From the girl who befriended Chucky to Mike Flanagan's Carrie: the story of Summer H. Howell, Prime Video's new scream queen

Anyone who didn't recognize Summer H. Howell's name in the credits of 'Carrie', Mike Flanagan's series that premiered with eight episodes on Prime Video this week, may have already seen her face — only much younger and next to a red-haired doll. Howell played Alice, the little girl who bonds with Chucky and gets caught in his schemes, in 'Curse of Chucky' (2013), and returned to the role in 'Cult of Chucky' (2017), two sequels released direct to home video.

Since then, the actress has built a career almost entirely within horror. Her résumé includes the thriller 'Hunter Hunter' (2020), 'Harland Manor' (2021), 'Spirit in the Blood' (2024) and 'Time Cut', a time-travel slasher. That track record put her on the radar when, in April 2025, Variety reported she was in talks to play the lead in the new take on Stephen King's novel — a character that earned Sissy Spacek an Oscar nomination in Brian De Palma's 1976 film.

The stakes were high: 'Carrie' is Flanagan's first Prime Video project after Netflix hits such as 'The Haunting of Hill House' and 'Midnight Mass', and the director is known for working with a regular troupe of actors — including Samantha Sloyan, cast as Margaret White. Howell, a newcomer to that group, landed the central role in a series on which Flanagan serves as showrunner, writer, executive producer and director of four episodes.

Even divided reviews of the series agree on one thing: its lead. Gizmodo noted that Howell makes Carrie's kindness and innocence believable, while Dread Central, which gave the season 4 out of 5, called it 'an extremely rewarding update' of King's book. The ending leaves the door open for a continuation — and if it comes, the girl who survived Chucky already has a secure place in the scream queen pantheon.