News

The past few years have seen several iconic Stephen King books adapted for both small and large screens, with most leaving fans yearning for more. This year alone, the likes of The Monkey from writer-director Oz Perkins and Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck have already hit theaters, but that’s not all, as there’s more scheduled to drop in the coming months. One such upcoming adaptation is the HBO Max series It: Welcome to Derry, based on King’s 1986 novel, which has no specific release date yet but is expected later this year.

While fans await a date, an older version also inspired by the same book is currently trending on the global streaming charts, as reported by FlixPatrol. That version is the 1990 It miniseries, starring Tim Curry as the infamous Pennywise, which has climbed its way to #5 on HBO Max’s Top 10 TV shows as of Thursday,...

Not long after it premiered, the 1990 ABC miniseries It became a cultural touchstone. Some discovered the property when it aired, while others came across it later via home video. The two-part presentation chilled us to our core, leaving many of us terrified of clowns for years to come. When a presentation resonates like that, it’s particularly compelling to get the chance to take a deep dive into the creative process and the cultural impact. As it happens, there is a documentary called Pennywise: The Story of It that offers viewers the chance to go behind the scenes of the production and learn about the project from those who lived it. Oh, and did we mention that the film, which is a Screambox original presentation, is available to stream on Tubi?

John Campopiano and Christopher Griffiths co-directed this project, and each also takes a producer credit. The film features interviews...

Sissy Spacek, the Academy Award-winning actor who made her horror debut in Brian De Palma's 1976 version of Stephen King's Carrie, says that she wasn't sure she would get the role after her audition. With a performance as iconic as Spacek's, imagining anyone else as the socially outcast teen feels nearly impossible. However, the actor believed at first that she hadn't done any good in the screen test. Luckily, De Palma decided she was the right fit.

Spacek was a guest at the annual live Cannes taping of the Awards Chatter podcast, which is hosted by The Hollywood Reporter. Discussing her career, Spacek talked about Carrie, and how she felt "very tortured" the night before the audition. The next day, she put Vaseline in her hair and fully immersed herself in the meek persona of Carrie White. However, when she came out, she thought she didn’t stand a chance:

I thought,...

When you purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

This March, Max is bringing you a lot of entertainment, from the highly anticipated return of the brilliant comedy series The Righteous Gemstones to the streaming release of Hugh Grant‘s terrifying horror film Heretic. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Max next month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the 5 best films coming to Max in September 2025 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Men in Black (March 1) Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91% Credit – Sony Pictures

Men in Black is a sci-fi action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld from a screenplay by Ed Solomon. Based on the comic book The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham, the 1997 film follows Agent K and Agent J, two people from a top-secret agency that monitors the extraterrestrials on Earth.

In 1976, United Artists released a supernatural horror film that showed a very dark side of the high school experience. Carrie was its name, and with an ultra-gory execution of a very simple premise, it shook the entire nation. Mainly because the film touched on religious aspects that, at the time, were considered controversial. In Carrie, religion wasn't exactly a safe haven of prayer, faith, and kindness.

The film also put Stephen King's name in the spotlight. Then a 29-year-old horror author, King had published Carrie, his first novel, just two years prior in 1974, and it quickly became a paperback bestseller. Director Brian De Palma, known for his radical approach to cinema, read King's novel and went on a quest to adapt it. Lawrence D. Cohen, then a completely inexperienced screenwriter, was hired to adapt the epistolary novel into a feature film script.

Your changes have been saved

Email is...

In 1976, Brian De Palma mounted the first film adaptation of a Stephen King novel with "Carrie." This was long before the author was a household name, so there was no noticeable hue and cry over the alterations the filmmaker made to the narrative. Even if some literalists did throw a fit over the film not being an overly-faithful recreation of King's original story, most fans of the book to this day will tell you that De Palma and screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen served up with admirable concision a movie that is enthrallingly true in spirit to the tragic journey of Carrie White.

It might be hard for many to imagine someone making a better movie out of "Carrie" than a filmmaking legend like De Palma, but there's always room for different interpretations of a great novel. After all, there are multiple classic adaptations of Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women...

In the literary and movie worlds, the protagonist is usually an inherently heroic character. The story revolves around them as they save the day, make things better for others, or generally do the right thing. But, sometimes, the main character does the opposite, making them unequivocally villainous. That said, villain protagonists may have redeeming features and even win the audience’s sympathy. Even when they’re the main characters, villains are simply not good people and their character arcs exist to serve the popular Hero’s Journey archetype.

