Octopus Overlords

I’m a big fan of Mike Flanagan. He’s fantastic at setting up creepy atmospheres and can keep a compelling story going. He doesn’t always stick the landing, but I still love his work. He reminds me of Stephen King in his early years.

The Fall of the House of Usher just debuted and so far, so good. It’s basically a series of vignettes on how the Usher family members have died over the years. And they don’t die well.

This is some fine Halloween fare.

i heard that the story arcs also incorporate other Edgar Allan Poe short stories

Well, now I'm looking forward to it even more.

And an absence of Ambrose Bierce references.

The other night I woke up and walked out to the kitchen and got an ice cream bar out of my freezer. It was friggin' huge. I couldn't believe my luck. It took me about an hour and a half to finish it. Then when I looked in the fridge again, there was ANOTHER one!

...then I suddenly realized I was hanging by the neck on a rope off a bridge and I died.

Man, I hate it when that happens.

Should have gone for the Fudg'icle.

Watched the first episode last night and it's great so far.

Yeah, as someone who was super disappointed in Season 2, this seems like a fantastic return to form. I also thought it cool seeing Henry Thomas playing a younger son in this role after playing an older dad in Pet Sematary: Bloodlines. I love his range. Also Mark Hamill is a got dang national treasure.

We watched two episodes last night. It didn't hook me as quickly as The Haunting of Hill House did, but it's still enjoyable. We have a bit more time for TV shows now, so I imagine we'll be able to watch all 8 episodes before Halloween.

The end of episode 3? Yikes.

Also, is there anything Carla Gugino can't do?

My wife and I have gotten through five episodes and WOW does it ramp up quickly. Each episode is We are really enjoying it, and we'll probably finish the series before the end of the week.

Flanagan is a fantastic writer. He builds a story then layers in the characters, giving them a life beyond the story itself, before he gets to the scares. It also makes those scares even better as they don't just come out of nowhere. They're often an organic extension of the story or characters.

If you haven't seen his full length Doctor Sleep adaptation, I highly recommend you do. I never thought I'd enjoy it as much as I did. But I ended up buying the director's cut so I could get more of the story.

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 2:07 pm Flanagan is a fantastic writer. He builds a story then layers in the characters, giving them a life beyond the story itself, before he gets to the scares. It also makes those scares even better as they don't just come out of nowhere. They're often an organic extension of the story or characters.

If you haven't seen his full length Doctor Sleep adaptation, I highly recommend you do. I never thought I'd enjoy it as much as I did. But I ended up buying the director's cut so I could get more of the story.

Well, the !!

I haven't gotten to that one yet. But hopefully it just isn't there for the sake of being there and has a good reason for being included.

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 2:46 pm I haven't gotten to that one yet. But hopefully it just isn't there for the sake of being there and has a good reason for being included.

I think hyena is referencing a scene at the end of the first episode.

msteelers wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 2:50 pm

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 2:46 pm I haven't gotten to that one yet. But hopefully it just isn't there for the sake of being there and has a good reason for being included.

I think hyena is referencing a scene at the end of the first episode.

Spoiler:

The Usher patriarch is getting into his car after the funeral and is scared by a ghost that kind of looked like a green jester to me in the split second it was on screen. Roderick falls backward with a nose bleed and the episode ends with him staring at the raven.

Actually I was referring to one of the other shows of his, I think it was The Haunting of Hill House or whatever that one was.

msteelers wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 2:50 pm

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 2:46 pm I haven't gotten to that one yet. But hopefully it just isn't there for the sake of being there and has a good reason for being included.

I think hyena is referencing a scene at the end of the first episode.

Spoiler:

The Usher patriarch is getting into his car after the funeral and is scared by a ghost that kind of looked like a green jester to me in the split second it was on screen. Roderick falls backward with a nose bleed and the episode ends with him staring at the raven.

Actually I was referring to one of the other shows of his, I think it was The Haunting of Hill House or whatever that one was.

I realized I hadn't updated my opinions after finishing the series. I thought it was brilliant, perhaps my favorite thing Mike Flanagan has ever done. The way the Poe references were weaved in and modernized was extremely well done, the acting was superb, the writing was superb. I really have no criticisms at all.

msteelers wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 2:50 pm

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 2:46 pm I haven't gotten to that one yet. But hopefully it just isn't there for the sake of being there and has a good reason for being included.

I think hyena is referencing a scene at the end of the first episode.

Spoiler:

The Usher patriarch is getting into his car after the funeral and is scared by a ghost that kind of looked like a green jester to me in the split second it was on screen. Roderick falls backward with a nose bleed and the episode ends with him staring at the raven.

