What to Watch: Carrie

By Mike Lunsford, Editor-in-Chief, The Great Geek Refuge

When it comes to the story of Carrie White: the quiet, shy girl who becomes the target of bullying and takes her revenge on her classmates, it’s a well-worn path. It makes one wonder why they would even want to make a new version of a story that is baked into our collective pop culture DNA. To put it simply, horror movie and TV series All-Star, Mike Flanagan (Fall of the House of Usher, The Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep) is no stranger to making something old seem new with a unique take on the source material. And as I mentioned after watching Doctor Sleep and reviewing it here, you have the previous versions to contend with. It’s not an easy task. However, just like with Doctor Sleep, Mike Flanagan makes a compelling entry, with plenty of new surprises, new characters and interesting, modern concepts.

Before I dive in to the spoilers, I’ll give you my quick, spoiler-free review: it’s very good, it’s not a rehash of any of the movies, and will leave you wanting more. 8/10 stars. If you go beyond this picture of Matthew Lillard, you’re on your own. I will also give you a trigger warning: I’m going to talk about some very uncomfortable topics in the in-depth review below, specifically school shootings. Be warned, friends. I don’t want you to read something you don’t want to see.

side note: Matthew Lillard getting his flowers has been awesome.

I’ve thrown words on to paper before and given recaps of the premise of movies and TV shows in the past when I wrote reviews. I’m not doing that this time around. Everyone knows the basic premise of Carrie: shy, naive, sheltered Carrie White gets bullied by asshole kids and gets her sweet revenge with her telekinetic powers. Her mom is a crazy, religious zealot, a few people in the school try to be nice to her…it doesn’t help them much. But this series? Man, does this series NAIL the finer points and add some modern aesthetics. It has some social commentary on the state of our country, and our world, and in particular the world of public education in the 21st century.

The 21st-century influence

In the 70s when the book and the movie came out, the idea that a classmate could walk into a school with a firearm and cause mass casualties would seem outlandish. However, in today’s day and age it is a disgusting fact-of-life for school-age children. If you want opinion on this topic that isn’t political? Fucking find another website. One of the greatest failings the United States government has had in the past few decades is sitting by and doing NOTHING when innocent school children never get to return home to their parents because of another mass shooting. I will admit that I am unfamiliar with the horrifying reality that is a lockdown drill as my son is homeschooled. This is showcased in full detail in the first episode of Carrie. And our protagonist, Carrietta White, formerly sheltered and homeschooled, is scared shitless by the drill, ON HER FIRST DAY OF PUBLIC SCHOOL. The other kids make fun of her because of this as they are numb to the fact that they could be a victim at any moment as well. The foreshadowing of this in conjunction with the well known ending of the Carrie novel and movie is not lost on me. Very well done Mr. Flanagan.

Another new take that no property being adapted for the modern day can avoid: the internet and its ceaseless influence on everything. Remember the “plug it up, Carrie White!” scene that is one of the most infamous from the movie? What could possibly have made that worse? Oh, I know! The ability to record it and share it with everyone forever. This gets touched on in the 2013 Chloë Grace Moretz remake, but it takes a leading role in Mr. Flanagan’s version. The bullying that Carrie experiences is amplified by an Instagram account created by lead bully and Mean Girl on steroids, Chris Hargensen (Alison Thornton). That awful moment of fear when Carrie has her first period is turned into a brutal meme account that takes no prisoners, and not just with Carrie. It spreads slander, lies, and rumors about students and faculty. It creates an ever growing tension, anger, distrust and violence at Ewen High School.

Alison Thornton does an excellent job making you hate her

From the other end of the spectrum, the dynamic among Carrie, her mother and her late father shows that the internet affected them as well. Margaret White (Flanagan alum, Samantha Sloyan, Midnight Mass) and her late husband were religious zealots and were staunch followers of internet conspiracy theories. Carrie was never allowed to leave the house, with conversations about chemtrails, the deep state and other popular tin-foil topics a common talking point in the White household. This makes a story about bullying, telekinesis and the first ever blood match not featuring Mick Foley or the Undertaker much more timely and frankly, scarier. We’ve all tried to talk sense to someone who believes these nonsensical things and it is infuriating. But this does something that is often overlooked with the character of Margaret White: it gives her a brand new level of depth and menace. In the original movie, Margaret White is essentially a caricature, but this time around? She is much more menacing, manipulative, and realistic. And she is just a fucking jerk in this show. There’s a scene at her workplace that is gross for no reason other than she sucks as a human being. This is not saying it was extraneous or a critique of its inclusion in the story: it proved a point that she is vindictive and needlessly cruel for her own sick enjoyment.