Blending the two character types is perhaps antithetical to the Hero’s Journey. But, the trope is widespread and has existed forever, with notable examples like Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Humber Humbert in Nabokov’s Lolita. They’re characters who aren’t meant to be empathized with or idolized. But, not all villainous protagonists are the same, and a few have gone down in cinematic history.

Horror author Stephen King somehow managed to tap into the feeling of being a teenage girl in his sensational book, Carrie. Released in 1974, the coming-of-age novel follows a 16-year-old girl named Carietta "Carrie" White who is bullied by her classmates for her unsightly appearance, overly religious views, awkward social graces, and her insufferably zealous mother.

The worst of it occurs when she experiences her first menstrual cycle in the gym showers. Carrie eventually manages to get revenge on her peers for their relentless bullying with her newfound telekinetic abilities, but only after getting doused in pig's blood at the prom due to a prank gone wrong.

Many versions of Carrie have been released since the 1970s, and each is part of the pop culture zeitgeist in its own special way. This includes two theatrical films, a TV movie, a musical, and of course, Stephen King's novel, which started it all.

When you purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

This November, Prime Video is bringing you a lot of entertainment from the dark detective fiction series titled Cross to a thrilling teen drama series titled Cruel Intentions. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Prime Video this month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the 13 best films that are coming to Prime Video in November 2024 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Carrie (November 1) Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94% Credit – United Artists

Carrie is a supernatural horror drama film directed by Brian De Palma from a screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen. Based on the 1974 epistolary novel of the same name by Stephen King, the 1976 film follows Carrie White, a teenage girl living with a controlling mother who also gets bullied at school. But what...

Stephen King fans are about to get a double dose of one of his most acclaimed stories next month. The original Carrie movie and its 2013 remake are being added to Prime Video in November.

Beginning Nov. 1, Prime Video subscribers can treat themselves to a double feature of Carrie. Released two years after the initial release of King's debut novel, the 1976 adaptation of Carrie is widely cited as one of the best horror films of all time. Conversely, the 2013 remake is often used as an example of an unnecessary remake. Both movies focus on Carrie White, a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother, who uses her telekinetic powers with devastating effect after falling victim to a cruel prank at her senior prom. While the original and remake were both successful at the box office, only the former can be considered a critical darling, earning...

Stephen King fans will not have to part with their money next month if they want to stream the controversial remake of Carrie. Released in 2013, this modern reimagining of King's debut novel starred Chlo Grace Moretz as the titular horror icon, Carrie White.

Beginning Nov. 1, King fans can stream Carrie for free on Tubi. Serving as a remake of the 1976 adaptation, which is widely cited as one of the best horror films of all time, 2013's Carrie takes place in the early 2010s, focusing on Moretz's Carrie, a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother, who uses her telekinetic powers with devastating effect after falling victim to a cruel prank at her senior prom. Although Carrie grossed a respectable $84 million against a $30 million budget, critics did not hold back when reviewing the movie, criticizing its lack of originality and scares and calling it an unnecessary remake.

There are a lot of Stephen King movies, and that's a trend that shows no sign of slowing down — a new adaptation of "Salem's Lot" is due out on Max sometime this year, while "Longlegs" director Osgood Perkins has a take on King's short story "The Monkey" hitting theaters next year. We all know about the quantity — but what about the quality? I'm a Stephen King nerd, and in all honesty, I enjoy the vast majority of his movies — but I'll also admit some of them are duds (I'm looking at you, "Cell"). Horror is a beloved genre by many, but for a long time, some movie critics felt it was a gutter; a seedy place where no light could break through. As a result, there are some King movies with, let's say, less-than-stellar reviews.

The aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes can be a good place to search out movie reviews,...

In the 1970s, a guy named Stephen King was living in a trailer with his wife and two kids, struggling to make ends meet. By day, he worked as an English teacher at a high school in Maine. By night, he wrote pulpy short stories that he sold to men's magazines. King, being a guy, primarily wrote stories about guys. Then one day, a friend suggested he write about a female character for a change. So King sat down to write a short story about a girl with telekinetic powers. It wasn't easy: the story goes that King wrote about three pages and then threw the tale in the trash, only to be encouraged to finish it by his wife, Tabitha. Eventually, the story blossomed into a full novel. King would sell the manuscript to Doubleday, and by 1974, Stephen King's debut novel, "Carrie," hit bookshelves in hardcover.

Contrary to legend,...

