeline bursting out of the basement without any eyes, episode 8

The strange clunking sounds from the basement are a mystery all the way through The Fall of the House of Usher, and the reveal – that the noises are being made by a blind, semi-embalmed Madeline trying to find her way out of the tomb her brother has made for her – certainly doesn’t disappoint. Nor does her subsequently strangling Roderick to death in front of a terrified Dupin while their childhood home collapses around them.

How to watch: The Fall of the House of Usher is streaming now on Netflix.