Created by Mike Flanagan and based on the novel by Stephen King, Carrie is a reimagining of the story of misfit high schooler Carrie White (Summer H. Howell), who has spent her life in seclusion with her domineering mother (Samantha Sloyan). After her father’s sudden death, Carrie finds herself contending with the challenges of attending high school, a bullying scandal, and the emergence of mysterious telekinetic powers that lead up to her infamous rampage.
Carrie was the debut novel by Stephen King that would launch his career as an author, and it would also be the very first of his works to be adapted to the big screen in 1976 by director Brian De Palma, which would launch years of adaptations of his many other works that have mostly become beloved or cult classics. Carrie has had three film adaptations and a musical adaptation made of it over several decades, but for most people the Brian De Palma adaptation has been regarded as the best. Initially, the idea of getting a fifth adaptation of Carrie seemed completely pointless to me until I found out it was being created by director Mike Flanagan, who has proven himself to be the best director at adapting Stephen King’s work several times over. Because of this I was completely open to seeing his own take on Carrie, and after finally being able to watch all the episodes I can definitely say that I really ended up enjoying this new adaptation.
Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of Carrie is an almost masterfully crafted series that both honors and expands on the original story in a modern setting while injecting some refreshing new elements to make it stand apart from the same story we know that’s been told to us multiple times. This series takes some serious bold swings and deviations from the source material and past adaptations that I didn’t expect, but I very much welcomed, especially for just how well executed all of it was from start to end. Even with some criticisms I have for it, this series to me is another big win for Mike Flanagan as a filmmaker and further cements him as the best director of Stephen King adaptations in our current time.
When it comes to Mike Flanagan and his team in all of his projects, they know how to pick the right casting choices for all the characters and those casting choices always put forth their best effort into their performances. The cast of Carrie is no exception. Every single cast member, for both main and supporting characters in this series, delivered incredible performances, giving us extremely compelling versions of these characters who are much more layered in this adaptation compared to past adaptations and even the novel. A lot of character work is done in this show as we are given new perspectives on each of the them to make us understand their actions in the story, whether they be good or bad, as well as are given more depth, which makes some of their fates hit harder on various emotional levels.
The biggest star of the show who brings out the most amount of emotion in their performance and makes the audience truly care for them from start to end is none other than the leading lady Summer H. Howell as Carrie White. Sissy Spacek’s performance as the titular character will never be forgotten, but I personally believe that Summer H. Howell is truly the best actress to portray Carrie amongst all the adaptations to be made. She radiates pure innocence and raw emotion that captures the essence of the character from the novel but is fully expanded upon in the modern setting, making her feel much more relevant and relatable as a character to the audiences of today, even with her fantastical telekinetic abilities. Her sadness, seclusion, fear, confusion, curiosity, wonder, joy and rage are all masterfully expressed by Summer H. Howell in her performance that makes me feel far more invested in the character than I have ever been before and makes her tragic journey feel even more heartbreaking to witness. She deserves all the praise for her work in this series, and I hope for her to get even more work and roles going forward after showing just how amazingly talented she is with her vast range of emotions.
While Summer H. Howell’s performance as Carrie is the main driving force of the story, she is not the only leading lady with a powerful performance and presence in the series, as there are three other major standouts. The first among them is Samantha Sloyan as Margaret White, Carrie’s mother, who serves as one of the main sources of Carrie’s trauma. Margaret White has always been depicted as a monstrous character in the novel and past adaptations, whose zealous faith in her religion made her an extremely hateful villain, especially for her inhumane treatment towards Carrie. However, in this adaptation, Margaret White is written and portrayed as a far more nuanced character that I found myself being really invested in. She is less defined by religious zealotry and more by overprotective, rationalized attempts to control Carrie as a result of her late husband, who was responsible for poisoning her views of the world with his insane beliefs.
In a way, Margaret White is also depicted as a victim herself, and Samantha Sloyan’s incredible performance makes us feel a certain amount of sympathy for a character who uses her righteousness as a weapon and shield against a world she believes is out to get her and her daughter. Even though her actions against Carrie are still unforgivable, it does feel like this version of Margaret is one that does actually care about her, as opposed to constantly considering her a spawn of sin as she did in the novel and previous adaptations.
