When news dropped about Amazon Prime commissioning Stephen King’s Carrie to be adapted (again), this time for a TV series (again?!), questions and doubts surged. Mike Flanagan’s name attached to the production no doubt assuaged fears, but would his first collaboration with Amazon Prime live up to his previous works? I can now safely say that yes, it does. Carrie succeeds greatly, not just because it’s a good adaptation, but because it reimagines the eponymous heroine in 2020s America – and that is its true horror.
Compared to the book, the Whites have a totally new origin – they are posited as a “cult of three” discovered by the state after the somewhat supernatural death of father Ralph White. As a result of his loner legacy – according to his co-workers – wife Margaret and daughter Carrie, who social services place under intense scrutiny, are required to step out into the great big world – the former with employment and the other with public education. However, they approach this in different ways: Carrie (played with gravitas by Summer H. Howell) has her eyes and heart wide open, while Margaret (expertly cast Samantha Sloyan) is ingrained with political rather than religious fanaticism, and utterly consumed by her daughter – not out of hate, but out of love. The result is something between cruelty and kindness, amplified by the use of newer tools/weapons for bullying as Carrie attempts to integrate the public schooling system – social media, and a touch of realism from real-life cases dotted into the narrative. It isn’t long before her infamous telekinetic power rears its (ugly?) head.
In this rendition, the book’s set pieces, from the locker room scene to the Black Prom itself, often falter – naturally, expectations must be tempered with every new reimagining. However, Flanagan more than makes up for it with new, heart-breaking scenes that shape the vitriol towards his iteration of Chris Hargensen, played by Alison Thornton. One of his distinct strengths is in crafting his antagonists – he showcases brilliantly the humanity that factors into their decisions, that makes them understandable yet irredeemable at the same time. Carrie also succeeds because it has a distinctly feminine perspective, both onscreen and behind the scenes, from the women who directed many of the episodes (including Kyra Sedgwick) through to the group led by Kate Siegel’s character and Thalia Dudek’s Emaline, a new addition to the Carrie universe (and probably a larger role in the now confirmed season two). While a few of these newer changes might hinder the pacing of the season when watching from a standalone perspective, these are exciting breadcrumbs that make you wonder (and worry) as to what could possibly be worse after the Black Prom. In this respect, it is safe to say that Carrie is Flanagan’s latest triumph and a new lease of life (no pun intended) for the girl who kickstarted an entire literary universe. Only time will tell as to whether she is someone we’re supposed to root for or fear with our entire being.
Mike Flanagan’s Carrie is currently on Prime.
