Editorials
Revisiting the Nostalgic, Wonderfully Weird “Eerie, Indiana”!
Among all the amazing content that Amazon Prime Video has been curating lately, the one-season wonder of Eerie, Indiana has invoked the most nostalgia. Filling the void of small-town weirdness vacated by Twin Peaks’ cancellation, Eerie, Indiana was an anthology series set in a town filled with strange occurrences investigated by teen Marshall Teller (Hocus Pocus’ Omri Katz) and his sidekick Simon (Justin Shenkarow). NBC boldly placed this family-friendly oddball show smack in the middle of prime-time network television during the 1991-1992 season, and enlisted a slew of well-regarded horror talent. Horror master Joe Dante directed the pilot, among a handful of other episodes, and stayed on as a creative consultant for the remainder of the series. Which meant he had a direct say in casting, and setting the initial tone. He even appears as himself in the ballsy meta finale. Critically adored, Eerie Indiana cleverly towed the line between light-hearted, quirky humor and its underlying darkness, but its unforgiving time slot and expensive production ultimately relegated it to a single season.
Had it aired just a few years later, when supernatural network series were really gaining momentum, Eerie, Indiana may have continued for many seasons. The word “may” being the key word, here, though, as it appeared that series creators Jose Rivera and Karl Shaefer were prepping to retool the series by episode 13 with a new lead in Dash X, the grey-haired mysterious teen without a past played by Jason Marsden channeling his inner Christian Slater. Considering Marshall and Simon were far more likable, I’m not sure this move would’ve worked.
Like most small towns, Eerie was a quaint small town that belied its hidden darkness below the surface. The structure of the entire series unfolded layers of complexity that isn’t as initially obvious in its family-friendly sci-fi/supernatural leanings. Marshall arrives in town from New Jersey, and his closest friend and ally is the much younger Simon. Why would a teen hang out with a boy of roughly nine years old? Episode 3 reveals Simon’s home life is extremely dark and broken, with a father that ignores his son in favor of bringing home multiple women at a time.
The series also had a knack for doling out adult jokes and kid appropriate jokes in equal measures. Marshall’s dad referring to the homeless bum in episode 15 as the town’s sole liberal, followed by Simon’s inquisitive, “What’s a liberal?” induced a chuckle. More than the humor, though, is the show’s ability to retain continuity. Unlike a lot of anthology series, what happens in Eerie is never forgotten and the writers ensure that consequences and findings of episodes reverberate. At least if you pay attention.
With episodes directed by Dante, Bob Balaban (Parents, My Boyfriend’s Back), and Tim Hunter (Twin Peaks, River’s Edge, Hannibal, and notable guest appearances by a young Tobey Maguire, Danielle Harris, and recurring appearances by John Astin (Gomez Addams of The Addams Family) and Harry Goaz playing a much straighter police officer than his Twin Peaks oafish counterpart, Eerie, Indiana was years ahead of its time. Though it fared much better during reruns, garnering a new fan base, the time for this underappreciated series has long lapsed. That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy its sole season for what it is; clever fun for the burgeoning horror fan with a high rewatch factor. In celebration, I revisited all 19 episodes:
Foreverware
Directed by Joe Dante, the pilot ep introduces us to Marshall Teller and his family, recent transplants to Eerie from New Jersey. The Tellers are welcomed to town by neighbor Betty Wilson, who invites Marshall’s mom Marilyn (Mary-Margaret Humes) to her ForeverWare gathering. ForeverWare’s plastic containers are guaranteed to keep anything fresh, pretty much forever, and Betty takes its meaning to a whole new level. A great introduction with a very creepy episode antagonist in ‘50s housewife Better, it paves the way for Marshall’s investigations of Eerie’s weirdness to come. Even though the self-contained story wraps up, the twins can be spotted in multiple episodes throughout the season. More than any other episode of the series, it was the ForeverWare beds that seared into my mind.