Sure, irradiated zombies and bloodthirsty apocalypse bikers can be pretty scary. Draculas and Frankensteins? Scary. Cthulhus… Mothmen… Graboids? The absolute worst. But for indie content creators, no boogeyman or cryptid is quite as hair-raising as the many great and monstrous leviathans ritualistically summoned by the occult and alchemical ritual known as filmmaking. Look: there’s Shaky Financing dragging itself out of the swamp, eyes burning blood red! And there: Collapsing Theatrical Market, unfurling its batwings in the rafters of the old abbey! And so on and so on.

But! As the Cryptkeeper, Vaultkeeper and Old Witch have reminded us many times before, misery loves company. So rather than hanging on the edge of your seat anxiously peering through ragged knuckles at the current (but only temporary!) dumpster-fire state of your latest film project, instead console yourself with the fact that many of your Halloweentime horror favorites have had their own very bumpy rides.

Arrow Video’s January release is the 1970s horror masterwork Carrie, starring Sissy Spacek as a telekinetic title character. If you’ve got a taste for terror – make sure you grab Carrie on 4K Uhd from Arrow Video.

The release includes commentaries and visual essays, a wealth of interviews and archive featurettes, and comes in limited edition packaging, with a 40-page perfect bound book, a fold-out double-sided poster, six collector’s postcards!

In 1974, Stephen King published his first novel, the story of Carrie White, a troubled young girl, bullied by her peers and daughter to a fanatical fundamentalist mother, who discovers she has telekinetic powers. In 1976, it became the first of his works to be adapted for the big screen and, to this day, remains one of the very best.

Carrie marked Brian De Palma’s arrival as a major director, following smaller cult films such as Sisters, Phantom of the Paradise and Obsession,...

Officially announced this morning, Brian De Palma’s classic Stephen King adaptation Carrie is getting a 4K Ultra HD upgrade from Arrow Video, and it’s up for pre-order now.

The Limited Edition 4K release will be available on January 22, 2024. Restored in 4K from the original negative, this collector’s edition “provides the film’s definitive release.”

Special Features include…

4K restoration from the original camera negative 4K (2160p) Uhd Blu-rayTM presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) Lossless mono and DTS-hd 5.1 Master Audio soundtracks Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Commentary by Lee Gambin, author of Nope, Nothing Wrong Here: The Making of Cujo, and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, author of Cultographies: Ms. 45 and Devil’s Advocates: Suspiria Acting Carrie – archive featurette containing interviews with director Brian De Palma, actors Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, William Katt and others More Acting Carrie – additional interviews with the...

And here’s one for the theater nerds.

In 1988, blood pumped hot on Broadway when a musical adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie splashed across the stage. Created and composed by Dean Pitchford, Michael Gore, and Og Carrie screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen, the musical was big on ideas but low on white-glove appeal — after a brief run in the U.K., it closed on Broadway after just 16 previews and five regular performances. Critics had a field day ripping the show to shreds and in 1991 it found itself the centerpiece of a book about Broadway flops. Poor Carrie, a laughingstock all over again.

Over the next several decades, however, bootleg recordings of the musical made the rounds and a passionate cult sprung to life. All that persevering interest culminated in 2012 when an Off-Broadway theater brought together the original creators to rework the show. Since that production, the odd project’s found...

We here at Arrow in the Head are making an effort to keep track of the best horror movies that are available on various streaming services, and today we’ve set our sights on the Hulu service. We’ve looked over what they have to offer, put together a list of ten of the Best Horror Movies on Hulu Right Now, and you can check our picks out below!

Carrie (1976)

The first Stephen King adaptation also ranks highly as one of the best. Director Brian De Palma and screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen brought King’s story to the screen with a great script and great style, with Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie turning in Oscar-nominated performances as telekinetic teen Carrie and her horrendous mother. Carrie is bullied at school and has an awful home life. We care about her, we want to see things get better for her. But good things are not to be.

This episode of Wtf Happened to This Horror Movie? was Written by Cody Hamman, Narrated by Jason Hewlett, Edited by Joseph Wilson, Produced by Lance Vlcek and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

Everyone knows the story of Carrie White and how bad prom was for her. And everyone around her. But did you know that Carrie had a sister? It took a couple decades for this information to be revealed, but in 1999 we were introduced to her sibling. Her name was Rachel Lang… and in its own way, Rachel’s high school experience was as horrific as Carrie’s was. Rachel’s story was told in The Rage: Carrie 2 (watch it Here), a film that many seem to have forgotten about. But we still remember it, and we’re going to let you know What the F*ck Happened to This Horror Movie.

Carrie was the...

According to a biography on Stephen King's website, the famous author's first short story was published in 1967 in an anthology paper called Startling Mystery Stories. His story was called "The Glass Floor," and King was only 18 years old. It was the first step in a decades-long literary career of overwhelming success, leading to 65 novels, 200 short stories, and dozens of feature film adaptations. 

