Stephen King’s ‘Carrie’ gets updated spin with Mike Flanagan’s bold take on classic story

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Mike Flanagan’s new project “Carrie” appears likely to make some waves.

Basic info:

Plot: Misfit high‑schooler Carrie White (Summer H. Howell) has spent her life hidden away inside the walls of her home with her fiercely protective mother, Margaret (Samantha Sloyan). After her father’s sudden, untimely death thrusts her into the unforgiving ecosystem of public high school, Carrie is forced to navigate a viral bullying scandal that tears through her community, the relentless pressure and casual cruelty of the social‑media age, and the awakening of mysterious telekinetic powers that rise alongside her adolescence.
Cast: Summer H. Howell, Samantha Sloyan, Siena Agudong, Alison Thornton and Joel Oulette.
Source material: Book written by Stephen King
Developer and showrunner: Mike Flanagan
All episodes currently streaming

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Mike Flanagan is a legendary name in the horror genre, and unlike your typical slasher and gore content, his horror stories generally tell very complex stories that play out over a lengthy period of time.

Below are his notable series:

The Haunting of Hill House
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Midnight Mass (My personal favorite of his work.)
The Midnight Club
The Fall of the House of Usher

Flanagan reached a deal in 2022 to jump from Netflix to Amazon Studios (“The Fall of the House of Usher” was his final Netflix product), and “Carrie” is his first show for the company.

Now, to be clear, I have never read the book written by Stephen King or seen any of the movies or TV products that were created.

I know the 1976 film is considered a classic in the horror genre, and I understand the basic plot premise of a young woman ultimately terrorizing the people around her.

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I went into the premiere of “Carrie” more or less completely blind outside of the stated facts above, and as you all know, I prefer it that way most of the time.

The series isn’t a linear timeline through the premiere episode. It jumps between Carrie’s introduction to being forced into a public school following her father’s death and people being interviewed in a later timeline after some kind of horrific tragedy.

In the school timeline Carrie is an isolated and shielded child struggling with her father’s death and essentially thrown to the wolves at school. She’s completely unprepared for the shift of not knowing much about the outside world to be bullied and traumatized by a school shooting drill.

There’s immediate signs of paranormal capabilities that nobody, Carrie included, have a handle on. In the later timeline, viewers don’t see Carrie at all.

There are only traumatized survivors, clear indications that a violent event has occurred and confirmed deaths of characters introduced in the premiere.

Personally, I like the creative choice from Flanagan. It sets the stage to see Carrie’s arc from innocent child to someone who plays a pivotal role (although, seemingly not alone based on what is shown in the premiere) of a live-altering event.

One of the most interesting choices from Flanagan is that in the later timeline with the interviews, Carrie isn’t painted as a villain by anyone.

That would seem to indicate she will continue to be a sympathetic figure throughout season one. It will be fascinating to see that continue to unfold. I will tell you there are some painfully uncomfortable scenes in the premiere, especially one in a locker room, that are a bit difficult to sit through but do provide specific plot purposes.

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Summer H. Howell stars as Carrie in the new series

Through the premiere of “Carrie,” I think it’s safe to say Flanagan’s first TV production since 2023 is going to spin up viewers just like all his previous works. The man has a grip on the genre, and appears primed to deliver again. Are you already watching? Let me know your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.

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