Not a Review Necessarily - My 'Carrie' trailer reaction

Summer H. Howell as Carrie White in the upcoming miniseries "Carrie." 

Horror writer Stephen King's first novel, "Carrie," published in 1974, is getting a new movie. I don't know what to write that would best convey how unenthused I am. It's been done already. More than once. 

Well, it's not just a movie. It's a miniseries. And the trailer for this new adaptation of King's story dropped July 25th. 

I have to add that it seems Stephen King miniseries are more often terrible or mediocre at best. I think I can count on the fingers of one hand those that are actually good on the fingers of one hand. 

"Salem's Lot" from 1979 is one of the best vampire movies I've seen. "The Stand" from 1994 is also pretty good. And "11/22/63" is certainly worth checking out. My wife even liked that one, and she's no Stephen King fan. "Welcome to Derry" which is based on characters from King's "It" was alright. Not mind blowing but I tuned in to finish the whole series. I'll throw in the series "Castle Rock" which is based on multiple stories by King just to give the good list a solid five titles. The second season was better than the first. 

But it's easier to remember the awful ones - "The Tommyknockers" (1993), "The Langoliers" (1995), "The Shining" (1997). That's "The Shining" with Steven Weber and Rebecca De Mornay. It was certainly underwhelming. And "Rose Red" (2002) was, as I recall, boring. 

"Carrie" is about a 16-year-old high school girl named Carrie White, living in Chamberlain, Maine, who has the power of telekinesis. She's mocked and ridiculed at school. And she lives with her overly zealous religious mother who thinks everything about her own daughter is an abomination before God. Fast forward to the infamous prom scene where some bullies dump pigs' blood on her, and all hell breaks out. Audiences have seen it over and over again, even if they didn't read the book. 

The first adaptation of King's novel, and the most well known in the horror genre, is director Brian De Palma's 1976 movie of the same name starring Sissy Spacek as Carrie. and Piper Laurie as her fanatical mother. John Travolta also stars in a supporting role along with William Katt.
In 1999, "The Rage: Carrie 2" was released as a direct sequel to De Palma's movie. Directed Katt Shea, the sequel stars Emily Bergl as Rachel Lang who is the younger half-sister of Carrie. Like her older half-sis, Rachel also possesses telekinesis. It was released in theaters and panned by critics. 

In 2002, a made-for-TV version of "Carrie" was released and premiered on NBC. It stars Angela Bettis in the lead role along with Patricia Clarkson as Carrie's mom. Like most other Stephen King made-for-TV stuff, it bombed. 

And then in 2013, a third adaptation was released starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianna Moore. I saw this in theaters when it was released. Despite the good acting, I found it poorly cast. Chloë Grace Moretz does not strike me as an unpopular girl at school. She has all the characteristics of being the kind of high school teen other students would be fumbling over themselves to vote for as prom queen. She doesn't seem like the kind of teenage girl who would have any trouble finding a date to the prom, neither. But she was cast as Carrie. Though her acting was great, the role didn't fit her. 

This new adaptation of "Carrie" is directed by Mike Flanagan and starring Summer H. Howell in the title role alongside Samantha Sloyan as her mother.

While the trailer looks like it'll be more of the same, all I really can say is that it better add something new to the prom, the likes of which hasn't been seen in previous adaptations. 

Maybe the acting will be phenomenal. Maybe as a miniseries, "Carrie" will be an edge-of-your-seat thriller. Still, based on the trailer, I'm not holding out for anything even partially mind-blowing. I don't know anything about Summer H. Howell, but I will say she does seem to fit the part of Carrie White. She certainly does way more so than Chloë Grace Moretz. 

Director Mike Flanagan is, I'll say, a decent director. He directed "The Haunting of Hill House" (2018) which I enjoyed. He also directed the Stephen King movie, "Doctor Sleep" in 2019 which is based on King's novel sequel to "The Shining." And I thought it was a well done! It's also not the only other King IP that Flanagan directed. He did "Gerald's Game" in 2017 which I watched but I don't remember much about it except the ending. 

And speaking of Flanagan's horror movies, he did the movie "Oculus" also in 2017. That was a pretty well put-together film. So, maybe "Carrie" will be a great series. I'm still not waiting with shaking anticipation to see it. Why? Well, it looks like more of the same.  

Too often, Hollywood producers, who are often too stupid to realize how out-of-touch they are, often mistake familiarity for demand. Just because audiences recognize the title and maybe have a nostalgic love for an IP like "Carrie" doesn't mean they're asking for another version of the exact same story again and again. But, as I said, Hollywood is painfully out-of-touch.  

Maybe I'll watch it should someone else recommend it.

The series is scheduled to premier October 7, 2026 on Amazon Prime. I'll probably be tuning in to something else. 

241) Children of the Corn (2023)

"I think the little ones have been breathing in too much rotting corn fungus."

Director
Kurt Wimmer

Cast
Elena Kampouris - Boleyn Williams
Kate Moyer - Eden Edwards
Callan Mulvey - Robert Williams
Bruce Spence - Pastor Penny
Stephen Hunter - Calvin Colvington
Erika Heynatz - June Willis
Anna Samson - Sheila Boyce
Andrew S. Gilbert - Sheriff Gebler
Joe Klocek - Calder Colvington

The film "Children of the Corn," based on the short story by horror writer Stephen King found in his 1978 book "Night Shift," is one that still seems to be referenced even by people who may never have seen it. Who hasn't driven through a small town that seemed eerie, and someone tossed out a reference to "Children of the Corn."

