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Carrie White, the telekinetic prom queen from hell, is one of the most beloved horror icons in popular culture. First introduced in Stephen King’s 1974 novel, Carrie, the character was immortalized in director Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation, widely regarded as one of the best horror films of all time. It’s certainly one of the best King adaptations. So Mike Flanagan faced a massive challenge when he signed on to create an eight-episode miniseries for Prime Video based on the book, released just in time to mark the 50th anniversary of de Palma’s film. I was among the skeptics who questioned why a Carrie miniseries was even necessary, although as a diehard Flanagan fan (“Flana-fan”?), I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. If anyone has an affinity for smartly adapting horror in general, and King’s work in particular, it’s Flanagan. And you know what? With one (very big) exception, Flanagan pulls it off, giving us a richly textured version of the story that is as much about kindness and lost innocence as bloody, vengeful rage—although we get plenty of the latter, too. (Many spoilers below for the novel and the 1976 film, but there are no major reveals for the new series until after the second gallery. We’ll give you a heads-up when we get there.) King initially meant to write a short story after reading an article in Life magazine about telekinesis. He imagined a scene where a bullied young girl gets her first period in a high school locker room as the centerpiece of the story but struggled to capture how his female character would react in that situation. He wrote three pages and tossed them in the trash. Fortunately, his wife Tabitha salvaged the pages and convinced King to try again. He eventually expanded it into a full-length novel, basing Carrie on two girls he knew in high school who had been bullied relentlessly.
document fetched 2026-10-22 03:00 · canonical https://arstechnica.com/culture/2026/10/review-carrie-is-a-triumphant-remix-with-one-major-flaw