The Retainer
Also directed by Dante, The Retainer gives an ominous twist to man’s best friend when Marshall’s classmate Steve gets a new retainer that tunes into the inner monologue of dogs. While the dogs in this episode aren’t nearly as scary as they could be (this is a family show after all), they’re plotting against humans and the episode ends on a fairly dark note. At least for a certain character.
ATM with the Heart of Gold
Marshall’s dad Edgar (Francis Guinan) works at a place called “Things Incorporated” as a product tester and inventor. It’s a tongue-in-cheek nondescript sort of job that allows for flexibility in the series when called upon. In this instance, Edgar’s come up with Mr. Wilson, a talking ATM with a friendly avatar. So friendly that Mr. Wilson befriends the lonely Simon, giving him money every time they meet, when Simon doesn’t even have a bank account. This episode really fleshes out Simon’s backstory, showing why he’s so eager to buy friends and assimilate into the Teller family.
The Losers
Another episode helmed by Dante, this one gives a twist to the hidden nature of losing objects. In the town of Eerie, things may appear to go missing, but it’s really a conspiracy uncovered by Marshall and Simon when Edgar’s briefcase goes missing. This episode is notable for guest star Dick Miller. Yeah, that guy Dick Miller (Gremlins, Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight).
America’s Scariest Home Video
Set on Halloween night, Marshall and Simon are stuck babysitting Simon’s younger brother Harley. Harley is a babysitter’s worst nightmare and manages to get himself swapped with the mummy from the movie he’s watching on TV. It’s a fun monster movie type episode, but it’s also the first of many nods to Arnold Schwarzenegger (seriously, this show loves to reference Terminator 2). The writers probably couldn’t resist; Harley is played by twins Christian and Joseph Cousins, most known for playing Dominic in Kindergarten Cop. Harley’s middle name is Schwarzenegger. Yup.
Just Say No to Fun
With a plot that feels very similar to Disturbing Behavior, a school eye test turns Simon into a studious student completely devoid of fun. It turns out the new school nurse is fond of administering eye tests that brainwash the students. In keeping with the theme of the plot, the school’s name is revealed to be B.F. Skinner Junior High, a reference to psychologist Burrhus Frederic Skinner, the guy responsible for founding Radical Behaviorism. It’s so clever that you almost forget to question why Simon, a character around the age of 9, would be attending a junior high. Eerie’s rules are lax like that, I guess.
Heart on a Chain
Directed by Dante, this ep centers on a twisted love triangle between Marshal, his friend Devon, and the new girl in school Melanie Monroe (Danielle Harris). Melanie’s family has come to Eerie to wait for a potential donor; Melanie’s heart is weak and failing. Enter the dark twist; Melanie quickly gets her heart when daredevil Devon befalls a tragic accident. Even after death, Devon still gets in the way of Marshall’s pursuit of Melanie. There’s a surprising maturity in the character of Melanie, and Dante keeps the story from getting too dark. Look for a cute nod to The Fly (the ‘50s version), and an odd background appearance by the Grim Reaper in the cemetery.
Broken Record
This episode never actually aired during the series’ original run; it was cut during the show’s retooling with Dash X. Broken Record eventually aired on The Disney Channel in 1993, which is a bummer considering it’s a solid episode that harkens to horror movies like The Gate or Trick or Treat. Like Simon, Tod has an unpleasant home life too, this time in the form of an overbearing, hard to please father. Marshall suggests release in the form of heavy metal, and Tod finds himself relating to the lyrics a bit too much. Tod’s transformation into rebellious metal head becomes a lot stranger than it sounds, in a way that only exists in horror movies. Or Eerie, Indiana.
