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Fantastic Fest 2026, the nation’s largest genre-film festival, gave us new films and “reimaginings.” One of those reimaginings takes us back, by way of the creativity of filmmaker Mike Flanagan (The Fall of the House of Usher, The Haunting of Hill House), to meet Carrie. You may have thought you knew Carrie, who looked a lot like Sissy Spacek in 1976. Now, however, you have a chance to go much deeper as Carrie becomes an eight-episode series on Amazon Prime beginning October 7.
Getting to know Carrie for eight hours gives us more opportunity for understanding than the hour and 38 minutes of the original movie. Fantastic Fest showed the first two episodes, and in them we could see that this was not just a remake of the Stephen King classic. The girls at Carrie’s school had cell phones, computers, and the internet. So many more ways to hurt her.
The Players
The role of Carrie in the series belongs to Summer H. Howell. She began acting at age eight in Curse of Chucky and has continued to appear in a variety of films, many with scary themes. Director Flanagan said that they looked at over a thousand candidates for the role, and that Howell brings something special to it. I agree with him. From the very first scenes in which she appears, you begin to feel a connection and empathy with her character.
The two most influential people in Carrie’s life are her mom, played by Samantha Sloyan (Invaders from Proxima B), and Principal Grayle, played by Matthew Lillard (Five Nights at Freddy’s) who made a surprise appearance at the series premiere at Alamo Drafthouse.
During the first two episodes, both actors add subtleties and complexities to Carrie’s world.
The Story
Families play critical roles in our lives: sometimes positive, sometimes negative, sometimes both. This is the case with Carrie.
Her story begins with the accidental death of her father. This puts her world into turmoil, resulting in her moving from a highly isolating home-schooling environment to a public high school. Her innocence and naïveté make her a target for the mean girls (and boys). She tries to navigate the strange world she has been thrust into. This leads to conflicts with other students, the high school staff, and, sadly, her mom.
This is where the reimagining becomes interesting.
If you know the original story, you know what she is about to discover. If not, it will seem strange and mysterious. As she attempts to deal with the conflicts of her turned-inside-out life, along with normal aspects of her adolescence, she begins to discover her telekinetic powers.
Stephen King’s story shows us how small, everyday choices can lead to outcomes we neither expect nor desire. A beautiful, kind young girl just might become a monster. And we see all of this in just the first two of the eight episodes.
I highly recommend experiencing this series. You can watch a preview at the end of this review.
More About Fantastic Fest
The Austin-based fest ran this year from September 17–24 in the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar. For information about next year’s Fantastic Fest, check the Fest’s website and social media on Facebook and Instagram.
