Director Mike Flanagan’s TV-series remake of Carrie is a daring take on the well-known story. If you are a major fan of the 1976 Brian De Palma film adaptation, Flanagan’s eight-episode Amazon Prime series might irk you.
There are BIG changes compared to the 1976 movie, with some of those changes rooted in King’s novel, which was very different from the first movie.
In King’s novel, Carrie White was perhaps not alone—there may have been others with similar telekinetic powers—something the De Palma film (and the weaker 2013 remake) didn’t really cover. Additionally, other novels in the King universe expanded upon the telekinetic concepts introduced in Carrie. Flanagan definitely pays attention to all of this in his take, and it dramatically shifts major events.
Carrie (played beautifully by Summer H. Howell), after the death of her father and being homeschooled for many years, is forced to attend public school, where she’s the victim of merciless bullying. Some of the things that happen to her in the 1976 film, including the infamous shower scene, still happen—but are now heightened by social media and cell-phone cameras.
With almost eight hours of showtime to get to know Carrie, this is easily the most well-developed, deep take on her since Sissy Spacek’s ’76 portrayal. Howell makes you want to jump into the screen and protect her.
Margaret White (Samantha Sloyan), Carrie’s mom, is still portrayed as a religious zealot, but she’s a little more grounded than Piper Laurie’s maniacal take in De Palma’s film. Incensed by the treatment of her daughter in high school, Margaret demands repeated sit-downs with the principal (an excellent Matthew Lillard) and eventually creates a social-media frenzy to counter the one attacking her daughter. It’s an interesting and effective evolution of the character.
Everything leads up to that blasted, bloody prom. The two antagonists—Carrie’s arch nemesis, Chris (Alison Thornton), and her druggie boyfriend, Billy (Arthur Conti)—still dump that bucket of pig’s blood on Carrie, and Carrie still reacts in a way that is not remotely passive. The biggest change occurs here—and I was momentarily put off by it. But after re-watching it and considering some of the themes in King’s original, I wound up liking the revision. Hey, why remake something if you are just going to do the same thing all over again?
Stephen King himself is 100% on board with this newer, longer, revisionist take on the Carrie character; he even acts as an executive producer. He’s excited, and I’m excited, too.
Flanagan has said on the press tour that he sees this latest incarnation of Carrie as a three-season trilogy. Howell’s performance is so compelling that I find myself more than open to a further exploration of the character—something at which the last episode clearly hints.
This is just one of many King adaptations from Flanagan. He’s already made Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep and the tragically overlooked The Life of Chuck, with remakes of The Mist and The Dark Tower likely on the horizon.