King's first major hit novel came in 1974 with the publication of "Carrie," a story about a repressed, abused teenage girl who finds that she may be developing psychic powers. Given how cruelly the world treats Carrie White, and how little her religious zealot mother wants to talk to her, an explosive, murderous conclusion was inevitable. 

"Carrie" was adapted to the big screen in 1976 (seen above) by director Brian De Palma and screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen, and it's one of the best adaptations of King's material. The film...

With the previous episode of the Wtf Happened to This Horror Movie? video series, we looked back at the 1982 Stephen King / George A. Romero classic Creepshow. With the new episode, we’re staying in King territory to dig into the making of the very first King adaptation, Brian De Palma’s 1976 classic Carrie (watch it Here). To find out what it took to bring King to the screen for the first time, check out the video embedded above!

Directed by De Palma from a screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen, Carrie has the following synopsis:

Withdrawn and sensitive teen Carrie White faces taunting from classmates at school and abuse from her fanatically pious mother at home. When strange occurrences start happening around Carrie, she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers. Invited to the prom by the empathetic Tommy Ross, Carrie tries to let her guard down, but things eventually...

Seeing as "It: Chapter Two" is the second of Andy Maschietti's two-part adaptation of Stephen King's bestselling novel, it tracks that the author himself would have a cameo in the film as an enigmatic Derry shopkeeper. But in the first adaptation of the 1986 novel, the legendary horror writer had even less involvement -- by choice.

It's lot of story to handle for any adaptation. Over 1100 pages recounting the story of seven adolescents -- self-dubbed as "The Losers Club" -- as they battle an evil, cyclical, shapeshifting entity, primarily assuming the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. "It" the entity preys on the kids' fears as fear is the spice that makes children tastiest. Despite the behemoth size of the book, King's story boils down to a good old-fashioned good vs. evil battle, the kind he would also tell in "The Stand," "Desperation," and scores of his 200-plus short stories.

Black Christmas (1974) and Carrie (1976) Coming to 4K Uhd: "Your stocking stuffers are sorted! At long last, two of the most iconic horror films of all time, Black Christmas and Carrie, come to 4K Uhd this December from Scream™ Factory, looking better than ever before, and packaged with exciting new bonus features. Black Christmas (1974) (Collector's Edition) (4K Uhd) will be available December 6 and Carrie (1976) (Collector's Edition) (4K Uhd) arrives on December 13. Customers ordering these titles from shoutfactory.com will receive a free exclusive 18”x24” rolled poster featuring the original theatrical artwork while supplies last.

In Black Christmas (1974) (Collector's Edition) (4K Uhd), the college town of Bedford is receiving an unwelcome guest this Christmas. As the residents of sorority house Pi Kappa Sigma prepare for the festive season, a stranger begins to stalk the house. A series of obscene phone calls start to plague the sorority and it becomes clear that a...

Scream Factory has been upgrading many classic horror movies to 4K Ultra HD, and up next is Brian De Palma’s Carrie, of course the classic 1976 adaptation of the Stephen King novel.

Carrie is coming to 4K Ultra HD on December 13, 2022!

You can pre-order the release in several different forms over on Scream Factory’s website, including SteelBook packaging and special bundles featuring pins, posters, and more.

Bonus Features include…

Disc One (Uhd):

New 2022 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative In Dolby Vision (Hdr 10 Compatible) Audio: 5.1, Original Mono Track

Disc Two (Blu-ray):

New 2022 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative Audio: 5.1, Original Mono Track Theatrical Trailer Carrie Franchise Trailer Gallery

Disc Three (Blu-ray):

Writing Carrie – An Interview With Screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen Shooting Carrie – An Interview With Director Of Photography Mario Tosi Cutting Carrie – An Interview With Editor Paul Hirsch Casting Carrie – An Interview With Casting...

It was announced today that acclaimed horror author Peter Straub passed away, an undeniable creative force who completely changed what was possible in the landscape of dark fantasy and horror fiction. Straub wrote with such beautiful world-building detail and rich prose that he often elevated the simplest concepts into full-fledged epics, which is precisely why the Master of Horror himself, Stephen King, collaborated with him on their collaborative masterpiece, "The Talisman."

While King has been the most adapted author of the modern era, Straub has only had two novels brought to life. In 1977, "The Haunting of Julia" was released inspired by his novel "Julia," but the film that should have had studios vying to gain the rights to any and all of Straub's works came in 1981 when Universal adapted his haunting novel "Ghost Story."

