I had higher hopes for this series, but ....
First, I'll just say Bruce Greenwood and Carla Gugino owned every scene they were in. The rest of the cast were good, including an interesting role for Mark Hamill.
Visually, this is a stunning miniseries. The music also perfectly matches each scene. There are some real great scenes, but, those good parts aren't enough to make up for the show's shortcomings.
While the series is about the Usher family, each episode is essentially a take on a classic Poe tale. Some of these are done better than others. While I appreciated this approach, I wonder if they might have done better to stick to the original story a bit more. The deaths all sort of reminded me of the "Final Destination" movies, which seemed silly when you get the reveal as to why they are happening.
I've tried to put my finger on why this series doesn't work, and I think it's because there is no protagonist. None of the Ushers are good people--they're all deeply flawed with few redeeming qualities. Yes, yes, they all get their comeuppance, but Shadow Theory still applies--you need the light in order to have the shadow ... so who is the light? Auggie? He's a neutral character who mostly is a spectator; someone who listens to the story as Usher recounts the tragedies. As such, there isn't anyone you really pull for. From the get go, you know the Ushers are bad people, so their various demises aren't as horrific as they might be if you actually cared about them. Even in the most basic of slasher movies, there's a handful of decent characters you want to se live. Not so here.
And then there's the messages. Big Pharma bad is the predominant one. Okay, fine. Rich people can get away with murder. Yep, okay. And? This has all been done before.
Also, if you had any doubt whom the producers of this show vote for, you won't after you watch even one episode. And, yeah, I get it, Hollywood skews far to the left, but at least try to veil your politics a little better than this.
It actually gets laughable throughout the show as they are just overt in showcasing their political leanings, and that's a shame. Because as much as this show wants to be seen as a serious, high-brow slow-burn horror, the political jabs cheapen all that.
And during the final episode, during what should have been a very tense moment, they throw in a few lines of dialogue that are aimed at Trump. Why? Half the audience will laugh and pump their fists, the other half will roll their eyes. It accomplishes nothing except to dilute the climax of the show. It completely removes the audience from the moment whether they support Trump or hate him. And I don't consider myself a Trump supporter. But it's this lack of restraint on the writers that comes across as petty and childish, and it really flattened the ending.
There is another message in here, ones I doubt the writers were even aware of. During a rant by one of the characters in the final episode, she decries the Supreme Court ruling on abortion. Again ... way to take your audience out of the story. But, no surprise--again, Hollywood veers far left.
But, the irony here is this: the premise of this story is about two people who willingly sacrifice their offspring for money, power, and career. The writers were just too oblivious to realize what they had done.
First, I'll just say Bruce Greenwood and Carla Gugino owned every scene they were in. The rest of the cast were good, including an interesting role for Mark Hamill.
Visually, this is a stunning miniseries. The music also perfectly matches each scene. There are some real great scenes, but, those good parts aren't enough to make up for the show's shortcomings.
While the series is about the Usher family, each episode is essentially a take on a classic Poe tale. Some of these are done better than others. While I appreciated this approach, I wonder if they might have done better to stick to the original story a bit more. The deaths all sort of reminded me of the "Final Destination" movies, which seemed silly when you get the reveal as to why they are happening.
I've tried to put my finger on why this series doesn't work, and I think it's because there is no protagonist. None of the Ushers are good people--they're all deeply flawed with few redeeming qualities. Yes, yes, they all get their comeuppance, but Shadow Theory still applies--you need the light in order to have the shadow ... so who is the light? Auggie? He's a neutral character who mostly is a spectator; someone who listens to the story as Usher recounts the tragedies. As such, there isn't anyone you really pull for. From the get go, you know the Ushers are bad people, so their various demises aren't as horrific as they might be if you actually cared about them. Even in the most basic of slasher movies, there's a handful of decent characters you want to se live. Not so here.
And then there's the messages. Big Pharma bad is the predominant one. Okay, fine. Rich people can get away with murder. Yep, okay. And? This has all been done before.
Also, if you had any doubt whom the producers of this show vote for, you won't after you watch even one episode. And, yeah, I get it, Hollywood skews far to the left, but at least try to veil your politics a little better than this.
It actually gets laughable throughout the show as they are just overt in showcasing their political leanings, and that's a shame. Because as much as this show wants to be seen as a serious, high-brow slow-burn horror, the political jabs cheapen all that.
And during the final episode, during what should have been a very tense moment, they throw in a few lines of dialogue that are aimed at Trump. Why? Half the audience will laugh and pump their fists, the other half will roll their eyes. It accomplishes nothing except to dilute the climax of the show. It completely removes the audience from the moment whether they support Trump or hate him. And I don't consider myself a Trump supporter. But it's this lack of restraint on the writers that comes across as petty and childish, and it really flattened the ending.
There is another message in here, ones I doubt the writers were even aware of. During a rant by one of the characters in the final episode, she decries the Supreme Court ruling on abortion. Again ... way to take your audience out of the story. But, no surprise--again, Hollywood veers far left.
But, the irony here is this: the premise of this story is about two people who willingly sacrifice their offspring for money, power, and career. The writers were just too oblivious to realize what they had done.