From Slate Magazine · Jack Hamilton · · 1m 20s
Carrie's New Prime Video Adaptation
Mike Flanagan's Carrie miniseries reimagines Stephen King's classic with modern twists for Amazon Prime Video.
In brief
Mike Flanagan's Carrie miniseries reimagines Stephen King's classic with modern twists for Amazon Prime Video. Mike Flanagan's new Carrie miniseries on Amazon Prime Video updates Stephen King's 1974 novel with social media and modern high school dynamics. Originally reported by Slate Magazine.
Stephen King's Carrie
I first learned about menstruation from Stephen King's Carrie when I started sixth grade.
“I had just started sixth grade, at a new middle school with a library full of books that would have never been allowed on the shelves of my elementary school.”
Carrie's Adaptation History
Carrie has been adapted multiple times since 1976, including a 1999 sequel, 2002 TV movie, and 2013 remake.
“There was a misbegotten 1999 sequel entitled The Rage: Carrie 2, a 2002 made-for-TV movie that was watered down enough to air on NBC, and a poorly received 2013 theatrical remake by Boys Don’t Cry director Kimberly Peirce.”
Mike Flanagan's New Series
Mike Flanagan's Carrie miniseries begins streaming on Amazon Prime Video on Wednesday.
“Mike Flanagan, the crack horror auteur who, through films like Gerald’s Game and The Life of Chuck, has also proved himself to be this century’s premier King adapter, now takes his own run at Carrie, in a new miniseries that begins streaming on Amazon Prime Video on Wednesday.”
Modernized Story
Flanagan updates Carrie White’s story to the present day with smartphones and social media.
“Flanagan’s series moves King’s original story from the 1970s into the present day, meaning that Carrie White and her mother Margaret now live in an age of smartphones, wannabe influencers, and internet-driven conspiracy theories.”
Character Development
Summer H. Howell plays Carrie as shy but naturally sunny, with more depth than the book.
“Howell’s Carrie is far more influenced by Sissy Spacek’s turn in De Palma’s film than by King’s book, in which Carrie White is depicted as overweight, acne-ridden, and debilitatingly awkward.”
Feminist Perspective
Flanagan’s adaptation links Carrie to a history of gifted women being demonized or dismissed.
“Flanagan’s is also the most explicitly feminist adaptation of Carrie to date, repeatedly linking Carrie to a long (and admittedly speculative) history of similarly gifted women being either demonized as witches or dismissed as frauds.”
Carrie's Mother
Samantha Sloyan portrays Margaret White as a repressed, paranoid religious zealot.
“Sloyan’s Margaret retains some of these qualities but is a startlingly rich character, a woman trying to shield her daughter from the many evils of the modern world while also being, inextricably, drawn toward some of those vices herself.”
Director's Background
Flanagan previously worked on Netflix shows like The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass.
“Fans of Flanagan’s past work, particularly his excellent Netflix shows like The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass, won’t be surprised to see many of the director’s familiar faces here, including Rahul Kohli, Michael Trucco, and Kate Siegel.”
Series Length
The miniseries runs eight episodes, with potential for two additional seasons.
“Carrie is Flanagan’s first series for Amazon, where he recently signed an exclusive multiyear deal after a prolific and much-lauded tenure at Netflix. He also revealed in a recent interview that he hopes to keep the show going for an additional two seasons, a possibility that the eighth episode’s ending certainly leaves open.”
Critique
Some episodes feel slow, and the adaptation takes creative liberties that may divide viewers.
“The middle episodes spin their wheels at times, suggesting that the show might have worked better over five or six episodes instead of eight. The excess length also makes the show’s depictions of high school melodrama start to feel a bit too much like narrative melodrama.”
The takeaway
Mike Flanagan's new Carrie miniseries on Amazon Prime Video updates Stephen King's 1974 novel with social media and modern high school dynamics.