The second character to have a significant role and performance in this series is Carrie’s arch nemesis and biggest bully, Christine “Chris” Hargensen, played phenomenally by Alison Thornton. In the novel and past adaptations, Chris was depicted as simply a malicious bully with no real depth, characterization, or reasoning behind her cruelty towards Carrie. Even in the Brian De Palma adaptation, I found that her portrayal was so hammed up to the point that she came off as some over-the-top brat that was hard to take seriously. In this adaptation, it takes more time to flesh out her character to make us understand her mental state, her living situation, and the methods behind her madness, to the point that she ends up becoming one of the most compelling bully characters I have ever seen depicted in not just a Stephen King adaptation but in general high school-based stories. In no way does this series try to make us forgive her for her horrific actions against Carrie and other characters but it does make us understand why she does it and even show how she is given every opportunity to change her ways but is unfortunately pushed towards a self-destructive path by forces that are not always in her control.
The story of Chris in this series is somewhat of a cautionary tale and a realistic exploration of the idea that no one is born a bully but instead is molded into one by improper guidance, difficult situations, and exposure to the influence of social media that can dramatically alter them into monsters. All of this is brought to life through Alison Thornton’s amazing performance which had me hugely invested in her character even when she was a love-to-hate villain.
The third and final leading character of this series who is also given more depth and characterization compared to the novel and past adaptations is Susan “Sue” Snell, played by Siena Agudong. Sue is a popular student who experiences remorse for initially partaking in Carrie’s bullying by being a passive bystander, similar to how she is in the novel and past adaptations, but just like with other leading characters, she is much more fleshed out and compelling in this adaptation. She is shown not to be a bad person, but she clearly has a flawed understanding of what it means to do the right thing, especially when it comes to being kind to Carrie. While Carrie proves herself to be genuinely kind and caring to everyone around her, Sue is very performative with her kindness, treating Carrie like a charity case rather than actually connecting with her as she has with other people in her life. You are constantly made to wonder whether she’s doing what she genuinely feels is right or just what she thinks a good person is supposed to do, making her a fascinating character to explore on top of her own struggles we end up witnessing. Siena Agudong gives this character so much humanity in her performance and makes her moral struggles feel realistic and engaging, as opposed to being frustrating and annoying as some other portrayals of a character like this would be.
The major supporting characters of the novel, plus some new original characters added in for this adaptation, are all given fantastic performances by their respective cast members and are all given their own compelling arcs and portrayals that add layers to the narrative and to the leading characters’ journeys. And as always, there are some notable standouts. The first among them is Thomas “Tommy” Ross, Sue’s good-hearted boyfriend played by Joel Oulette, who ends up being one of the only genuinely good people in the series. I always found his role in the novel and previous adaptations to be a bit odd, as he was being forced to be Carrie’s love interest despite the fact that he was with someone else, which I always saw as cheating. But in this adaptation, Tommy is not forced in as Carrie’s love interest but instead is made into a genuine friend who actually makes Carrie feel like she belongs and is doing it of his own free will rather than being asked to do so like Sue is. This is easily one of the best changes for a supporting character from the source material that simultaneously serves as an important role model for young men that needs to be followed now more than ever.
Also playing the parts of genuinely good people are the three primary staff members of Thomas Ewen Consolidated High School, who are Ms. Rita Desjardin, Peter Morton, and Henry Grayle played by Amber Midthunder, Tim Bagley, and Matthew Lillard respectively. Even with their own complicated lives and roles within the school system, these three characters end up being absolutely great mentor characters who go out of their way to do what is right, especially for Carrie. And on top of that, they are given really great performances by their respective cast members, especially Matthew Lillard as Henry Grayle, who delivers another phenomenal performance after his amazing work in Flanagan’s previous Stephen King adaptation, The Life of Chuck.
Two characters that serve as corrupting forces for two of our leading characters are the novel-adapted character William “Billy” Nolan and the original-created character Emaline West, played by Arthur Conti and Thalia Dudek, respectively. Billy is a psychotic juvenile delinquent who becomes Chris’s boyfriend, like in the novel, but rather than being strictly reserved as her partner in crime, he also serves as a vessel that brings out her darkness and pushes her further on her self-destructive path.
Playing a similar role for Carrie is the mysterious Emaline, a new friend who is the first to discover her telekinetic powers and encourages her to use it to take control of her life while she begins to nurture the rage that’s already building up inside Carrie, leading to to the inevitable outcome we all know is coming. In a way, both Carrie and Chris find a kind of security with these respective characters, but they also find themselves being corrupted further, which I really liked as it serves as a perfect representation of how the wrong people or crowds can negatively influence the young minds today.
The narrative of this series follows the basic blueprint of the original novel and previous adaptations but chooses to stand out hugely from them with not only its modern updates that enhance the original story elements and themes of the source material but also its new additions and twists that make it feel refreshingly new as opposed to seeing the same story play out the exact same way for a fifth time. Even from the first episode, this adaptation gives glimpses of the fallout of the “Black Prom” event and knows audiences are aware of the story, yet it manages to hook you in with the new changes that actually work really well.
