Was the world really in dire need of yet another adaptation of Carrie? It’s a fair question, especially since the very first crack at Stephen King’s debut novel ended up being Brian De Palma’s undisputed classic that set the bar for virtually every King adaptation since. However, while we’ve had a random sequel, a failed TV pilot and a glossy, 2013 remake, it seems that the one-man King adapting machine we know as Mike Flanagan wants to take another shot at the eponymous telekinetic – which raises a few more alarm bells.
No stranger to adapting King’s more tougher works, Flanagan seems to have found his niche with more off-beat entries into the King cannon such as Doctor Sleep, Gerald’s Game and The Life Of Chuck. However, I couldn’t help be disturbed by the fact that the writer/director was turning his eye from untouched properties to stories that already have been told (Flanagan’s take on The Mist is also incoming). With Amazon bankrolling an 8 episode Carrie show, can Flanagan somehow find fresh ground for the vengeful teenage icon, or will this new “Carrie on” be for naught?
After the devestating fire that tore through the town of Chamberlain, we watch various survivors and eye witnesses give their accounts of the disaster that seemingly began in the gym of Ewen High School and claimed around 200 lives as it headed towards the home of one Carietta White. The various testimonies tend to vary, especially considering public opinion concerning young “Carrie” herself, but as we rewind the clock to see what actually happened, everything that’s transpired kicked off with the fatal workplace accident that claimed the life of Ralph White.
In the event of the freak occurance, authorities enter the home of the exceedingly private man expecting it to be empty, but instead they find his wife, Margret White, and his young daughter, Carrie, hiding in the closet from the intruders. It seems that the parents were essentially Christian fanatics who have tried to live in total seclusion from the sinful outside world, but if Margret wants to keep custody of a homeschooled daughter who doesn’t even have a birth certificate, she’s going to have to get a job and Carrie has to endure high school. However, while this must seem impossibly imposing to a sophomore who’s never left her house other than to go in the garden, Carrie initially tackles the prospect of a whole new experience with giddy optimism. However the grim reality of metal detectors at the main entrance, school shooting drills and incredulous mean girls who can’t believe Carrie’s never even touched a computer, let alone have a Tiktok account, soon starts to wear her cheerful, kind nature down.
But while fellow student Sue Snell vainly attempts to make Carrie feel welcome, her friend, Chris Hargensen, seems to want to take her family’s recent misfortunes out on this perpetually wide-eyed newcomer. Matters reach critical mass when Carrie gets her first period with the slightest clue as to what it means, but as her fear and shame seems to trigger some sort of metaphysical event, there are others like her who pick up on her psychic trauma.
I have to say, while I’d trust virtually any Stephen King’s adaptation in the hands of Flanagan, when I first heard that he’d be adapting Carrie for an Amazon show I felt my heart sink. Firstly, the original 1976 Carrie is as good an adaption as you’re ever likely to get as it’s gaudily grim grand guignol alternated expertly between teen tragedy and spectacular revenge in a way that only De Palma could pull off. But secondly, I was hoping that Flanagan would continue to hoover up any remaining King books still bereft of an adaptation as the sad story of Carrie White has been replayed over and over again. So it seemed that this show had two main problems to overcome: could it justify it’s existence while making believers out of those who still cling tightly the the original?
Well, with only one episode in the bag so far, it’s quite nice to report that it’s so far so good, as the director has found enough new ground to cover to bring the tale up to date while dutifully sticking to the basics. The themes of bullying and high-school being a brutal hellscape for anyone unfortunate enough to be different are still present, but Flanagan inflicts all the modern stress that students have to endure on White too, such as the pressures of social media and the ever present threat of shootings. It’s bad enough that average kids have to grow up with such things hanging over their heads, but for someone who has had such a secluded life as Carrie, it’s nothing short of overwhelming. However, some of the other changes made in the first episode hint that Flanagan has things well in hand.
While Carrie herself still isn’t the pimply, overweight, homely girl of King’s novel, rather than making her a bundle of awkwardness, Summer H. Howell’s version is one who has been blessed/cursed with an impossible, upbeat kindness and initially sees high-school as an adventure to be savored. Of course this means she’s doubly unprepared when reality sinks it’s teeth in, but while Howell seems incredibly well cast, Samantha Sloyan’s Margaret has a few interesting changes of her own to navigate when having to match the iconic religious fervour of Piper Laurie. While the White partiarch is still highly suspicious of a world she deems godless, there’s a sense of genuine love for her daughter that goes beyond the frenzied abuse of previous incarnations. Obviously, Flanagan fans (Fan-agans?) will be familiar with Sloyan’s work thanks to her collection of past harridans from the likes of Midnight Mass and Fall Of The House Of Usher – but those more used to Laurie’s unbound mania will be surprised to see such a layered take.
Obviously, familiar beats are tackled and the fact that the episode is interspersed with flash forwards hinting at the death and destruction to come, it seems that not everything will stick to King’s source material. Obviously the infamous “plug it up” scene closes out the first episode in a far more tasteful variation than De Palma’s more salacious version, and yet somehow the sight of menstrual blood on Carrie’s pure white trousers is just as mortifying as seeing it course down Sissy Spacek’s legs. However, a curious, added subplot that includes a type of Xavier School For Gifted Youngsters style gathering of other telekinetics suggests that the climactic carnage may not have been completely Carrie’s doing. While this shift initially seems to be a change too far that’s obviously pushing for a second season which expands the universe, I’m not going to discount Flanagan’s decision while theres a full seven episodes still to go to explain it away better.
Flanagan’s take on Carrie gets off to a incredibly promising start, with the vast majority of the changes and updates making a lot of sense. Whether or not the writer/director can manage to stretch the story to the required length remains to be seen, but on the strength of “First Period” alone (brutal titling, Mike), all the alterations and updating seems to be working out just fine. Well, not particularly fine for Carrie herself, but we’re certainly off to a bleeding good start.
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Where to watch Carrie – Season 1, Episode 1: First Period: