The Fall of the House of Usher is stacked to the rafters with allusions. Not only does the series reference a slew of Edgar Allan Poe short stories, poems, and characters, as well as a real-life nemesis, but also creator Mike Flanagan alludes to his own works from across a sprawling horror universe. This means returning to his repertoire of mini-series performers from The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and The Midnight Club. It also means dropping blink-and-you'll-miss-them props that refer to some of his most shiver-inducing movies, like Gerald's Game, Ouija: Origin of Evil, and Hush.
We are devotedly uncovering the secrets of this sensational and scary series, one twisted reveal at a time. And here, we're looking back at the silent slasher that is Hush (2016).
What is Hush about?
Kate Siegel, who plays PR maven Camille L'Espanaye in The Fall of the House of Usher, stars as horror author Maddie Young in Hush; she also co-wrote the screenplay. Maddie is struggling with her latest book, Midnight Mass (see what he did there!). To give herself space and freedom from distraction, Maddie travels away from her New York City apartment to a remote cabin in the woods. Unfortunately, our hard-of-hearing protagonist isn't alone in these woods; while Maddie doesn't realize that a woman is yelling for help nearby, much less when she's slaughtered by a masked killer just outside Maddie's window, that killer sure notices Maddie.
The mysterious murderer invades the house and begins to torment Maddie, stealing her keys and sabotaging her car. By the time she realizes he's there, it's too late; she's trapped in a twisted game of cat and mouse. Like No One Will Save You, the film uses an absence of dialogue to tell a tale of terror. Though we'd argue Hush does it better, in part because its Final Girl has vocal cord paresis that prevents her from expressing herself audibly, so she must find other ways to communicate with the killer — and to express her terror to those of us watching.
Since its world premiere at SXSW 2016, Hush has garnered praise from horror fans who appreciate Siegel's riveting performance and Flanagan's horrid skills for building tension.
How is Hush referenced in The Fall of the House of Usher?
Curiously, Hush's moment isn't during Camille's big episode — unless you count the casting of Siegel, who has also appeared in Flanagan's Oculus, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gerald's Game, The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass.
Episode 2, "The Masque of the Red Death," focuses on Prospero Usher (Sauriyan Sapkota) and more specifically, the big members-only, high-rollers orgy held at one of the family's sketchy warehouses. Bringing big Eyes Wide Shut vibes, the dress code for this event is undressed — with a mask. Most revelers are tits and bits out, topped with an ornate face covering, oft gilded with silver, gold, and gems. However, Prospero's girlfriend Jenny (Molly C. Quinn) favors something different and far more unnerving.
Amid a sea of sexy face coverings, Jenny is wearing a white mask, which resembles a man's face with bags under his eyes and a slight but chilling smile. Simply put, it looks just like the mask the killer wore in Hush.
On its surface, this bit of costuming is a strange choice for Jenny, who is defined by her eagerness to appease the tyrant of her toxic throuple, Prospero. Along with her partners Prospero and Faraj (Jayr Tinaco), she helps plan the party. She dresses in gorgeous lingerie, and she cheers with Prospero as his blackmail plan seems to be moving along just as he dreamed. She even takes party drugs as soon as he demands "tongues." So, why would she pick a mask that is ghoulish over glamorous? It clashes with the vibe. More than an Easter egg, is this meant to be a warning?
Jenny's mask appears at 44:46 in episode 2, just as she and her partners are reveling in their party's apparent success. Verna (Carla Gugino) hasn't shown up yet, but when she does, she'll be wearing a stark skull face in lieu of glitz or fetish glam. In this context, Jenny's eerie mask is a hint that things are about to turn bad, especially when Prospero begins to dance with her, a figure wearing a mask that is a symbol of death in the Flanagan cinematic universe. Then, this deep-cut threat becomes more direct as Verna's skull mask appears, bringing with her a fatal reckoning.
After the deadly rain has fallen, amid the gore of bodies strewn and melted by toxic waste, Verna will lay her mask down on what's left of Prospero's face, leaving behind a bare white skull surrounded by red, raw viscera. And like in Hush, only one human survivor is left alive.
How to watch: The Fall of the House of Usher is now streaming on Netflix.