Straub published the novel in 1979, which became a national bestseller and helped cement Straub as one of the horror fiction greats.

Screambox original documentary Pennywise: The Story of It uncovered a wealth of insight into the 1990 Stephen King adaptation. Five years of work from co-directors John Campopiano (Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary) and Christopher Griffiths (Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser) paid untold dividends for horror fans.

With exclusive interviews with many of the miniseries’ key players – Pennywise himself, Tim Curry, cast members Richard Thomas, Seth Green, Tim Reid, and Emily Perkins, director Tommy Lee Wallace, writer Lawrence D. Cohen, special effects makeup artist Bart Mixon, and more – along with rare materials and never-before-seen footage, even the most knowledgeable viewers will learn a thing or two.

Here are six things I learned from Pennywise: The Story of It.

1. George A. Romero was originally attached to direct.

King and George A. Romero were fans of one another’s output, which ultimately led to their friendship and several collaborations, but both wanted to work together more.

Finally, the Daily Dead “Class Of” series has reached my beloved birth year, 1981. For the genre, 1981 signifies an important moment in the history of horror. With the introduction of two slasher icons, Michael Myers in 1978 and Jason Voorhees in 1980; the beginning of the sequel boom that would dominate the rest of the decade was born in 1981 with Halloween 2 and Friday the 13th Part 2. These two sequels are merely the introduction to the rise of slasher cinema for the 80s, with 1981 providing a variety of examples like The Burning, Graduation Day, The Prowler, Funhouse, Happy Birthday to Me, Final Exam, Night School, Student Bodies, and My Bloody Valentine.

1981 also proved the best year in the history of horror for werewolf movies. The iconic American Werewolf in London set the gold standard in practical transformation effects. The Howling is a demonstration of how horror and humor can coexist perfectly. Wolfen...

A re-imagination of Stephen King’s 1974 novel “Carrie” is possibly headed for the small screen — this time as a limited TV series at FX, Variety has learned.

The project is in the very early stages of development. The most recent iteration of “Carrie” came in the form of the 2013 Sony-Screen Gems film, starring Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore, directed by Kimberly Pierce and penned by Lawrence D. Cohen and Roberto Aguiire-Sacasa.

Other versions have included “Carrie: The Musical,” which first debuted on Broadway in 1988, a “Carrie” TV movie in 2002 from director David Carson and writer Bryan Fuller, and of course the 1976 Brian De Palma film, which earned Sissy Spacek a best actress nomination and Piper Laurie a best support actress nomination at the 1977 Academy Awards.

“Carrie” isn’t the only Stephen King title currently being adapted. Among them, “Jerusalem’s Lot” is being brought to life at Epix, starring Adrien Brody,...

Stephen King’s Carrie is getting its latest treatment for the screen. A limited series adaptation of the iconic horror novel is in development at FX, Deadline has confirmed. The project, first reported by Collider, is in its early stages, and a writer is not yet attached. There are no further details.

The FX project comes six years after the second feature film adaptation of the book, starring Chloë Grace Moretz in the title role

and Poldark’s Gabriella Wilde as Sue Snell. The adaptation was penned by Roberto Aguirre Sacasa and directed by Kimberly Peirce. The first film adaptation, directed by Brian De Palma, from a screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen, starred Sissy Spacek as Carrie White and also featured Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, William Katt, P. J. Soles, Betty Buckley, and John Travolta in supporting roles. A film sequel to the first film also came out...

Stephen King spent over four years writing his best-selling novel, It, which would get published in 1986. The book would go on to be received as equal parts brilliant and controversial, and as is the case with so many Stephen King novels, adapting this story to the big screen was definitely a tall order. It aired on ABC in 1990, a two-part miniseries starring Tim Curry as the cunning Pennywise. This adaptation changed several times during development; what was originally supposed to be a ten-part feature helmed by none other than George A. Romero, ultimately was whittled down to a three-hour long TV movie that was written by Lawrence D. Cohen and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace.

Related: It: All Of Pennywise’s Appearances In Other Stephen King Books

Since it was so condensed and changed from what it was originally supposed to be, the 1990 miniseries was poorly received but held the...

It’s hard to believe that Brian De Palma’s “Carrie” came out almost 42 years ago. Star John Travolta took to Instagram to share a set photo from the horror film to remind us.

“On the set of #Carrie over 40 years ago,” Travolta wrote on Instagram on Tuesday. “I don’t think any of us could have known the life the movie would take on for decades…or how many times we’d have to explain to our families the blood was actually corn syrup!”

