Mike Flanagan's 91%-Rated Horror Gem Made Mark Hamill Return to Acting
Mark Hamill decided to end his acting career in 2019, but he couldn't refuse to participate in Mike Flanagan's project. Here's what the actor himself has to say about his return to the screen.
At San Diego Comic-Con, the first 22 minutes of the Stephen King new adaptation The Long Walk were shown, along with a new trailer and a panel featuring the cast, including Mark Hamill.
Set in a dystopian world, the movie follows 50 people who participate in a deadly TV show: they must walk at least three miles per hour without stopping, or they will die.
Hamill, known as Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, plays the Major, a brutal military commander who oversees the competition. And, as it turns out, that role only came about thanks to Mike Flanagan's series The Fall of the House of Usher.
'The Fall of the House of Usher' Rekindled Mark Hamill's Interest in Acting
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In 2019, Mark Hamill announced his decision to retire from acting and focus on voice acting instead. He said:
“I said to my agent, 'You know what? I'm not motivated anymore. I think I'm gonna just sort of retire and just do voice over.'”
Everything changed, however, when Mike Flanagan offered him a role of attorney Arthur Gordon Pym in The Fall of the House of Usher:
“That would have been a routine character for voice over, but to play an amoral, sociopathic lawyer, just pure evil – never on camera.”
What Is 'The Fall of the House of Usher' About?
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The family patriarch and CEO of a pharmaceutical giant, Roderick Usher, unexpectedly invites Assistant United States Attorney Auguste Dupin to his home.
Roderick and his sister, Madeline, amassed billions by producing an addictive opioid painkiller. Dupin has spent years trying to put the family behind bars because hundreds of thousands of people have died because of them.
Now, Roderick promises to repent and reveal the truth about the seemingly random and unrelated deaths of his six children.
'The Fall of the House of Usher' Is a Gripping Edgar Allan Poe Adaptation
All of Flanagan's most famous works were adaptations. The Haunting of Hill House is based on the novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson; The Haunting of Bly Manor is a reimagining of Henry James' novella The Turn of the Screw.
The Fall of the House of Usher is perhaps the loosest adaptation of Flanagan's career. Rather than adapting one book, it is a mix of Edgar Allan Poe's best works.
From the very beginning, the viewers know that all of Roderick Usher's children are dead. The only question is what happened to them.
All that is known is that a mysterious woman was seen at the scene of each crime. The main intrigue of the project is who she is and whether she is connected with the fall of the House of Usher.
What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'The Fall of the House of Usher'?
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The Fall of the House of Usher has 91% from critics and 81% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.
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On IMDb, the series has a score of 7.9/10.
Where to Watch 'The Fall of the House of Usher'?
The Fall of the House of Usher is available to stream on Netflix.
