In a sentenceEight episodes of Carrie, and the girl at the centre still has to do most of the work
Carrie follows Carrie White (Summer H. Howell), who wants a friend and instead finds herself facing a fight. Samantha Sloyan plays Margaret White, with Siena Agudong as Sue Snell and Alison Thornton as Chris Hargensen. Joel Oulette plays Tommy Ross, while Amber Midthunder appears as Miss Desjardin and Matthew Lillard as Principal Grayle. Josie Totah plays Tina Blake, Arthur Conti plays Billy Nolan and Thalia Dudek plays Emaline West. Created by Mike Flanagan, the eight-episode series adapts Stephen King’s novel.
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Summer H. Howell makes Carrie worth caring about, but Mike Flanagan’s eight-episode adaptation is too gentle to frighten consistently. Its teenage drama has feeling; the extra storylines and lectures too often get in the way.
Carrie is worth considering for Summer H. Howell, but its eight-episode expansion gives us too much explanation and too little fear. Created by Mike Flanagan from Stephen King’s novel, the series takes a gentle approach to a story of cruelty. Giving a vulnerable teenager more room to be understood is a reasonable use of television. Here, the softer treatment reduces the threat around Carrie, while the additional storylines do not consistently earn their space. The result is a decent character drama that keeps struggling with the demands of horror.
Summer H. Howell gives Carrie White enough personality to make that struggle worth following. We were moved by Carrie’s wish for a friend. Summer H. Howell makes that modest hope feel important, and keeps the character from becoming merely someone for the story to punish. Her performance is vulnerable without becoming blank, and the teenage drama benefits from the sense that Carrie has an inner life worth attending to. It is the main reason to stay with a series whose diversions repeatedly pull attention away from its most persuasive character.
Samantha Sloyan gives Margaret White a presence strong enough to hold attention alongside Summer H. Howell. The softer treatment of the character is more questionable than the performance. A more sympathetic treatment could still have made her frightening, but here it keeps reducing the threat. The series means well by its characters, and its tenderness sometimes produces affecting drama. Too often, though, it makes encounters less troubling when the story needs us to feel how difficult they are for Carrie.
Mike Flanagan shares the editing credit with Brett W. Bachman, and the pacing is where the longer format begins to hurt. The additional storylines often feel like interruptions rather than reasons to spend more time with these people. Eight episodes allow a drama to follow a thought beyond the point a film would have to leave it. Here, too much of that room goes to explaining what the central performance has already made clear. The preachier passages make the series feel longer without making its characters much more interesting.
Michael Fimognari and Michael Wale are responsible for the cinematography, Tony Wohlgemuth for the production design, and Taylor Stewart and Andrew Grush for the music. But the lack of sustained fear starts with how the characters are written. The more sympathetic treatment leaves less cruelty for the images and music to make us dread. There are unsettling moments, but they do not establish the pressure that this sort of story requires over eight episodes. The writing keeps easing that pressure when it ought to be allowing it to accumulate.
As horror, Carrie is less convincing than it is as a teenage drama. Its interest in emotional injury is worthwhile, and there are moments when the care taken with Carrie makes the longer format seem justified. Those moments have to carry detours and speeches that do not repay the time spent on them. Consider it for Summer H. Howell, provided an affecting central performance matters more tonight than a sustained sense of dread.
The critics divide almost down the middle, and few sit on the fence. Those in favour find it a fresh, harrowing reimagining of Stephen King’s story, with Variety and Empire the warmest, the former crediting it with giving Carrie agency and tying the tale to social media and modern America. Praise clusters on the acting: Summer H. Howell’s open, nuanced Carrie is singled out by admirers and detractors alike, Samantha Sloyan is also noted, and several enjoy the expanded roles for Chris and Margaret.
The reservations gather around softness. Roughly half the critics say the series smooths away Carrie’s awkwardness and rage, makes her passive and goes gentle on the people who torment her, draining the story of its terror; The i Paper and Vulture put this most forcefully. Others find it overstuffed with commentary, preachy, or hobbled by detours and an ending they doubt. The spread is as wide as it gets, from near-raves to outright dismissals.
Tinubu calls the series a captivating, harrowing reimagining of King’s story. She praises how it gives Carrie agency while connecting the tale to social media and contemporary America.
Read the full review →Graham calls the series a remarkable triumph and a strikingly fresh adaptation. He praises its superb acting and resourceful, affecting approach, while noting that some added storylines feel forced and the prom scene falls short of the film adaptation.
Read the full review →Mangan finds the remake witty, smart and well suited to its moment, with its expanded story avoiding the usual streaming bloat. She especially praises Summer H. Howell’s open, optimistic portrayal of Carrie.
Read the full review →Gajjar finds the series unsettling and often effective, but says its detours and dubious ending weaken it. She especially praises Summer H. Howell and Samantha Sloyan as hypnotic anchors.
Read the full review →The review presents the series as a strong, positive adaptation. It praises the fresh and creative approach to Stephen King's story.
Read the full review →Travers finds the series too gentle and preachy to work as horror, despite its effective teen drama. He praises Summer H. Howell’s endearing, nuanced performance as Carrie.
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