Margaret White, played by Samantha Sloyan

The stephen king Extended universe?

Whether it’s the MCU or the DCU, everyone’s trying to do a shared universe in their media. Our buddy Mr. King has been doing this for years, with characters from his many novels appearing in other media he is involved in creating. Mike Flanagan makes some changes to the core of the Carrie lore for this series that will allow it to extend past 1 season and the infamous finale at the prom. I’ve read the book, seen most of the movie adaptations, and what happens in this series never happened before.

There’s a part of me that just wants a version of this story where everyone is friends and Carrie isn’t turned into a monster

After an incident where Carrie uses her powers in anger and frustration, we are taken to an institute of some sort where people with similar psychic/telekinetic powers are gathered. They discuss feeling her presence and dealing with it. As I was watching this, I immediately thought of a previous Flanagan/King project, Doctor Sleep. Our boy, Dan Torrence and the young Abra both carry the “shining” gift and it allows them to perform some pretty amazing feats, like telekinesis, astral projection and more. And low and behold, what do we get in the final episode? A quote from one of the mysterious members of this group that solidifies my theory about what’s to come in season 2.

We all shine a little bit - Adelaide “Carrie” episode 8 “AP Physics”

Sneaky…but I saw this coming a mile away as soon as this new, edgy girl named Emmaline showed up. COME ON NOW. A “take no nonsense” archetype shows up, NO ONE ELSE TALKS TO HER OR INTERACTS WITH HER OTHER THAN CARRIE. I did the meme thing.

“SHE’S NOT ACTUALLY THERE! SHE’S ASTRAL PROJECTING!”

But do not take my pattern recognition as an indictment. Just because I see a plot twist coming doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it, and frankly? More Stephen King-inspired shit? A second season? Hell yeah. Bring it on. And now that they are past the original source material? This might as well be a pure Flanagan project that brings in elements of The Shining/Doctor Sleep and many more of the telepathic/telekinetic/pyrokinetic stories of King lore.

Now…there are some changes that happen in the final episode, the prom scene, that change things a bit. But before we get to the prom, let’s talk about another change that fits the times, but also adds a powderkeg element to the situation. In a previous episode, Margaret White outs Chris Hargensen as the creator of the “Carrie Red” Instagram account. Her digital Burn Book as it were, has made the school a ticking time bomb. The vast majority of the student body wish for Chris to be expelled for what she did, with some claiming all of this was free speech…but also pointing out that her gossip and slander was proven to be true in one instance when a teacher is revealed to have had an affair with a 15 year old student, coincidentally a girl named Brooklyn, who is the daughter of the man Chris Hargensen’s mother is dating after leaving Chris’s father.

Is this a lot to follow in a review of a series? Hell yeah it is, but that’s my point. The creative team behind Carrie flesh out a deep, troubling but very real world full of three dimensional characters that feel authentic and realistic. Said teacher ends up committing suicide to escape the shame of his actions. Chris is suspended after she is outed as the creator of the account and her doucebag, lawyer father threatens to sue, trying to at least give Chris the opportunity to graduate and attend prom. The school schedules a mediation session in hopes to find a peaceful solution to all of it. Carrie gave Chris the opportunity to apologize, with Carrie stating that was all she wanted. “Just two words, Chris.” Chris said “Go fuck yourself.” Carrie quipped back, “that’s 3 words, bitch.” When news that Chris will be expelled hits the student body, who have staged a walk out after hearing about the possibility that Chris could return to school, a riot breaks out, with the two sides of the argument attacking each other, and attempting to attack Chris as she tries to flee to a car. Prom is quickly cancelled as the school tries to determine what to do about the situation.

Rita Desjardin, played by Amber Midthunder trying to keep the student body from rioting. I’m not sure why she didn’t just fight the kids herself. She did take down a Predator for crying out loud.

