The Fall of the House of Usher (1928)

In a decaying castle surrounded by a dank, mirrored lake live the morbidly nervous Roderick Usher and his sickly twin sister, Madeline. Their tale is told and dimly comprehended by the unnamed narrator, a boyhood friend whom Roderick has summoned. When Madeline soon dies—or seems to die—they entomb her body. On a stormy night, "cracking and ripping" sounds and a "shriek" from below convince the panicky Roderick that "We have put her living into the tomb!" The shrouded, emaciated figure of Madeline appears at the door of Roderick's book-strewn study, falls upon him, "and in her violent and now final death-agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse."

Released Dec. 31, 1928 13 min None+

Genres: Horror, Short

Keywords: mdblist.imdb-short, mdblist.three-actors, imdb.double-exposure-effects, imdb.sledgehammer, imdb.silhouette, imdb.gothic-horror, imdb.hallucination + 15 more, imdb.surrealism, imdb.expressionism, imdb.avant-garde-short, imdb.experimental-short, imdb.national-film-registry, imdb.brother-sister-relationship, imdb.presumed-dead, imdb.1830s, imdb.buried-alive, imdb.based-on-short-story, imdb.catatonia, imdb.mansion, aspectratio.1-37-1, imdb.old-dark-house, awards.national-film-preservation-board-winner