Amazon MGM is set to release its upcoming Carrie remake limited series on the streaming network in time for Halloween. The studio hired showrunner Mike Flanagan to shepherd this Stephen King adaptation, following his critically acclaimed projects like Doctor Sleep, The Haunting of Hill House, and Midnight Mass. As with most Flanagan productions, he hires many of the same actors from past projects, including Samantha Sloyan (Midnight Mass), Rahul Kohli (The Haunting of Bly Manor), Katee Sackhoff (Oculus), and his wife, Kate Siegel (The Haunting of Hill House). He also introduces Summer H. Howell as the title character, Carrie White.
Flanagan’s biggest hurdle was adapting the classic Stephen King novel not only for a new generation but also to make it stand on its own compared to three previous film adaptations. This time, he has 8 episodes to flesh out the story more fully than any previous adaptation could. Unfortunately, the show was released all at once for binge-watching instead of weekly. It feels like it was made for weekly viewing since each episode has a fantastic cliffhanger that would have left audiences wanting more over the next 8 weeks. Nevertheless, this series is an even better adaptation that many Stephen King purists may not ultimately like, but it makes the story feel more original.
This series is less about Carrie White’s original story and more about the modern traumas of American high school life. Flanagan tackles mature topics such as school shootings, cyberbullying, teacher-student sexual relationships (which really added nothing to the story), self-harm, and suicide. None of these topics are really in the original novel beyond Carrie White’s own bullying. To make the series feel more modern, an anonymous Instagram account targets students across the school.
Flanngan crafts a series that already expects the audience to know “The Story of Carrie White” from the very first episode. Using flash-forwards to the novel’s final moments, you see the classic ending: Carrie White gets covered in pigs’ blood at her high school prom. However, this time it might not play out exactly as in past adaptations, and the audience must uncover what really happened. Carrie White is written as a simple, happy girl who wants to read books and make friends but is bullied for no reason other than being different. Honestly, you feel like Carrie really does nothing wrong the entire time.
Another great change from the original story is how they write Margaret White (played by Samantha Sloyan). As many know from previous adaptations, Carrie White’s mother is fanatically religious, and that is why Carrie is so sheltered. In the original story, she is very much one of the bullies you hope Carrie gets back at for her twisted teachings of scripture. This time, they make the mother more nuanced: she really does love Carrie White and wants her daughter’s bullying to end. The religious aspect is still very much there, as Margaret White and her husband are modern-day QAnon followers. They are afraid of the government due to chemtrails, the deep state, and any government surveillance garbage Alex Jones has ever said over the last decade. Still, while that is all wild, half the time you agree with some of the points she makes as a mother. How does having school shooting drills really help kids by faking real-life trauma? Why does the school administration really do nothing about cyberbullying?
The best part of the series is the incredibly well-written cliffhangers at the end of every episode, and it follows a weekly release schedule. The very first episode gets you hooked, and maybe Carrie White was framed for the murder of the class, and not everything is going to end exactly like it did in every single past adaptation. While Carrie still develops her classic telekinetic powers, she might not be the only one with this power. The writing team makes this series more like “Mean Girls meets Chronicle” than anything else. Carrie has to decide whether to use her powers for good or use them against the bullies that hurt her. This parallels Andrew’s (played by Dane DeHaan) arc in 2012’s Chronicle. You don’t really blame Carrie White for how she feels, and you kind of root for her to get back at everyone who did her wrong throughout the series.
5.0 out of 5.0 starsAll in all, Carrie is an incredible entry into the Stephen King adaptations that should be right up there with IT, The Shining, and Misery. Don’t go into the series expecting to know how it ends, because it goes far beyond the story in new and exciting ways. Mike Flanagan expertly crafts a story that tackles incredible mature topics teenagers go through every day while staying true to Carrie White’s original story. You will be hooked from the very first cliffhanger onward.