The mediation? The riot? Cancelling prom? This is masterful storytelling from Mike Flanagan and crew. Its Carrie! There has to be a prom, we all know that. But it allows the creative team time to craft a story that means the community wants prom, and it will all seem like a “return to normalcy.” It ups the stakes, adds even more of a ticking-time bomb feeling. Everyone’s guard will be down. ^Chef’s kiss^ well done.

Remember how I mentioned some big changes to the prom scene? Well…all of that extra narrative led to this and some really big plot twists. The original narrative is warped to fit all of these new story elements but not in a forced or contrived way: the riots, the cyber bullying, the strange group of people with telepathic/telekinetic ability, and another group at play: a woman who tried to kill her own daughter because of her incredible powers and urges Margaret White to do the same. All of this comes together in the final episode.

After Chris and her douchey boyfriend Billy dump pig’s blood on Carrie to ruin her Prom Queen victory, the stunned student body stands in silence, then everyone takes out their phones to record the incident, a few smirks and laughs can be heard. Carrie, rightfully so at this point, snaps. She telekinetically explode everyone’s cell phone, the broken glass ripping into the faces and eyes of her classmates. Carrie pulls down the catwalk where Chris and Billy were, accidentally hitting Principal Henry Grayle (Matthew Lillard) with a stage light in the head and killing poor Tommy, her prom date and the Prom King. And…then the big change: Emmaline, via astral projection offers Carrie for her to “take the wheel.” She temporarily possesses Carrie to inflict the worst of the ensuing deadly havoc on her behalf. In my opinion, this changes the story completely. Is this a bad thing? No. I trust Mike Flanagan. He’s proven he knows what he’s doing time and time again…but I didn’t like this twist. Everything up to that point was fine but this I felt was taking away Carrie’s right to choose her path. On top of that, the entire series has had a podcast-like introduction, talking about the long history of women throughout history with telepathic and telekinetic abilities being beaten down by the patriarchy. This move removes Carrie’s agency. Now, Emmaline did give her a choice, but that was manipulative as fuck. She waited until her weakest moment to offer her a “way out.” Additionally, this scene was BRUTAL.

Before I go any further, I have to take my hat off for the performance from Summer H. Howell. She is incredible as Carrie. The casting of her was spot on as she looks so much younger than the other kids at the high school. If you remember back to your high school days, this was accurate as some students still looked like children while others, only a few years older, looked like fully grown adults. OK, back to the recap I said I wouldn’t do…but here we are. What can I say? I love sharing my thoughts with y’all.

Chris and Billy are a good ways away, horrified by the carnage that is befalling the high school. Then, around the bend, they see Carrie covered in blood walking slowly toward them. Billy decides to try and run her over, with Chris intervening to swerve away, but Carrie handles the situation by telekinetically chucking the car across a field. Both Billy and Chris are still alive, but mangled in the car, Billy screaming in pain. I…hate to even say this, but I enjoyed this part as the Billy character is perfectly played by Arthur Conti (Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice). Billy is every sack of shit, edgy, douchebag you knew in high school and into your 20s. He says mysterious, dark things, thinking he’s intelligent, has a trailer full of exotic animals and thinks he has the world all figured out, in the most annoying, whiney voice possible. Conti nailed this character. And hearing Billy scream in pain was…ashamedly satisfying. Carrie crushes Billy with the roof of the car, sandwiching him to death.

Now…the Mean Girl Supreme herself, the cause of this whole story, Chris Hargensen is still alive and looks at Carrie, covered in blood. The tension is incredibly well handled here as the two girls, who just weeks before sat across a table in a mediation session to try and solve their problem, face each other again. Now, staring each other down in a field, Chris, clinging to life, tries to apologize to Carrie and as soon as the words are out of her mouth, she crushes Chris with the car as well.

Carrie is both horrified and strangely elated by what she’s done. But she just feels horror when Emmaline poofs and vanishes, and Carrie realizes what she’s done to the town and all of her classmates. Limping home, she embraces her fearful mother in tears as you can hear the explosions and sirens in the distance. At this point in the story, Carrie has already used her powers on her mother, completely flipping the power dynamic on the verbally abusive and manipulative mother. In fact, as mentioned previously, Margaret goes on that damned internet and finds other mothers who have had similar experiences and meets one in a cafe (Katie Sackhoff The Mandalorian). Amanda West tells Margaret how her own daughter developed powers and insinuates that she killed her without actually coming out and saying it. When she tells Margaret that she must kill her daughter to stop her, Margaret leaves the cafe in disgust.

