As a crazed Madeline is strangling him, he repeatedly gasps 'It was the only way.' I Did What I Had to Do: Roderick believes he is justified in burying his sister alive because that's what he had to do to stop Madeline from leaving with Phillip and continuing the Usher bloodline.Hollywood Darkness: Phillip, talking to Roderick in a perfectly well-lit room, says 'I think you need some light in this house.' Roderick then lights two candles that do nothing.In this movie it's more direct, as Roderick says 'the house itself is evil now', and cites all of Phillip's narrow escapes (the handrail that gives way, the falling chandelier, the fire spitting out of the fireplace, the tumbling casket) as the house itself striking out at Phillip. Genius Loci: In the Poe story it's sort of hinted that the house is alive.Roderick does, and slams the coffin lid shut before Phillip can notice. Finger-Twitching Revival: Madeline does this in her casket as she's awakening from catalepsy.Empathic Environment: A violent thunderstorm rolls in for the final confrontation between Phillip, Roderick, and an insane Madeline.The relatively kind butler perishes with them, and Philip only barely escapes himself. Downer Ending: Madeline is driven mad and kills her brother as the house collapses around both of them.Disease Bleach: It is unclear whether Roderick has albinism or simply this trope, but he has white hair along with being very pale.In any case, the upholstery is red, the curtains are red, Roderick wears a red robe, Madeline wears a red dress, and the candles are red. Color Motif: Red, likely to symbolize the repressed passion and violence in the Usher bloodline.Catapult Nightmare: Phillip bolts upright in bed in classic style after a freaky blue-tinted Dream Sequence in which he interrupts some sort of evil ritual at Madeline's funeral.Buried Alive: Roderick knows that Madeline isn't really dead, but buries her anyway.An old family that, at least at one point, was very wealthy, and still possesses a large (if crumbling) mansion.with a long history of villainous deeds. Blue Blood: The Ushers are a twisted example.Big Bad: Roderick Usher, who is willing to do anything to end his family's evil legacy.Agent Scully: Phillip is dismissive of Roderick's claims of a family curse and of the house itself being alive, not believing in such supernatural occurrences.It was the first of eight Poe adaptations made between 19 directed by Corman and starring Vincent Price. House of Usher represented a major leap forward in artistic ambition for Roger Corman and for his studio, American International Pictures. Roderick and Madeline are the last of their family line, and he is determined that the house of Usher will go extinct, no matter what. Roderick refuses to let his sister leave, and eventually tells Phillip why: the Ushers are 'tainted', a family of evil – thieves, slave traders, maniacs, murderers. Roderick at first insists that Madeline is too ill to take visitors, but when Phillip finally succeeds in getting in to see her, she seems perfectly fine, and agrees to go back to Boston with him and get married. He runs into an obstacle in the person of Madeline's brother, Roderick Usher ( Vincent Price). In early 19th-century Massachusetts, handsome young Phillip Winthrop (Mark Damon) arrives at the crumbling Usher mansion to see his fiancée, Madeline Usher ( Myrna Fahey). It is, of course, an adaptation of the famous Edgar Allan Poe story ' The Fall of the House of Usher'. House of Usher, aka The Fall of the House of Usher – both titles were used in advertising – is a 1960 horror movie directed by Roger Corman, written by Richard Matheson.

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