The photo features Travolta, who portrayed bully Billy Nolan. Sissy Spacek (who played the titular character) also appears in the pic along with Nancy Allen and William Katt.

Also Read: John Travolta's 'Gotti' Whacked at Box Office With $1.6 Million Debut

1976’s “Carrie” was directed by De Palma, based on the novel by Stephen King. Lawrence D. Cohen wrote the screenplay, and Piper Laurie,...

Chris Cummins Nov 4, 2019

We take a look back at the history of Stephen King's first bestseller, Carrie, after Riverdale turned it into a musical.

Last year, Riverdale staged Carrie: The Musical in a very special episode that was part Glee and part horror hellstorm. It is the latest example of how Stephen King's first novel continues to resonate throughout the pop culture landscape. The reasoning for this is simple: Carrie is a universally relatable story about outsiders that has much to say about topics like bullying, revenge, teen angst, religion, and telekinetic ass-kicking..

To examine just how much of a juggernaut Carrie is, we've put together this timeline dating from the book's genesis to today to provide some context into why the tale has endured for so long.

1973: Legend has it that Stephen King was unhappy with his early work on Carrie, which was originally intended as a magazine story,...

Trust “Riverdale” to go Stephen King on the high school musical trope. As previously announced, in April The CW series will put on the Broadway flop “Carrie: The Musical” as Riverdale High’s big theater blowout. But it almost didn’t happen.

At a screening for this week’s episode of the series, creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa revealed that the show first considered doing “Little Shop of Horrors,” which has horror and comedy elements that would fit the show.

“On some level ‘Riverdale’ is a crime and mystery and a pulp show,” said Aguirre-Sacasa. “There is still an element of coming-of-age and high school obviously. Doing the school musical is such a rite of passage that we wanted to do that. The question that the studio network had was, ‘Okay, but if you’re going to do that, it’s gotta still be a very “Riverdale” take on the musical.’”

Read...

Rebecca Lea Jul 24, 2017

Tim Curry's Pennywise dominates the first screen adaptation of Stephen King's It. Fancy a lookback?

The film: When several children are murdered in the town of Derry, Maine, the local librarian Mike Hanlon (Tim Reid) calls his old friends, Bill Denborough (Richard Thomas), Beverley Marsh (Annette O’Toole), Ben Hanscom (John Ritter), Eddie Kaspbrak (Dennis Christopher), and Richie Tozier (Harry Anderson). Plaguing Derry is a mysterious entity they call It, which manifests as childhood fears, including the form of Pennywise the Clown (Tim Curry). The friends defeated it thirty years earlier and return to Derry to fulfil their promise and finish the job.

See related Vikings renewed for season 5

Another slight bend in the rules this week with the It mini-series, but with a new adaptation on the way and the 1990 version’s considerable reputation, it’s not one I felt I could miss out. Stephen King...

21st edition of the genre festival to feature special screening of Luc Besson’s Valerian.

Fantasia International Film Festival has unveiled its first wave of titles for its upcoming 21st edition, running July 13-August 2 in Montreal.

This year’s festival will open with the North American premiere of Jung Byung-gil’s Cannes title The Villainess, followed by the North American premiere of Takashi Miike’s manga adaptation JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable.

Fantasia will screen more than 130 feature films in 2017, including the world premieres of Géla Babluani’s Money Money, Ryan Prows’ Lowlife, Ted Geoghegan’s Mohawk and Gabriela Amaral Almeida’s Friendly Beast.

There will also be a special screening of Luc Besson’s Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets and David Lowery’s A Ghost Story will open the festival’s Camera Lucida strand.

Other notable titles announced in the first wave include Cho Sun-ho’s A Day, Federico Cueva’s You Only...

“Pimples are the Lord’s way of chastising you.”

Carrie (1976) screens Midnights this weekend (April 28th and 29th) at The Moolah Theater and Lounge (3821 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, Mo 63108) as part of Destroy the Brain’s monthly Late Night Grindhouse film series.

Over the past few decades, almost everything ever written by Stephen King has been filmed for either TV or the silver screen; however, very few of these adaptations have come close to matching the extremely high standard set by Carrie the first King novel to receive the movie treatment, way back in 1976 (which is when I first saw it at the old Webster Groves Cinema – double feature with Demon Seed!).

Directed by Brian De Palma, this superb supernatural horror stars Sissy Spacek as Carrie White, a shy and awkward teenage girl who is mercilessly bullied at high-school and further tormented at home by her overbearing, religious zealot mother...