Margaret takes Carrie upstairs and bathes her, doting on her daughter, seemingly. The two retreat to their prayer closet after Carrie admits her part in the chaos. For a moment, you see her mother tell her she is worthy of forgiveness as Carrie prays…but she also pulls a knitting needle and stabs Carrie in the ear, attempting to puncture her brain, piercing her eardrum in the process. This scene is played so well by Samantha Sloyan as you can see the conflict within her, loving her daughter but also being terrified and feeling that killing her is the only answer. The brutal final fight between mother and daughter plays out, with some new wrinkles: neither of them die. Carrie is rescued by the real Emmaline and Margaret shows she has some of the same abilities Carrie has, telekinetically keeping the rubble of the house from crushing her. Both seemingly survive the horrific fight until a brand new story element is revealed.

This woman…is frightening.

The entire series is done frame story style: the beginning seemingly a documentary or podcast series about the events of the Ewen Prom Massacre. Each episode has an introductory voice over, featuring a woman’s voice discussing how women with mysterious powers have been treated as witches and burned at the stake, sent to insane asylums, tortured, beaten, and overall abused for centuries. In the final episode, it is revealed that the mysterious group of gifted folks is led by the woman behind the interviews and voice overs. Her name is Adelaide (played by Mike Flanagan’s wife, Kate Siegal). She interviews Sue Snell, one of Carrie’s only friends in the story and uses her powers to convince Sue that she didn’t see anyone else, after Sue reveals she saw mysterious people at the prom. And our dear, sweet, pasty friend Margaret White? Oh…you know…the interviewer STOPS HER HEART WITH HER TELEPATHIC ABILITIES. So, just like in all other versions, Margaret White dies, but holy shit did this take a plot twist.

Now, on to our protagonist: Carrie White. We see her in a car with Emmaline, who refuses to tell Carrie where they are or where they’re going in fear that she may broadcast that information and they will be found. Emmaline tells Carrie “you are a god!” trying to show Carrie that she is here to help her as they flee. She is now confident with her powers, her moral compass is broken, and we can only hope that there’s something left of the sweet girl we met earlier in the series who loved to read and didn’t want to hurt anyone. She is also in the middle of a tug-of-war of sorts: there’s the group trying to kill her, there’s the mysterious interviewer. Is Emmaline part of her group? Is she a rogue agent? There are so many possibilities.

Before I close this article out, I want to make sure I call out the incredible performances from Amber Midthunder as sympathetic gym teacher Rita Desjardin, Matthew Lillard as Principal Henry Grayle, and Siena Agudong who plays Sue Snell. While not mentioned above, the role of Sue as someone who tries to be a decent person to Carrie, who helps her while she tries to acclimate to public school but, and might I add, incredibly realistically engages in some of the bullying, name-calling and being a selfish, horny teenager at times, is a crucial part of the Carrie story framework, and Agudong does a great job in carrying this supporting role.

She ends up being a sort of conscience for all of us when she calls out “I felt like I was looking at a child, like my little sister,” recalling the first day she saw Carrie

“She was fucked, I could tell right away, because she was kind…was kind for the purpose of being kind, not performative.”

This is the world we live in, and Sue Snell turns the mirror back on us: a sheltered, kind child is abused, tormented, assaulted because in the world of Ewen High School? Kindness is not a virtue, it’s a weakness. They pushed and pushed while beleaguered, exhausted teachers try to keep the peace and try to live their own lives, while also having to worry about bullying from the student body themselves.

While not 100% happy with the choices of the plot shift, it makes sense for what they’re trying to do, and it fits in perfectly with the Stephen King Extended Universe concept. Much like Carrie White, who is now free of her repressive mother, the cruelty of bullying at school, Mike Flanagan has the freedom to take this story where ever he sees fit. It’s an open road for where season 2 and beyond goes. I’m here for it, especially as Flanagan has stated this is leading to the Stephen King Multiverse opus: The Dark Tower.