The Dead Letter
While browsing through books at World o’ Stuff, an eclectic store and Eerie mainstay, Marshall discovers an undelivered letter written 62 years ago. The discovery invokes the spirit of Tripp McConnell, who wrote the letter, and Tripp’s haunting of Marshall until he agrees to deliver the letter to his childhood sweetheart. A young Tobey Maguire stars as the ghostly Tripp, and while the plot is tried and true, there’s a few issues with this one. Namely, Tripp’s final reunion with his lost love, now elderly, is a little strange. More so, Marshall’s reluctance to help feels shoehorned and forced when the series consistently relies on his willingness to get to the bottom of Eerie’s mysteries. They can’t all be winners.
Who’s Who
If there’s one thing that’s a sure bet in this series, it’s that unless you’re the imperfect, perfect Teller family, nearly every other kid comes from the most dysfunctional family. Enter Sara Bob, the sole female in a house full of rowdy boys after their mother abandoned them. Used as a surrogate mother, that mostly translates to Sara existing as a bit of a slave, Sara’s sole form of comfort and release is drawing. When Marshall buys her an Eerie #2 pencil from World o’ Stuff, Sara discovers that anything she draws physically manifests in real life. Which means she can create her own fantasy family. It’s a touching episode that’s a bit somber, but the writers inject a little humor when they can. Namely by naming everyone in Sara’s family Bob. It carries through to the end credits, where they’ve inserted Bob as a middle name to everyone in the crew.
The Lost Hour
Directed by Balaban, this episode finds Marshall determined to get his extra hour in when he discovers Eerie doesn’t do daylight savings. He sets his watch back, resulting in him getting stuck in this lost hour, a separate timeline far removed from Eerie’s inhabitants. In this Lost Hour, Marshall must team up with a young girl that’s been missing in Eerie for a year as they flee from the creepy garbage collectors and seek assistance from the Milkman. It’s an episode that feels right at home with The Twilight Zone.
Marshall’s Theory of Believability
A renowned para-believable professor comes to town to track a UFO set to land in Eerie. Marshall and Simon eat it up, thinking they’ve finally found someone who will believe their adventures. Marshall’s dad isn’t so quick to trust the professor, though. While the opening credits usually features Bigfoot going through Eerie’s trash, there’s no actual Bigfoot centric episode. Bigfoot can be found lurking in the background, but this episode indicates that there might be more than one; one of the professor’s assistants runs into a Bigfoot with a bow in the woods. This ep was also directed by Balaban.
Tornado Days
Marshall, harboring a healthy fear of tornados, stays home while the rest of the town is out celebrating Tornado Day, a day in which they prepare an annual picnic to appease Old Bob the tornado. However, Old Bob gets offended that Marshall stays home and threatens to come to town anyway. Marshall must team up with a crazed meteorologist (Matt Frewer) to ward off Old Bob and save the town from destruction. The idea to personify a tornado in a grudge match with a meteorologist is one of the many cheeky reasons why Eerie, Indiana proved to be such fun, and the ep also highlights the comedic relief talents of Marshall’s older sister Syndi (Julie Condra). The tornado effects are very dated, but Frewer’s guest appearance is fantastic.
Hole in the Head Gang
Marshall and Simon’s latest investigation of an old mill rumored to be haunted, brings the introduction to Dash X, the mysterious character brought in to retool the entire series. Why the name Dash X? Because this character, who has no memory of who he is or where he came from, bears a black dash on one hand and an x on the other. It’s the beginning of an arch that finds Dash X a foil for Marshall, and often unwitting ally. The retooling was likely an answer to ratings, but the character missed the mark of what made Eerie, Indiana a great series. Take him out of the episode, and the ghost that just wants to nail his bank robbery works.
