Scream Stream 2023: The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer

In 1910, wealthy oil tycoon John Rimbauer (Steven Brand), courts and marries Ellen (Lisa Brenner) and as a wedding gift constructs a huge mansion, Ellen calls Rose Red, on 40 acres of woodland in the Seattle, Washington area.  The grounds, of course, were the site of an Indian burial ground, and even during its construction the house seemed cursed.  The house is finished while the couple are on their honeymoon, where Ellen contracts an STD from her husband (they never call it syphilis, but hint strongly to it) and discovers things about John’s sexual past and her own carnal appetites. Making a lifelong friend in the African woman Sukeena, who returns home with them. John returns to his old philandering, but suddenly all the women he has affairs with seem to disappear while in the house.  As the years pass, sex is used as a currency between the couple, as Ellen believes that she must continue to build onto Rose Red, having been told this by a medium. Ellen gives birth to two children. First is a healthy boy, Adam (Jacob Pearce Guzman) and then a girl, April (Courtney Taylor Burness) who is born with a withered left arm. Rose Red seems to be connected to Ellen, but what does the house want and can the family survive?  Watch and find out!

This is a TV movie prequel to Stephen King’s miniseries, Rose Red, but it is based on a novel called The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red, written by Ridley Pearson under the pseudonym Joyce Reardon, PhD.  This is a kind of tongue in cheek joke as Dr. Joyce Reardon is one of the leading characters in the Rose Red movie.  This is also the first prequel / sequel to a Stephen King production that was not based on material penned by Stephen King, which meant that the two authors had to split the royalties. The critical response was mixed, with some critics praising its atmosphere, but others criticized the performances.

I enjoyed the film, but it is not quite as flashy as its predecessor, Rose Red, with less need for special effects, but a good use of spooky atmospheric elements.  I felt the performances were strong with Lisa Brenner especially, doing a good job as a woman stuck in an unhappy marriage, and from time to time having to use sex as a tool to get what she wants. Her disdain for her husband is mixed with her dedication to her goals.  The story is also interesting and builds a lot onto what we see in Rose Red. With the houses jealousy and connection to Ellen being much more the focus than just it being an “evil” house. There are some scenes that conflict with the source material though, for example, in Rose Red and the original novel, April disappears in the kitchen, but in this film, she disappears in the library.  These differences don’t detract from the story very much. And it can be said that sometimes a story can be changed as it is recounted down through the years.