‘Carrie’ Review: Mike Flanagan’s Brings Us a Near-Perfect Stephen King Adaptation

Stephen King’s story of a young sheltered girl with other wordly abilities has inspired audiences since its release in 1974. Carrie told the story of Carrie White, a girl forced to go to public school despite her strict religious upbringing. In the new Mike Flanagan adaptation, Carrie (Summer H. Howell) goes to school after the death of her father (Tahmoh Penikett) and is thrown into the reality of a modern day hell (high school).

Flanagan, who has adapted King stories in the past, takes on one of this most beloved stories. Carrie was adapted into the iconic Sissy Spacek movie only two years after the novel’s release. Since, we’ve had multiple adaptations, an ill-received sequel, and now the Flanagan television series. But as is the way with any show by Mike Flanagan and company, there is something special in his take on Carrie White and her telekinetic powers.

Following a bit more closely to King’s novel, the Prime Video series works hard to make even those who have seen Carrie as a villain in past adaptations question why they think that way. Not that I relate, I have always been Team Carrie, but there are those who do not see the aftermath of Carrie’s prom as a hero origin story. Still, Flanagan went into this show without seeking out to make his characters monsters and it works to make this particular foray into Carrie one that is a must-see.

Bullying unfortunately never goes out of style

There are a lot of reasons why Carrie has always been timely. A lot of it is sad and connects back to the fact that bullying never really stops. It doesn’t matter what year you went to high school, you probably saw bullying happening or experienced it yourself. If not, you were maybe the bully. But it is something that kids lean towards. Picking on the “weird” kid is funnier than ignoring them. With Carrie, Flanagan and his team of writers make the bullying a little more complicated than just a kid getting teased.

Introducing social media into the world of Carrie White does add layers to what Carrie is going through. Mix that with Chris Hargensen (Alison Thornton) using Carrie as her punching bag because of issues in her own family life and it turns this show into a character study more than just a horrifying tale of what bullying can do.

Mother/daughter relationships are complicated

More often than not, Margaret White (Samantha Sloyan) is more of a bully to Carrie than any of the ones she faces at school. Her need to control Carrie’s life as a way of “protecting” her leads to Carrie’s repressed anger. Sloyan and Flanagan though have made Margaret someone who is misguided in how she tries to “protect” her daughter and doesn’t mean to hurt her in the process. Even when she does, it is clear that this Margaret White is operating from a place of love instead of some monstrous need to shelter Carrie.

For once, these two characters both feel like one that, in another world, would have a better relationship. Part of that comes down to how Margaret responds to the bullying and how teenage Carrie pushes back on her mom but there is still a sad hope to their dynamic that would be so incredibly beautiful to explore if Margaret White wasn’t hurting her daughter and Carrie had a different childhood.

Never have I watched a version of Carrie and cared about what Margaret White thought or did. She was always a villain to me, much more so than Carrie ever was. But in Flanagan’s world, their relationship is much more complicated and it makes this story that much more tragic in the end.

Female rage is exactly what we need right now

Carrie has always been a story about female rage and what can happen when it is let go. It is far from the only story exploring this but I would argue that Carrie‘s lasting power is that it is one of the few that really understands how our rage comes to a boil and then is uncontrollable. Releasing this show in 2026 with the news being what it is makes Carrie the perfect show to watch.

So often, depictions of female rage gets labeled a “villain” story. It is why many don’t see Carrie White as a heroic character and while I have my problems with people viewing her that way, I do love that Flanagan allows his take on Carrie to have her rage and still be a character we can all love. Howell’s performance helps in making Carrie just a sweet girl trying to belong and it all makes this adaptation more than just a rince, wash, repeat of ones we’ve seen in the past.

Beautiful, iconic, and why we love Mike Flanagan and his adaptations, you can see Carrie on Prime Video on October 7.