Mr. Chaney
Every 13 years, Eerie holds a lottery to select a Harvest King, who must then go into the woods to face the Eerie Wolf. Mysteriously, none of the previous Harvest Kings are ever seen again. Thanks to Dash X, Marshall is entered and selected as the new Harvest King. It’s the first episode to hint that Eerie’s town government may be shady, but more importantly, it’s a werewolf episode! Never mind that this werewolf only feeds once every 13 years on little boys. No, that’s not weird or creepy at all. The Eerie Wolf is a bit cheesy, but I give it bonus points for attempting practical. As if the title didn’t give away the episode’s werewolf theme, looks for tons of wolf-related Easter eggs before the reveal. While Dash X might be a grating character, his introduction brought about the beginning of John Astin’s recurring appearance as Radford, a character rivaling the plucky charm of Gomez.
No Brain, No Pain
I suppose if you have a sci-fi supernatural anthology in the same vein as The Twilight Zone, then a body-swapping episode seems inevitable. In this instance, Marshal and Simon intervene when they witness a crazy homeless man being attacked by a woman with a ray guy. It turns out that the homeless man is a genius with a unique invention. Throw in Marshall’s nemesis Dash X, and chaos ensues. Can you tell that I’m really not a fan of the Dash X character?
Loyal Order of Corn
Marshall’s dad joins the town’s Loyal Order of Corn, prompting Marshall and Simon to investigate just what exactly is the purpose behind this secretive order. It turns out that the Order is building a giant TV, and Simon winds up stuck on another planet. Notable for another fun appearance by John Astin, and an always welcome appearance by Ray Walston (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Stand), this episode provides the only clues viewers would ever receive about Dash X’s past- he may not be of this Earth.
Zombies in PJ’s
Radford, owner of the World o’ Stuff, faces bankruptcy due to potential audit. Enter The Donald, an arrogant businessman who swoops in to save the day with subliminal marketing, causing customers to sleepwalk in and buy everything in sight on credit. But this credit comes with very fine print and an overwhelming price if they can’t pay in full; their souls. With The Donald being the primary villain, this episode feels so much more surreal given the current social context, but it’s Radford’s extreme fear of the IRS that proves hysterical. There are no actual zombies in this episode, just a poignant stab at consumerism and a Hellish twist. Literally.
Reality Takes a Holiday
For the final episode, at least Eerie, Indiana goes out with a bang. A self-referential plot that has Marshall discovering a script in his mailbox for Eerie, Indiana. As he starts reading it, Marshall finds himself behind the scenes of the series, where everyone he knows is actually the actors who play them, and they all refer to him as Omri. Marshall spends the episode confused and desperate to find his way back home. Joe Dante was too busy working on Matinee to take up directorial duties for this final ep, but he did appear in the episode as himself, humorously frustrated with “Omri” as Marshall fumbled through the set. The only character not referred to by his actor’s name is Dash X, a huge hint that Marshall’s nemesis was behind the meta strangeness. Though the series creators and writers were poising Dash X to take over the lead, they were humorously self-aware, and at least the series went out with Marshal rightfully on top.
Five decades ago, Stephen King published the story of a bullied girl with telekinetic powers and forever changed the world of horror.
Carrie follows a high school misfit who seeks revenge for a hideous prank by psychically destroying her senior prom. The name Carrie White has become synonymous with the concept of a formal dance thanks to a flawless adaptation from Brian De Palma. Now fifty years after the film’s release, Mike Flanagan is putting his own stamp on the troubling story.
Rather than a feature film, the writer/director will expand King’s relatively slim debut novel into an eight-episode miniseries for Amazon Prime set to premiere on October 7.
Flanagan is no stranger to the world of Stephen King. A long-time Constant Reader, he first made waves with his daring adaptation of Gerald’s Game (2017), a novel many fans considered un-filmable. His underrated Doctor Sleep merges the disparate plot of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining with King’s original source material, and his 2024 genre-bending tearjerker The Life of Chuck faithfully executes one of the author’s most metaphysical novellas.
He’s currently mired in pre-production for an expansive adaptation of The Dark Tower series, keystone to King’s connected universe, and Warner Bros. recently announced that Flanagan will helm a new version of The Mist, King’s 1980 novella which sees a small Maine town overrun by otherworldly monsters.
