The Battle of the Rails
"The Fall of the House of Usher," Doctor Sleep, and more hauntingly beautiful images from the mind of Mike Flanagan.,The lawyer, Arthur Pym, is a reference to the only full length novel by E. A. Poe: The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, in which Pym travels the oceans and lives through shipwreck, mutiny, and cannibals.,In nearly every episode there are multiple scenes showing that Zach Gilford, who plays the 70's - 80's era Roderick Usher, is right handed and Bruce Greenwood, who play current day Roderick Usher, is left handed.,Referenced in Pop Culture Crisis: It's Hollywood in 2022 So Basically Everyone is Cancelled (2022),It doesn't really get going until the end of the second episode. So bear with it.

Because this is monumental in its undertaking. It is no secret that this is an amalgamation of dozens of Poe stories and references that goes well beyond the titular source.

That being said, the modern updates to the principle tales are entertaining. The overall story being a Succession-like narrative of a unscrupulous family with a corporate empire and their ultimate decline. Not a spoiler - it's literally the title.

Each member of the family is then given their own chapter further inspired by another major Poe tale (or two). Within those there are even more minute details from increasingly obscurer Poe works. Like the security guard's moniker and the name of the ubiquitous pharmaceutical.

Sometimes the poetic monologues and voice-over get a little contrived, shoehorned and corny. But when all is said and done, the multi-threaded nature of the narrative meshes and resolves satisfactorily.

I enjoyed it.,