Released 40 years ago today, Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation of Stephen King’s debut novel Carrie remains a masterpiece of modern horror. It is a teenage pop nightmare of a film, a dreamy exploration of horrors both real and supernatural. Expertly directed, gorgeously photographed and acted with total sincerity by a cast of then-newcomers, it remains one of the very best King adaptations despite being first out of the gate.

Know how I know De Palma’s Carrie is a brilliant adaptation and one of the best horror movies ever made? Because other filmmakers have tried adapting it three other times across three other decades: Katt Shea in 1999 (with The Rage: Carrie 2, basically a Carrie remake and the best of the lot), David Carson for SyFy in 2002 and, most recently, Kimberly Pierce in 2013. None of them come close to touching the 1976 original.

From its famous opening sequence, in which...

Beginning October 11th, horror fans can celebrate the 40th anniversary of a seriously perilous prom with Scream Factory's Collector's Edition Blu-ray release of Carrie, and we've been provided with three Blu-ray copies to give away to lucky Daily Dead readers.

————

Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) copy of the Carrie (1976) Collector's Edition Blu-ray.

How to Enter: For a chance to win, email contest@dailydead.com with the subject “Carrie Blu-ray Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on October 16th. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older that live in the United States. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

————

Carrie Collector's Edition Blu-ray: "Based on the best-selling Stephen King novel, this "absolutely spellbinding horror movie" (Roger Ebert) has become a pervasive, pop-culture touchstone for anyone who's ever wanted to get even.

High school can be heaven or hell depending on your social status, and for the titular character in Brian DePalma's Carrie (based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King), life is definitely the latter. Coming out on a Collector's Edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory on Tuesday, October 11th, Carrie is teased in high-def clips and a trailer.

From Scream Factory: "Great news! Our upcoming 40th Anniversary Blu-ray release of Carrie will include a fantastic and in-depth interview with composer Pino Donnagio--who has been responsible for scoring all sorts of great thrillers such as The Howling, Piranha, Tourist Trap, The Fan, Dressed to Kill, Raising Cain and so many more.

National street date is 10/11/16. Final List of extras again are as follows:

• New 4K Scan of the original negative and restoration

• New More Acting Carrie – featuring interviews with Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley, William Katt, Piper Laurie,...

Back in June, fans of 1976’s Carrie were excited to hear that Scream Factory would be coming out with a Collector’s edition Blu-ray of Brian De Palma’s Stephen King adaptation, and they might be absolutely elated by the latest special features revealed for the anticipated release:

From Scream Factory: “Great news! Our upcoming 40th Anniversary Blu-ray release of Carrie will include a fantastic and in-depth interview with composer Pino Donnagio–who has been responsible for scoring all sorts of great thrillers such as The Howling, Piranha, Tourist Trap, The Fan, Dressed to Kill, Raising Cain and so many more.

National street date is 10/11/16. Final List of extras again are as follows:

• New 4K Scan of the original negative and restoration

• New More Acting Carrie – featuring interviews with Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley, William Katt, Piper Laurie, Edie McClurg and P.J. Soles

• New Writing Carrie – an interview with screenwriter...

Stephen King adaptations are very hard to pull off successfully. For every Misery, there’s a Graveyard Shift; Carrie soars while Cujo stalls. The small screen has had it just as bad—the elephantine The Stand benefits from its four-night rollout, while no amount of time could save The Tommyknockers. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg—at last count, there were 91 King adaptations (I’ll need to double-check those figures) across all media. For this blurry-eyed cathode ray kid, however, nothing has yet to match the two-part graveyard dance known as Salem’s Lot (1979).

Originally airing on CBS on Saturday November 17th and 24th, Salem’s Lot was a huge success for the network; there was even talk of turning it into a weekly series. Alas, that never came to be. However, we were gifted with 183 minutes of measured, chilling suspense and terror helmed by none other...

Tim Curry’s Pennywise invaded living rooms across the country in 1990 during ABC’s two-episode miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s It. Curry’s powerful performance brought the creepiness of clowns to a whole new level for an entire generation of viewers, and now, over 25 years later, Warner Bros. is preparing to release Stephen King’s It on Blu-ray for the first time in the Us, complete with a collectible item for fans to add to their wardrobes.

According to Blu-ray.com, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release Stephen King’s It on Blu-ray / DVD on October 4th. Bonus features have not yet been revealed for the two-disc release, although it will come with a Pennywise shirt shown in the image below. Barring an upcoming reveal of a new sleeve, the artwork for the Blu-ray will be the same image used for the VHS and DVD releases.

The new It...

