The House of Usher (film)

The House of Usher
Directed by	Hayley Cloake
Produced by	Boyd Hancock
Screenplay by	Collin Chang
Story by	Boyd Hancock
Based on	The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
Starring	Austin Nichols Izabella Miko Beth Grant
Cinematography	Eric Trageser
Edited by	Jo Francis
Production company	Abernathy Productions
Distributed by	THINKFilm
Release dates	September 15, 2006 (2006-09-15) (Boston) September 11, 2007 (2007-09-11)
Running time	81 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$130,000

The House of Usher is a 2006 American drama thriller film based on the Edgar Allan Poe story, "The Fall of the House of Usher". The film was directed by Hayley Cloake and written by Collin Chang. It stars Austin Nichols, Izabella Miko, and Beth Grant.

Plot

Jill Masters (Izabella Miko) has not seen or heard from her ex-lover, Roderick "Rick" Usher (Austin Nichols), or her best friend (Rick's twin), Madeline "Maddy" Usher (Danielle McCarthy), for three years. One night, Rick contacts Jill and informs her of Maddy's sudden death. Her last wish was for Jill to attend the funeral. Conflicted, Jill returns to the family home of the Usher family. Her love affair with Rick is rekindled as she learns he suffers from the same malady that robbed his twin sister, Maddy, of her sharp mind before taking her life. His affliction is manifested in a rare nerve condition, which renders him hypersensitive. Under the watchful eye of the caretaker, Nurse Thatcher (Beth Grant), Jill appears to be haunted by Maddy's ghost.

Meanwhile, Jill becomes intimate with Rick and tells him she has missed her period. A pregnancy test confirms Jill is pregnant. In the meantime, Jill has discovered that the Usher family has practiced incest for the past five or six generations, right down to Maddy and Rick. All the prior generations had twins, who later became a couple and birthed twins of their own and so on down the line to Maddy and Rick, who were to continue the Usher curse.

Cast

• Austin Nichols as Roderick "Rick" Usher
• Izabella Miko as Jill Michaelson
• Beth Grant as Nurse Thatcher
• Stephen C. Fischer as Rupert Johnson
• Danielle McCarthy as Madeline "Maddy" Usher
• Elizabeth Duff as Nurse Lambert
• Robin Kurian as Shay
• Ann Richardson Howland as Edith

Production

The film was shot throughout Massachusetts: Danvers, Newburyport, and Rowley in April 2005 on a $130,000 budget.

See also

• Edgar Allan Poe in television and film

External links

• Official website
• The House of Usher at IMDb