Carrie review: "Mike Flanagan breathes new life into the classic Stephen King story"

"Hell is a teenage girl," said Amanda Seyfried's Needy in the 2009 horror Jennifer's Body, and that has never been more true than today. With a pocket-sized portal to the entire world, young minds are being flooded with harmful content on top of the everyday stresses that come with being a teenager. The Carrie series covers all that and more, which is something creator Mike Flanagan is championing. Indeed, in a letter to critics, he wrote that being a parent to a teen was one of the driving factors behind his involvement in the show.

Based on Stephen King's beloved 1974 novel Carrie, the series brings the cautionary tale to the modern age, following Summer Howell's misfit high‑schooler Carrie White. After spending her whole life locked away by her devoutly religious mother and conspiracy theorist father, Carrie is quite literally an alien to the outside world. So when she is flung into a nearby high school, she quickly becomes bait to the teenage piranhas that roam the halls.

It's fair to say that most horror fans will be well-versed in Carrie's sad story and how she finally stuck it to her bullies thanks to her telekinetic powers. But Flanagan's take goes even further, bringing to light some of the biggest issues we have today. Matthew Lillard's Principal Grayle embodies the frustrations faced by struggling public schools, and Alison Thornton's Bully Chris Hargensen is the poster child for permissive parenting. The show does often suffer from the YA series effect, feeling a little cringe at times, but there's no denying that, just like last year's hit Netflix show Adolescence, Carrie feels like mandatory viewing for parents.

A fresh take

When I first heard that Stephen King's Carrie was being adapted again, I wondered, 'Why?' The 1976 movie still holds up pretty well. Hell, I even have a soft spot for the 2013 Chloe Moretz starrer. But the world has undergone a lot of change. I immediately felt very protective of Howell's Carrie. When Howell was first cast as Carrie, some fans were not immediately won over. In the book, Carrie is described as 'chunky' with acne and greasy hair, which Howell is not. But her performance is deeply moving.

Howell adds a lot of personality and humanity to the character, who has historically been presented as a socially awkward caricature. But Howell's Carrie isn't as over the top. She is less of the blood-stained Halloween costume and more the doe-eyed new girl we can all relate to. She is sweet, but she isn't foolish. Howell's gentle approach to Carrie had me cheering her on, which made seeing her so quickly broken down even more heartbreaking.

The show too explores the idea that bullying continues to mutate in the world of social media. In one scene, Tim Bagley's Mr Brigham reflects on how in the ‘70s he was picked on for being gay, whereas kids who, in the past, would have been viewed as 'different' are now seemingly free to express themselves at school. But these days anyone can be a victim. When Chris is asked why she targets Carrie, she responds, "She's weird, and she pissed me off." Along the way, the show becomes less about Carrie's torment and more about how one Instagram account can destroy a whole community. The show tackles extremely strong themes, such as the strain on public schooling and teachers, drug use, and even suicide.

Expanding King's world

Thanks to the show's eight-episode format, Flanagan is able to expand on Carrie's world in a way that past movie adaptations were not able to. The new series allows us to spend more time with other characters such as Carrie's bully Chris, who is very much a product of her privileged upbringing and is taking her collapsing personal life out on the weakest target. There's also Carrie's mother, the very complicated Margaret White. On the one hand, she has mentally and physically abused Carrie for her entire life, keeping her locked up like Rapunzel. But Samantha Sloyan's portrayal invites us to see Margaret in a different light. In many ways, Margaret is also a victim, controlled by her husband, who was a rampant conspiracy theorist.

However, it would have added to the story further if we were able to spend more time on Carrie's father and his impact on the family. Despite being mentioned in the novel, Ralph White dies before Carrie is born and is absent from many of the film adaptations too. So, when I pressed play on the new show, I was shocked to see Ralph alive. At the start, we get the sense that Ralph has some strong views and engages with anti-feminist content. It would have painted a more vivid picture of Carrie's strange upbringing if the show had taken advantage of its almost 8-hour length and focused more on Carrie's home life and less on a confusing new subplot.

A sizzle, not a bang

When the first Carrie trailer was shown at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, I had a feeling that this wasn't going to be a straight-shooting adaptation. Though the show delivers most of the book's most memorable moments, like the bathroom scene and the prom night from hell, it also introduces a subplot that expands on the original story. The adaptation threads in tales of women experiencing telekinesis, and asks 'What if there are more people out there like Carrie?' It is obvious that Flanagan is using this as a springboard to build on the original story, just like his 2019 movie Doctor Sleep does with The Shining.

Because of this, the fiery finale I had been waiting for failed to deliver on the level of intensity that most Flanagan shows exhibit. As well as the prom scene being foreshadowed earlier on in the show, which ruins the penny drop for new fans, Carrie's initial revenge feels a little rushed. We won't get into spoilers here, but a large part of the show's third act seems more concerned with setting up more seasons than concluding Carrie's story. To be honest, I was expecting a little more carnage.

If you are looking for a color-by-numbers Carrie adaptation, then you may be disappointed. The show clearly intends to break away from King's original tale by raising extremely important issues we need to be discussing right now. And although the first season of Carrie would have worked better as a limited series, I am still excited to see where Flanagan takes it next.

Carrie premieres on Prime Video on October 7. For more, check out our list of the best Stephen King adaptations and keep up with new Stephen King movies and shows on the way.