Mike Flanagan Discusses Matthew Lillard's 'Scream' Homage in New 'Carrie' Series

Mike Flanagan, creator of the new Amazon Prime Video miniseries "Carrie," has revealed a specific homage within the show to actor Matthew Lillard's memorable death in the 1996 film "Scream."

Lillard, who portrays Principal Henry Grayle in the "Carrie" reboot, meets his demise at the prom when he is electrocuted by dangling wires. This death mirrors the fate of Stu Macher, Lillard's "Scream" character, who was electrocuted by a falling television.

"It was fun," Flanagan told Page Six. "He was like, ‘I get to get electrocuted again!’ I was like, ‘but so much more, this time!’"

Flanagan, also known for "The Haunting of Hill House," "Midnight Mass," and "The Fall of the House of Usher," confirmed that the electrocution scene was a deliberate tribute to "Scream," which he described as "one of the greatest horror films ever made."

"So, I can’t help but always be thinking of that when [Lillard] is around," Flanagan added. He felt the death was an appropriate and "tragic end to that character" and appreciated the visual elements of the scene, noting the surrounding fire and water.

In "Scream," Lillard and Skeet Ulrich played the Ghostface killers. Stu Macher's death was depicted as electrocution, though the character's ambiguous fate in subsequent installments has led some fans to speculate he survived.

Flanagan's "Carrie," based on Stephen King's debut novel, updates the story to the present day. The series stars Summer H. Howell as Carrie White, a bullied teen attending school for the first time. Bullying in this adaptation notably takes place on social media, with a character named Chris (Alison Thornton) creating a gossip-spreading Instagram account. Principal Grayle (Lillard) is depicted struggling to manage the ensuing chaos.

The prom scene follows the classic narrative where Chris orchestrates a prank, dousing Carrie in pig's blood, which triggers her telekinetic powers and leads to widespread destruction.

Flanagan expressed enthusiasm for the current resurgence in horror cinema, citing the success of films like "Smile" and "Talk to Me," as well as "Barbarian" and "M3GAN." He also highlighted the impact of "younger filmmakers coming out of YouTube" with successful horror projects like "Skinamarink" and "The Backrooms."

"It makes me happy that horror has these cycles. It has these moments. The genre is eternal," Flanagan stated. "We are in a particularly interesting moment right now, because we saw last year this incredible upswell in event horror."

He added that the success of films like "Smile" and the "Resident Evil" adaptation demonstrates "the vitality and the diversity of the genre." Flanagan concluded, "I love it for cinema, I loved it for Hollywood – and, I mostly loved it for audiences."

"Carrie" is currently available for streaming on Prime Video.