Considering the vast array of the author’s previously unadapted material, an obvious question arises. Why reimagine Carrie in 2026? Noting the timeless nature of the content, Flanagan expressed his desire to bring the story of a bullied girl into modern times, mirroring his approach to Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher. He explained, “The only way to approach it was to build something new out of the ingredients of Carrie. Otherwise, there’s really no purpose in trying to retread ground that’s been so beautifully walked before.”
His miniseries will maintain the novel’s bloody bookends while delivering “big surprises” along the way.
A New Prom Night Nightmare
The roughly 60-second teaser introduces Summer H. Howell as Carrie White just before the moment of catastrophe. Standing in a prom dress, she smiles at her applauding classmates with an ominous crown perched upon her head. Moments later, Carrie unleashes a rage-filled scream into the night air while promgoers rush for the exit doors. But careful examination of this scene shows Carrie wearing a different, albeit dirty dress as she seems to telekinetically punish her peers.
In an exclusive first look with Entertainment Weekly, Flanagan explains that in his version of the story, “the events of that prom are going to be completely different.” An open trunk emitting a crimson glow does hint at the pig’s blood dumped on Carrie’s head, but it’s likely Flanagan’s formal dance will be a different kind of horror altogether. Despite these changes, the series may end with the widespread destruction outlined in the source material. Unlike any previous adaptations, King’s novel ends with the near-total destruction of Chamberlain, Maine. A flaming street in Flanagan’s trailer promises similar carnage no matter what prank sparks Carrie’s deadly revenge.
The Monstrous Addition of Social Media
On the opposite end of this fiery conclusion is an extreme act of bullying that brings together the story’s main cast. King’s novel begins as Carrie gets her first period while showering in the girls’ locker room. Completely unaware of the concept of menstruation, the sheltered girl thinks she’s bleeding to death. Her classmates respond with vitriolic rage. Led by ultra-mean girl Chris Hargensen (Alison Thornton), they mock the terrified teen while pelting her with tampons. Glimpses of this disturbing event reveal that Flanagan has excised the scene’s nudity while adding a seismic update. As Carrie sobs in the shower stall, Chris and her friends film the breakdown with their phones.
Other scenes note the presence of social media, bringing King’s fifty-year-old story into the digital age.
Flanagan’s adaptation promises to explore the destructive power of social media, an often invisible entity with a potential for harm rivaling Carrie’s own powers. While King’s tormented heroine suffers in front of a small group of girls, Flanagan’s version of the incident will likely become a viral video, potentially circling the globe on social media. Similar to Katt Shea’s criminally underrated The Rage: Carrie 2, which includes elements of revenge porn exploitation, Flanagan’s modern retelling will distinguish itself by exploring the nebulous cruelty of online bullying, a force ten times more powerful than the irl pranks King first envisioned.
A Completely Reimagined White Family
In addition to modernizing these canon events, Flanagan hints at updates to Carrie’s oppressive upbringing at the hands of her mother, Margaret White (Samantha Sloyan). Dead before the novel begins, we never meet Carrie’s domineering father Ralph, known to carry a bible alongside his gun. Flanagan’s White household will be an altogether different beast. In his version of the story, Carrie and her mother have been hidden away in the unassuming home, forced out of hiding by Ralph’s unexpected death. Perhaps we will finally meet this elusive man whose shadow hangs over his wife and child. Considering the White family’s fundamentalist lifestyle, this reimagining hints at tradwife culture and a home ruled by staunch patriarchal control.
Whereas King’s Carrie has been tormented by her classmates since Kindergarten, Flanagan’s Carrie will be a wide-eyed newcomer to public school, eager to make friends and engage with her peers. We glimpse Carrie cozying up to Chris and the equally popular Sue Snell (Siena Agudong) as she navigates a new social scene. Of course, we know this kindness is part of an elaborate plot designed to lull Carrie into a false sense of camaraderie, setting up an atrocious act of public humiliation. These brief moments of feigned compassion put Sue’s own complicity into question. Will Flanagan’s version of the character find the courage to defend Carrie from vicious bullies or will she succumb to peer pressure and join in the mob mentality?
