Mike Flanagan, creator of "The Haunting of Hill House," paid tribute to Matthew Lillard's character from the 1996 film "Scream" in his Prime Video series adaptation of Stephen King's "Carrie." In both films, Lillard’s characters meet a similar fate by getting electrocuted. Flanagan incorporated this homage as Principal Henry Grayle dies tragically at prom in his version of "Carrie," which is set in the present day and not during the '70s like King’s original story. The show also features modern elements such as Instagram bullying leading up to Carrie's retaliation on prom night.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
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Story summary
Mike Flanagan, creator of "The Haunting of Hill House," paid tribute to Matthew Lillard's iconic role in Scream (1996). In Flanagan's latest series on Prime Video, Lillard reprises a similar fate as his character, Stu Macher, who died from electrocution when a TV fell on him. This time, Lillard plays Principal Henry Grayle and meets an eerily similar demise during a disastrous prom scene where he is electrocuted by dangling wires. Flanagan noted the parallels between the two deaths, stating that it was "fun" to include this tribute to one of his favorite horror films, emphasizing the tragic end for both characters.
Written for “Tribute To Scream Character” on 2026-10-09,
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Lillard, who plays Principal Henry Grayle in the Prime Video series, which is out now, dies at the disastrous prom when he’s electrocuted by dangling wires — similar to Stu Macher, who was electrocuted when a TV falls on his head.
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TV → play → head
“[Lillard] was like, ‘I get to get electrocuted again!
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I → get → ?
I was like, ‘but so much more, this time!” Flanagan exclusively told Page Six.
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Flanagan → tell → Page
“It was fun,” Flanagan said, confirming it was a tribute to the classic horror series, which he deemed as “one of the greatest horror films ever made.”
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he → say → films
“So, I can’t help but always be thinking of that when [Lillard] is around,” he added.
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he → help → that
“The Haunting of Hill House” creator explained that he also thought it would be appropriate for the principal to get fatally electrocuted in his version of “Carrie,” as a “really tragic end to that character.”
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principal → explain → character
“And I loved the visuals of it,” he said, pointing out how there’s fire and water surrounding them in that scene, which made for “a really beautiful image.”
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which → love → image
In 1996’s “Scream,” Lillard and Skeet Ulrich’s characters — Stu Macher and Billy Loomis — were unmasked as the original Ghostface killers.
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characters → unmask → killers
Stu allegedly met his end during the first movie when he was electrocuted by the TV, though he appeared in “Scream 7” last year as an AI deepfake used by the new killers.
uncertain
he → meet → killers
Many fans are still convinced he somehow made it out alive.
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he → convince → it
In Flanagan’s reboot of Stephen King’s debut 1974 novel, a sheltered and isolated teen girl Carrie White (Summer H. Howell) is bullied by classmates when she attends school for the first time.
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she → bully → time
The show is set in the present day – not the ‘70s of King’s story, or the first 1976 adaptation starring Sissy Spacek.
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show → set → Spacek
Mean girl Chris (Alison Thornton) creates an Instagram account spreading gossip about the student body, which causes the school to spiral out of control, as Principal Grayle (Lillard) struggles to contain the chaos.
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Grayle → create → chaos
At prom, Chris conspires to get Carrie elected prom queen, and dumps pig’s blood on her, as a cruel prank.
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Carrie → conspire → prank
Carrie’s telepathic powers lash out, leading to mass death and destruction.
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powers → lash → death
“Carrie” is the latest in a string of splashy horror hits for Flanagan, who also did shows like “Midnight Mass” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.”
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who → do → Usher
He’s also working on upcoming movie “The Exorcist: Martyrs,” starring Scarlett Johansson.
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He → work → Johansson
“It makes me happy that horror has these cycles.
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horror → make → cycles
It has these moments.
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It → have → moments
The genre is eternal,” Flanagan told Page Six.
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Flanagan → tell → Six
He said he “loves” that the genre “keeps surprising people by being terrific.
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genre → say → people
We are in a particularly interesting moment right now, because we saw last year this incredible upswell in event horror.”
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we → see → horror
“The Haunting of Bly Manor” creator cited “Weapons” and “Sinners” as “big movies” that showed “why people want to go to the multiplex.”
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people → cite → multiplex
Flanagan also noted that sleeper hits like “Obsession” and “Backrooms” are “the other side of the coin” with “younger filmmakers coming out of YouTube” who are having “huge horror success.”
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who → note → success
The “Midnight Club” creator added that it’s “wonderful” to see those films, as well as Zach Cregger’s “Resident Evil” taking “the world by storm,” which shows “the vitality and the diversity of the genre.”
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which → add → genre
Flanagan noted that he loves the current horror resurgence, “I love it for cinema, I loved it for Hollywood – and, I mostly loved it for audiences.”
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I → note → audiences
“Carrie” is now streaming on Prime Video.
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Carrie → stream → Video
Conversation
Your voice matters.
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voice → matter → Conversation
Discussions are moderated for civility.
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Discussions → moderate → civility
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