Director Tommy Lee Wallace remembers making the original It. Last week, following the first look at the new Pennywise in the remake, Shock’s Lee Gambin spoke to revered screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen about his TV miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s bestselling novel It (you can read that fantastic interview here). This week, Gambin sits down…

The post Exclusive Interview: Director Tommy Lee Wallace on the Original It Miniseries appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

Veteran screenwriter Lawrence D.Cohen remembers making the original It. Throughout Hollywood history, many screenwriters have had the daunting task of adapting a critically acclaimed and much loved best seller into a workable shooting script and subsequent film. They are faced with having to modify certain passages from the preexisting material, omit certain events and sometimes…

The post Exclusive Interview: Lawrence D. Cohen on the Making of Stephen King’s It appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

“Carrie,” Brian De Palma’s 1976 classic is celebrating its 40th anniversary by having Scream Factory release a special 2-disc collector’s edition Blu-ray set.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the set will be available on October 11 and includes a 4K scan of the film’s original negative and nearly three hours of bonus features. It will also have a featurette which will take a look at the film’s original locations and interviews with writer Lawrence D. Cohen, editor Paul Hirsch, actors Piper Laurie, P.J. Soles, Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley, William Katt, Edie McClurg, casting director Harriet B. Helberg, and director of photography Mario Tosi.

Read More: The 25 Best Horror Films Of The 21st Century So Far

Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, the thriller was a box office success, earning over $33.8 million. It also received two Academy Award nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.

*Updated with the official press release.* This fall, Scream Factory will give horror fans an early Halloween treat with their 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition Blu-ray release of Brian De Palma's Carrie (1976).

Initially announced on EW, the Carrie Collector's Edition Blu-ray will be released on October 11th with a 4K scan of the movie's original negative and over three hours of extras for fans of the Stephen King adaptation to enjoy.

Similar to their 30th anniversary Return of the Living Dead Blu-ray, Scream Factory will also release Carrie in both a regular Collector's Edition and a Deluxe Limited Edition with an exclusive second slipcover, poster, and shipping of the film three weeks before its release.

Press Release: Los Angeles, CA - In 1976, Carrie, the “absolutely spellbinding horror movie” (Roger Ebert) directed by Brian DePalma (Scarface, The Untouchables, Dressed to Kill) and based on the best-selling Stephen King novel, premiered in theaters,...

Today in 1988, Carrie opened at the Virginia Theatre now the August Wilson Theatre, where it ran for 5 performances. Carrie The Musical is a musical with a book by Lawrence D. Cohen, lyrics by Dean Pitchford, and music by Michael Gore. Adapted from Stephen King's novel Carrie, it focuses on an awkward teenage girl with telekinetic powers whose lonely life is dominated by an oppressive religious fanatic mother. When she is humiliated by her classmates at the high school prom, she wreaks havoc on everyone and everything in her path.

Veteran writer discusses adapting King classics like Carrie, It and The Tommyknockers as well as Peter Straub’s Ghost Story. There’s an unmistakable passion in Lawrence D. Cohen’s voice in spite of the fact he’s talking about a project he began working on four decades ago. It’s a passion that resonates through the phone as…

The post Exclusive Interview: Screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen on Adapting Stephen King and More appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

Ghost Story is a film I spent a lot of time watching as a child, but you don’t really hear folks talk about it too often anymore, unfortunately. A film driven by atmosphere and a quiet sense of foreboding dread, Ghost Story is the hauntingly provocative adaptation of Peter Straub’s supernaturally-charged novel that proves that even though you may think you are done with the past, the past isn’t always necessarily done with you.

It’s a film that has for the most part aged well, despite the fact that director John Irvin practically wastes the talents of Ghost Story’s main ensemble, while the script from the usually solid Lawrence D. Cohen (Carrie) is just a tonal mess from start to finish. Despite all that though, Ghost Story—much like its otherworldly antagonist—has this weirdly hypnotic power to it, drawing you in despite its flaws...

Stars: Craig Wasson, Alice Krige, Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., John Houseman, Patricia Neal, Jacqueline Brookes, Miguel Fernandes, Lance Holcomb, Brad Sullivan | Written by Lawrence D. Cohen | Directed by John Irvin

Four elderly gentlemen form The Chowder Society, a group in which they meet up to smoke cigars and tell chilling ghost stories in an attempt to scare each other. Hiding from a dark secret of their past, they use their stories to push it from their memories. When one of the member’s sons dies in strange circumstances though, it seems that their past transgressions have come back to haunt them in a soul that refuses to let go of her vengeance.

Ghost Story is based on Peter Straub’s novel, and we get to hear plenty from the author on this Blu-ray release. This gives a good insight into an eighties movie that feels very original.