Yeah, it does have some jump scares. But they feel earned, to me. The wraparound scenes with

Hyena wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 2:54 pm

msteelers wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 2:50 pm

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 2:46 pm I haven't gotten to that one yet. But hopefully it just isn't there for the sake of being there and has a good reason for being included.

I think hyena is referencing a scene at the end of the first episode.

Spoiler:

The Usher patriarch is getting into his car after the funeral and is scared by a ghost that kind of looked like a green jester to me in the split second it was on screen. Roderick falls backward with a nose bleed and the episode ends with him staring at the raven.

Actually I was referring to one of the other shows of his, I think it was The Haunting of Hill House or whatever that one was.

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 2:58 pm

msteelers wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 2:50 pm

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 2:46 pm I haven't gotten to that one yet. But hopefully it just isn't there for the sake of being there and has a good reason for being included.

I think hyena is referencing a scene at the end of the first episode.

Spoiler:

The Usher patriarch is getting into his car after the funeral and is scared by a ghost that kind of looked like a green jester to me in the split second it was on screen. Roderick falls backward with a nose bleed and the episode ends with him staring at the raven.

Yeah, it does have some jump scares. But they feel earned, to me. The wraparound scenes with

Spoiler:

the father in which the ghosts of his children sometimes appear suddenly, or just slightly fuzzy and in the background could be considered jump scares too, but they come across as part of the story to me.

I get that. I just thought that the car scene that hyena was (not) referencing stood out as an example where it wasn't really earned at all.

I honestly don't remember that scene. I'll have to go back and see if i can find it.

the jester was Hop-Frog, i'm thinking.

the only amusing part of this show was picking out the Poe references scattered around. i wonder how they'll incorporate "The Gold Bug"...

Oh, I don't know
And again, I will point out that Doctor Sleep had NO right to be as entertaining as it was. I give credit to Flanagan's ability to create great characters and put them in interesting situations instead of just going for a kill count or whatever.

hitbyambulance wrote:the jester was Hop-Frog, i'm thinking.

the only amusing part of this show was picking out the Poe references scattered around. i wonder how they'll incorporate "The Gold Bug"...

Outside of the raven and the masque of the red death I’m not very educated on Poe’s writings. I still found the first two episodes enjoyable, but they also happened to reference both of those stories.

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 3:21 pm Oh, I don't know

Spoiler:

the sight of Carla Gugino eventually being revealed as a chimpanzee and the subsequent scene of the bloody corpse of her victim while the chimp sat there and just smiled in that weird, unsettling manner was entertaining....creepily entertaining, of course.

And again, I will point out that Doctor Sleep had NO right to be as entertaining as it was. I give credit to Flanagan's ability to create great characters and put them in interesting situations instead of just going for a kill count or whatever.

Damn. That soubds SUPER familiar for some reason but i cant place it. The only thing i recall is that is was a scene in a movie or show that took place on a fake tv show.
Great. Now I'll be awake trying to remember whete its from.

We watched episodes 3 and 4 last night.
While we're blitzing through the show pretty quickly, I can't say this show has me hooked yet. It's extremely well-acted, which is probably the main thing keeping my interest at this point. I can't tell if I like the writing or not. The dialogue is great, but sometimes the writing is so good it takes me out of the moment because there's no way anyone would actually say that. And the plot for each individual episode is pretty meh, but the central mystery of the show is intriguing enough and the atmosphere is off the charts.

Maybe my expectations were just too high. I really liked The Haunting of Hill House.

What I found interesting was the actor who played Roderick and Madeline’s boss in the 70s flashbacks. He was fantastic at being completely and utterly vile and horrible….until the end of the vile and horrible bits when he’d turn on the charm and make you think he was actually your friend. The actor just knocked it out of the park for that role.

Also, YK is right. Mark Hamill is a damn national treasure.

I always confuse this story with Robert Louis Stevenson's "Kidnapped" in my mind. Definitely want to watch this one.

We finished this last night. I enjoyed the last couple of episodes more than the middle ones and was pretty happy with how they tied up the various plot lines.

Got a little too preachy at the end, and the Poe quotes felt a bit forced at times, but I enjoyed it all the same. Loved the ghoulish ending.

Gotta get back to Texas to watch this.

YellowKing wrote: ↑Wed Oct 25, 2023 2:54 pm I realized I hadn't updated my opinions after finishing the series. I thought it was brilliant, perhaps my favorite thing Mike Flanagan has ever done. The way the Poe references were weaved in and modernized was extremely well done, the acting was superb, the writing was superb. I really have no criticisms at all.

Ooh, high praise.

Will check out.

Wrapped the season up today, and while this isn't my normal type a show, it was interesting. Mark Hamil was great.

I enjoyed the line when the Raven character was offering the deal to Rodrick and Madeline about having no consequences. Like walking on 5th and Broadway and shooting someone and getting away with it. Awfully familiar...