‘Carrie’ and other horror classics get TV treatment this spooky season

Television

‘Carrie’ and other horror classics get TV treatment this spooky season

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With Halloween around the corner, let’s talk about some horror classics that have been adapted for TV this season.

With Halloween right around the corner, let’s talk about horror on TV. Big scares have brought audiences to horror films for years, and this fall, we’re seeing them on the small screen as well. Two high-profile examples, the new “Friday The 13th” prequel series, “Crystal Lake,” on Peacock.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, “CRYSTAL LAKE”)

LINDA CARDELLINI: (As Pamela Voorhees) I don’t want to heal. I want to find my son.

MARTÍNEZ: And Prime Video’s adaptation of the supernatural Stephen King story “Carrie.”

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, “CARRIE”)

SUMMER H HOWELL: (As Carrie) You put in all this effort to make it look like you were my friend. So why? Why not just do that?

MARTÍNEZ: NPR critic-at-large Eric Deggans has been watching them. So, Eric, let’s start with “Carrie.” What’d you think?

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE: Well, you know, what’s amazing is that this story has already been told so many times. I mean, some people might remember that the story of “Carrie,” a sheltered girl with an overbearing mom who develops these powerful telekinetic powers, she eventually kills all the kids who made fun of her in high school. This started as Stephen King’s blockbuster debut novel. And it’s been made into four different films before this TV series, including an iconic 1976 film starring Sissy Spacek as Carrie White. But Prime Video’s “Carrie” leans into the fact that many viewers already think they know this story. It has classic moments from the films, including when Carrie gets this bucket of pig’s blood dumped on her head at the prom. But it takes place in a modern world of social media and conspiracy theories.

MARTÍNEZ: Now, Stephen King told USA Today last year that he was initially skeptical about another “Carrie” remake. Do you think the eight episodes added anything to that?

DEGGANS: Absolutely. Now, this is a bit of a spoiler. The show “Carrie” creates a world where certain people, mostly young girls, have powers, and they’re organized. They’re helping each other while another group is hunting them. And it’s an exciting new direction for an enduring franchise. I mean, the Spacek movie is celebrating its 50th anniversary next week.

MARTÍNEZ: OK. The new Peacock series “Crystal Lake” is a little bit different. It’s not a remake that’s been stretched into series form, but a TV prequel added into the mix of an already pretty big “Friday The 13th” franchise. Do you think it worked?

DEGGANS: This is a series much more rooted in horror and explicit violence. Now, “Crystal Lake” is basically the origin story of Jason Voorhees, the killer from the gory “Friday The 13th” horror franchise. Linda Cardellini is compelling and sympathetic as mother to Jason, a sweet child with a facial disfigurement and mysterious seizures. Now, it turns out it’s all connected to this shady corporation they’re running from in the summer of 1971. And there’s lots of bloody murders as Pamela Voorhees tries to protect her son and struggles with her own homicidal tendencies.

MARTÍNEZ: Eric, we’ve talked about the perils of audience fatigue in other franchises. Do you think that’s a concern here?

DEGGANS: Certainly. I mean, this is a growing trend, right? News just broke of a series version of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller film “The Birds.” So audience saturation can happen. But TV platforms today are desperate for intellectual property that the audience knows. These projects take a familiar franchise and they build a new, more elaborate story around it. So people who know the story get this fresh take. And new fans can just enjoy the expanded narrative. Horror films are popular now, so this move to TV and streaming makes sense. But they have to be careful not to burn out the audiences. Fortunately, I don’t think that’s going to be the case with “Crystal Lake” or the new “Carrie,” which are both pretty good series.

MARTÍNEZ: Eric Deggans is NPR’s critic-at-large. Eric, thanks a lot.

DEGGANS: Thank you.

MARTÍNEZ: And just a note – Amazon, which owns Prime Video, is financial supporter of NPR and pays to distribute some of our content.

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