Mike Flanagan wanted his Carrie to arrive at high school with something the character rarely gets: optimism. In a new Deadline interview, the filmmaker calls his version of Stephen King’s telekinetic teenager the “anti-Carrie”.
The Haunting of Hill House creator says today’s teenage humiliations can linger online long after school ends, making the story’s choices between kindness and cruelty especially pointed.
Prime Video’s eight-part adaptation stars Summer H. Howell as Carrie White, who enters public school after her father’s death ends a childhood spent largely secluded with her mother. A viral bullying scandal and the emergence of her powers turn that new beginning into a crisis.
Flanagan also wanted to give characters such as Carrie’s mother Margaret and bully Chris Hargensen their own fears and histories, rather than make them uncomplicated monsters. His broader objection is to young-adult entertainment that underestimates what its audience can handle.
All eight episodes are streaming on Prime Video. A second season was announced in October; King is an executive producer of the series.
