Why Mike Flanagn’s Carrie falls flat
By Flora Irvine-Hall
The new Prime series leaves a lot to be desired
When it was first announced we were going to be getting yet another Carrie adaptation, I was rather sceptical.
But after hearing some rave reviews, and being a fan of Mike Flanagan's previous work, I decided to be more optimistic and go in with an open mind.
Sadly, it turns out I was right to be sceptical.
What’s frustrating, is that show starts off fairly strong. The cast is talented and the writing is both compelling and grounded.
As the series on though, it becomes that instead of an adaptation, this should have been an original show.
It’s understandable that Flannagan didn’t want to create a shot-for-shot recreation of previous adaptations, and some material that works on the page doesn’t work on the screen, but when you start giving characters major personality transplants, introducing insufferable and unneeded new characters and going in completely bonkers directions, it leaves Stephen King fans like me feeling rather disgruntled.
I fear that Flanagan has a misunderstanding of what makes Carrie so horrifying. It’s not just a story about a bullied and abused girl with telekinetic powers, it’s a piece of fiction that makes us question our empathy, and how a lack of it can turn into something deadly.
Carrie White is a sympathetic and tragic character. But she’s also complex and harbours lots of resentment. The infamous Prom scene is supposed to be horrifying. After one night of happiness is brutally ripped away from her, a vulnerable teenage girl finally snaps and turns into a monster. In Flanagan’s adaptation, it’s less heartbreaking and more so of a girl boss moment. And without wanting to go into major spoiler territory, in the show, the scene strips of Carrie of any responsibility in the massacre. It’s clear the show is frightened of making Carrie the villain, and this fear takes away the tragedy of the story.
And while I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Why are we so afraid of casting a plus-size and non- conventionally attractive Carrie? While she was also bullied for being odd, a large part of why she faced so much torment was because of her appearance. This goes back to what I was saying earlier, it’s easy to feel sorry for a someone slim and pretty, but what if they don’t meet societal beauty standards? Does our empathy suddenly fall short? It’s an uncomfortable question, but a question we need to think about.
This is not to say the show is terrible. Summer H. Howell, who plays the titular role certainly has a strong future in horror, and the first episode is genuinely enjoyable. But what should feel like a psychological horror feels more like a Stranger Things rip-off.
If this is what other Carrie adaptations are going to be like, I certainly hope this is the last.
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