Perhaps the biggest deviation from King’s original text is the relationship between Carrie and her mother. King’s Margaret White is a horrifically abusive religious zealot whose worldview has been hardened by internalized misogyny. She shames Carrie for menstruating, locks her in a closet to “pray,” and regrets not killing her child in infancy. She’s also responsible for Carrie’s social ostracization. Known to berate her neighbors for their “sins,” Margaret forces her daughter to live by an extreme code of conduct and disallows any potential friends lest they corrupt the girl with their worldly ways.
Flanagan’s version of the character is perhaps just as much a victim as Carrie herself. Also trapped inside her home, his Margaret is overly vigilant, her own trauma manifesting as strict control. Describing a more sympathetic depiction of the iconic villain, Flanagan explains, “Our Margaret White is a woman who fiercely loves her daughter and wants to protect her from this world … [She] doesn’t know how to do that and thinks the way to protect her is to close her off; not punitively, but to create this private utopia.”
Despite this potential softening, Sloyan’s Margaret may still have a sharp edge. Though she has appeared in many Flanagan projects, from Hush (2016) to The Fall of the House of Usher (2023), she is best known for her role as the abhorrent Bev Keane in the poignant saga Midnight Mass (2021). Perhaps inspired by King’s Margaret White, Bev is pious and sadistic, willing to punish anyone who does not adhere to her warped approximation of Catholicism.
Flanagan specifically wrote Margaret with Sloyan in mind, likely remembering the actress’s eerie ability to create deceptive empathy and shift our allegiances on a dime.
Expanding Stephen King’s Telekinetic Universe
While most of King’s story deals with an unthinkable prom night in Chamberlain, Maine, large sections of the semi-epistolary novel see experts debating the nature of telekinesis. Do Carrie’s frightening abilities represent a new phase in human evolution or is the prom night carnage merely a fluke? King settles the debate with a shocking denouement in which a young mother recounts her infant daughter’s ability to dangle her crib toys in midair. We’re left to wonder if she will become another tormented girl who surprises the world with metaphysical strength.
Flanagan plans to build out this brief scene while amplifying themes of female empowerment. After introducing our main cast of characters, episode two will open with an unrelated story in which we meet another girl with the TK gene. Each subsequent chapter will expand this world, building out a roster of telekinetic young women. Considering King’s fondness for stories about powerful kids, often described as possessing “the shining,” Constant Readers will no doubt have their eyes peeled for various Easter Eggs nodding to the author’s vast catalogue.
Giving Carrie Her Own Voice
Perhaps the most striking distinction in Flanagan’s new trailer is the extent to which we hear Carrie’s voice. The sneak peek is fully narrated by the titular prom queen as she demands accountability. “I want to know why,” she explains while detailing Chris’ elaborate plan. Aside from the aforementioned coda, King’s book essentially ends with the aftermath of the prom night tragedy, leaving little time for Carrie to reflect. His shifting narrative does bring the reader into her fragile mind, though not before she’s been cowed by relentless cruelty. We watch Carrie sink into bloodthirsty revenge, but never hear a considered desire for justice or repair.
Flanagan’s original monologue allows Carrie to voice her pain and mourn the life she could have had. We’re also treated to a mug shot-style photo of Chris with a bruised and bandaged face, implying that the mean girl will have to answer for her senseless sadism.
Flanagan is known for filling his series adaptations with heartwrenching speeches that cut to the heart of his thematic intentions, and this teaser seems to follow suit. After years of fans, critics, and scholars analyzing Carrie’s pain, perhaps his modern retelling will offer the titular anti-hero a chance to finally speak for herself.
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