For starters, this adaptation manages to update the story to explore 2020s realities, including social media algorithms, online harassment, smartphone dependency, and digital virality, to enhance the themes of the source material such as adolescent trauma, systematic cruelty, trickle-down abuse, vengeance, abuse of power, religious repression and even the complicity of bystanders. All these themes feel far more relevant now with the modern updates than they did before, which makes the story feel so much more crucial and realistic despite the inclusion of fictional telekinetic powers. The 2013 film adaptation of Carrie attempted to do this, but the execution was horrendously poor and failed to offer anything of value or substance.
Mike Flanagan clearly chose to not make the same mistake by choosing to do a lot of research into modern teen issues and had many female directors and writers hired on to portray these issues in an accurate, respectful and grounded fashion, unlike some shows like Euphoria and 13 Reasons Why that aimed to make exploitative and exaggerated teen dramas for the sake of shock value. Mike Flanagan and his team were able to modernize Stephen King’s story into a highly relevant cautionary tale for current generations that is perfectly executed and I truly applaud the bold approach this adaptation takes with the themes in the modern setting.
However, the changes and expansions from the original novel aren’t just applied to the characters, story, and themes, but they are also applied to the supernatural aspect of the novel involving the telekinetic powers. Rather than treating Carrie’s powers purely as an isolated incident, the series ties her telekinesis into Stephen King’s broader shared universe by exploring the concept that a network of psychic individuals exist out in the world, which is largely based on the novel’s epilogue that indicated that Carrie wasn’t the only person in existence to have these powers. While this isn’t a primary plot thread that the series focuses on, it’s an underlying story that builds up over the course of the series, resulting in some surprising twists and radical new additions to the climactic scenes of the original story that make this adaptation feel different from the others and take things in a bold new direction, similar to IT: Welcome to Derry.
And much like Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining and Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of Doctor Sleep, this adaptation also ends up departing hugely from the ending of the original novel and even previous adaptations by reframing the climax and leaning towards a conclusion that offers a vindictive sense of triumph rather than a somber affair. The tragic and emotional elements are still very present from the original story, but there are some major key changes that were very unexpected and will definitely surprise people who go in expecting the same conclusion.
For some novel purists, Brian De Palma adaptation purists, and incompetent individuals with an extreme lack of media literacy, they will probably hate these key changes to the climax and conclusion, while I on the other welcomed these new changes. It was honestly nice to see a refreshing change from the novel and previous adaptations that, to me, were executed extremely well, offering the chance to tell something different and explore more meaningful and relevant themes that are crucial to current events. Whether this will be pursued in potential other seasons of this adaptation that have been largely talked about and highly hinted at in this series are currently unknown but I am definitely interested to see it be explored if executed well.
From a technical perspective, Mike Flanagan and his team once again create a series that is a visual treat for the eyes with its amazing cinematography, effects, and set pieces that bring the world of Carrie to life in the modern era. This adaptation avoids the dated and dull look of the 2013 film adaptation to offer something that provides a vast array of moods and emotions based entirely on what the characters are enduring in certain scenes. And given that this is still an adaptation of a horror story, Mike Flanagan and his crew find clever ways to inject horror in multiple visual ways that will make you jump out of your seat when you least expect it.
With all of that said, there was one major technical element that I felt was the weakest part of an otherwise flawless series that brings parts of it down hugely and that is the music. The Newton Brothers, who have often been frequent collaborators with Mike Flanagan in his projects, do return to deliver a score for this series, but it gets vastly overshadowed and made to be impossible to remember by an immense usage of licensed songs and needle drops that plagued every single episode. Some of them work and fit in with the mood of the series or certain sequences, but the rest of them feel like such unnecessary additions that make the series feel like a bloody music video at times, which is something I really hated. I do not know if this was Mike Flanagan’s choice or the choice of the directors he hired, but it just felt like a completely poor creative choice that didn’t need to be made.
Aside from that one issue, this adaptation of Carrie is a bold reimagining that ultimately triumphs thanks to strong execution by a truly talented and competent director. This series also proves that there is a right way to make a remake or reimagining of a beloved classic that can be modernized without taking away the core elements of the original story. This series enhanced and improved upon many elements of the novel and past adaptations while also providing something completely new and interesting to be invested in, which is something that should be welcomed when done well and not shunned by people refusing to open up to change. I can completely understand the nostalgic love some people can have for Carrie, whether it be the novel or the Brian De Palma adaptation, but sometimes we need to be open to other artists wanting to offer something new yet relevant in a story we are familiar with, as it could potentially have immense value for us and future generations. I’m going to give Carrie Season 1 an A = 97.
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