Stephen King’s 1974 debut novel, Carrie, was first adapted for the screen in Brian De Palma’s 1976 film starring Sissy Spacek in the iconic role. Katt Shea’s 1999 sequel, The Rage: Carrie 2, followed Carrie’s half-sister, Rachel, played by Emily Bergl. In 2002, David Carson made a TV movie with Angela Bettis as the lead. The most recent is Kimberly Peirce’s 2013 version starring Chloë Grace Moretz. And this October, we’ll have a new one to watch.
With his successful body of work, Mike Flanagan (The Fall of the House of Usher) has already proven that if anyone can be trusted with an adaptation, especially one from King, it’s him. So, while our first instinct is to roll our eyes at yet another version of Carrie, we know the story is in more than capable hands.
Flanagan’s eight-episode series is set in the modern day, a time when bullying extends outside of the school halls and onto our smartphones. The narrative is framed as a true crime documentary centered on what happens at the prom, not unlike the novel’s survivor testimonies and police reports. If you’re even vaguely familiar with the plot, you know that the prom is where the epic crashout occurs. Between news footage and first-person accounts, we get glimpses of the aftermath before we even meet the titular character.
Carrie White (Summer H. Howell) and her mother, Margaret (Samantha Sloyan), have their lives turned upside down after the accidental death of her father, Ralph (Tahmoh Penikett). They go from their insular world at home to Margaret joining the workforce and Carrie going to public school. While the former hates this new way of life, the latter is hopeful and curious. School should be a place of learning and discovery, but we all know the social aspect can be overwhelming, especially for the new kid.
Good-hearted Sue Snell (Siena Agudong) is encouraged to look out for Carrie, and she does, for the most part. Her best friend is Chris Hargensen (Alison Thornton), the main mean girl of Ewen High. While Sue always calls Chris out on her BS, that doesn’t mean she actually listens. Sue and her boyfriend, Tommy Ross (Joel Oulette), are the only classmates who show her any real kindness.
This series shows all the new ways kids can torment each other. Yes, rumors and whispers in the halls are painful to hear, but introduce technology into the mix, and things get even uglier. Cell phones abound during the infamous “plug it up” locker room scene when Carrie gets her first period, making the traumatizing moment that much worse. The incident leads to an Instagram account that goes viral for its cruel memes of students and faculty.
While she’s trying to navigate this new world, Carrie is also discovering she has special abilities. And we don’t have to wait long before we see them in action. At the beginning of several episodes, we get vignettes about women with unbelievable powers throughout history.
With eight one-hour episodes, there’s time to really flesh out the supporting characters, including gym teacher Miss Desjardin (Amber Midthunder), teacher Mr. Peist (Rahul Kohli), guidance counselor Peter Morton (Tim Bagley), and Principal Grayle (Matthew Lillard).
One character we spend a good amount of time with is Chris. With her parents divorcing and their finances in trouble, she feels like her life is falling apart and there’s nothing she can do about it. The only thing she feels she has control over is making other people hurt, namely Carrie. Getting a better understanding of her life outside of school humanizes her. Chris isn’t a one-dimensional villain, but she’s still easily hatable for what she does to Carrie and others.
As with all Flanagan projects, the acting is excellent, particularly Summer H. Howell and Samantha Sloyan. Howell is immediately endearing as Carrie. Even though this interpretation is a fresh take, the comparisons are inevitable. Her Carrie isn’t as meek as Sissy’s Carrie. She’s shy and a little awkward, but is still able to walk up to strangers with a hopeful smile.
Sloyan’s Margaret isn’t a hysterical zealot physically abusing a daughter she believes is evil. She’s a domineering yet loving mother trying to protect Carrie from the unforgiving outside world. Longtime fans will notice there’s a little of Midnight Mass’ Bev Keane in her performance. But the notable difference between the characters is that Bev could never be a caring mother.
Mike Flanagan’s Carrie is a topical, timely, and tragic series that takes the core elements of King’s classic novel and reimagines them for today. It’s less of a traditional horror story and more of a supernatural YA drama-thriller, because the tension doesn’t come from haunted houses or vampires, but from teenagers and their casual cruelty. Carrie continues to be a coming-of-rage story that people of all ages can relate to, and in the hands of Flanagan, it becomes so much more.
All eight episodes of Carrie premiere October 7 on Prime Video.