Somehow, the 1984 film directed by Fritz Kiersch has managed to tarnish the veneer of most, if not all, small rural American towns. Norman Rockwell might still be spinning in his grave. But I'll come back to the aftermath later. 
The first "corn" film adaptation, which I wrote about a few years ago on this blog, was the 1983 American supernatural short film "Disciples of the Crow."
Then the 1984 movie came out, followed by a string of sequels: "Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice" (1993), "Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest" (1995), "Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering" (1996), "Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror" (1998), "Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return" (1999), and "Children of the Corn: Revelation" (2001). 

These subtitles kill me. Why not "Children of the Corn: Extra Butter" or 'Children of the Corn: Ear Today, Gone Tomorrow," or even "Children of the Corn: Please Stop Planting So Many Sequels?"
Anyways, after all of those sequels came the SyFy original movie "Children of the Corn" (2009).
That was followed by two stand-alone films, "Children of the Corn: Genesis" (2011) and "Children of the Corn: Runaway" (2018). That's a lot of corn! 
That brings us to the 2023 adaptation I'm writing about. Interestingly enough, this movie is the third film adaptation of King's original story and the first in the string of movies since the 1993 sequel to receive a theatrical release.
Getting back to the story's influence on the image of small American towns, especially those in the Midwest, "Children of the Corn" has associated rural isolation with danger. 
Religious communities now seem a little more suspect. Cornfields seem menacing. In popular culture, the distinction between rural backwoods Americans and supernatural evil cultists can sometimes become blurred.
And thanks to "Children of the Corn," along with films like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974), horror has embraced the trope of "don't stop in the little town" as one of its major staples. The story and the movie helped lay the groundwork for both roadside thrillers and folk horror.
But give the horror genre enough time, and eventually everything innocent becomes a source of terror.
So, after all that, on to the 2023 remake.
This adaptation certainly takes plenty of liberties with King's short story.
The movie is set in the farming town of Rylstone where failing corn crops have pushed the community toward financial ruin.
However, the cornfields are somehow influencing the town's children.
The story begins with a gruesome murder that shatters the already struggling community. Afterward, a young orphan girl named Eden (Kate Moyer) leads a violent band of children who turn on the adults with no remorse or restraint. They do whatever Eden tells them to do.
Eden, along with her band of merry young'uns, believes they are carrying out the will of a supernatural entity they call "He Who Walks."
The number of adults in town quickly dwindles. It's up to one teenage girl, Boleyn Williams (Elena Kampouris), who has been trying to save the adults, to stop Eden and the supernatural monster festering within the cornfields once and for all.

Kate Moyer as Eden in "Children of the Corn."

Aside from "Disciples of the Crow" and this remake, I've only seen the 1984 film. It contains some genuinely creepy moments, not to mention an unforgettable atmosphere and an eerie performance from John Franklin as the disturbing child preacher, Isaac. Unfortunately, it all builds toward one big, corny, and stupid ending.
This remake tries to become an unforgettable horror experience but never quite reaches that goal.
The dialogue is flat and unconvincing, and the CGI effects look about 15 to 20 years behind the times.
However, Kate Moyer really carries this movie. She was only 12 years old when she starred in it, and her performance is easily the film's greatest strength. Moyer fully embraces the stone-cold, self-righteous, and utterly unsympathetic nature of Eden. She gives the character an intimidating presence that dominates nearly every scene she's in. It's a remarkable performance that just might surpass John Franklin's Isaac in terms of sheer menace.
The 2023 film is certainly more disturbing and graphic than the 1984 version. While the original relies more heavily on unsettling atmosphere and creepy children, this remake leans into brutality and shock.
Sadly, everything feels both underdeveloped and rushed at the same time. The movie simply wants to get to the scares so audiences feel they've gotten their money's worth before the credits roll. It's a cheap thrill.
There are themes of rural decline, failing leadership, and perhaps even generational conflict, all set against the backdrop of small-town America. Unfortunately, none of these ideas receives much exploration. Instead, the film rushes from one horrific moment to the next.

For anyone familiar with King's story, and the 1984 adaption, this remake could easily be a prequel film. King's story takes place 12 years after all the adults in the town (Gatlin in the book) are killed. 
From the looks of things, Hollywood is still making—and remaking—movies based on Stephen King's works.
Personally, I think King's best years as a writer are behind him. The last truly worthwhile adaptation I remember watching was the eight-episode miniseries "11/22/63," based on King's novel of the same name and starring James Franco, which streamed on Hulu in 2016.
The last King novel I genuinely enjoyed was "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" (1999).
I tried reading "Sleeping Beauties" (2017) and "The Institute" (2019), but I struggled to get invested in either one.
Around 2016, as I've mentioned before on this blog, King experienced something of a renaissance. A sudden wave of adaptations hit theaters, thanks in large part to the enormous success of "It" (2017) based on his novel of the same name.
That renaissance has since tapered off, although several of his previously un-adapted stories have continued making their way to the screen.
"The Long Walk," based on King's 1979 novel, was released in 2025.
"The Monkey," based on his 1980 short story, was also released in 2025. That one wasn't too bad.
"Children of the Corn" feels like a respectable attempt, but it misses too many marks to be considered one of the better or more memorable Stephen King movies. At the same time, Kate Moyer's performance makes Eden worthy of being remembered as one of the franchise's most memorable villains—perhaps even more so than "He Who Walks" or Isaac from the original film. Sadly, despite its efforts, "Children of the Corn" ends up being just another remake.