The centerpiece of the score for Lady Usher is the theme for the film’s titular antagonist, the domineering and manipulative Lady. This cue heralds her arrival with a lyrical but edgy melody, which will serve as her leitmotif for the rest of the story.

In short order the music shifts to an impish tango, echoing the back-and-forth verbal sparring between Morgan and her new prospective mother-in-law.

This week’s music from Lady Usher is short but sweet. Well, short but macabre. Once the heroine has entered the Usher domain, the visuals become dark and oppressive, and the music shifts accordingly.

One great thing about a string quartet is the ability to convey agitation in a very intimate, almost claustrophobic way. (Whereas a full string section sounds both richer and more distanced, by nature.) We’ll hear more of this sound as we continue into the creepier parts of the score.

In this moody cue from the film Lady Usher, Morgan arrives at the foreboding mansion of … well, see the title. The score’s string quartet is joined by harp, adding a hint of delicacy to the disquieting setting.

The romance theme introduced earlier recurs throughout, here more subdued in its hopefulness. (Spoiler alert: at this point in the film, the carefree times are behind us.)

After saying goodbye to her bestie, Morgan hops on a train to pursue her troubled boyfriend Roderick, who has mysteriously disappeared into the House of Usher. (Sound familiar?)

This music accompanies the departure with a mini-scherzo for string quartet — optimistic and determined, but with some agitation. The mood turns creepier as Morgan emerges onto a desolate, dusty road.

(Sharp-eared obsessives will notice a minor-mode restatement of Morgan’s theme from the prior “Romance” cue.)

Straight outa the soundtrack of the film Lady Usher, this tender cue for solo strings and guitar accompanies a moment of respite before the film’s macabre mood arrives in full force.