'Carrie' season 1 review: Prime Video supernatural horror plays mind games
Porm? Anyone? Someone has used their psychic powers to conjure up yet another adaptation as Carrie, which adapts Stephen King's novel of the same name, levitates onto the small screens around the world. I was expecting to introduce it as a miniseries, but let's just say that season one brings us back to somewhere we never want to return: high school. Carrie White (Summer H. Howell) is mandated to attend the nearby public high school for the first time after the death of his dad and a following welfare check, all in order to ensure that her rigorous mom Margaret (Samantha Sloyan) keeps custody. Homeschooled and sheltered until this point, Carrie is a naive, socially inexperienced and book-loving misfit.
As expected, Carrie finds the transition to "normal" teenager routine difficult, especially after she gets her first period after a gym class. Freaking out because she's unfamiliar with this concept, the situation makes her a target, as popular schoolmates like Chris Hargensen (Alison Thornton), Sue Snell (Siena Agudong), Tina (Josie Totah) and Tommy Ross (Joel Oulette) respond to this with mostly ridicule or insensitivity. But when Carrie starts to exploit her mysterious, newfound telekinetic powers in the aftermath, it sets her on a path of self-discovery, teen drama and extraordinary violence. Teachers Rita Desjardin (Amber Midthunder) and Seth Peist (Rahul Kohli), principal Henry Grayle (Matthew Lillard) and guidance counselor Peter Morton (Tim Bagley) are some of the school staff entangled in this bloodstained chaos.
For what it's worth, it's clear right from the get-go that this specific adaptation isn't merely a rehash and instead there is an objective behind this retelling. Showrunner-creator-director-editor Mike Flanagan modernises the overarching story with his take by bringing the protagonist to a world with phones, social media, evolved forms of bullying and repression, and evolved ideas regarding gender, parenting and sexuality. Flanagan and his fellow directors also have a different sensibility as far as the horror filmmaking and coming-of-age tropes go, and there's a significant amount of time spent on developing supporting characters in order to create a more vivid picture of the milieu and how Carrie along with her mom disrupt said picture.
In terms of the writing, the show is still mainly dealing with bullying, social hierarchy, control and revenge, whilst puberty, religion and supernatural forces play their parts in the narrative. Much of the modernisation works since the dialogue isn't the cringeworthy final blow it could've been and newer elements like school shooting drills, "memes" and conspiracy brainworms are inserted into the plot and characterisations quite cleverly. Some missteps are taken, however. One major psychological misdirection in the first half is way too obvious; Kate Siegel's lazy narration comes across like she's reading a bedtime story to a kid from her most despised children's book; and Carrie's metamorphosis into a demon of sorts feels a bit simple because she's made out to be a perfect victim this time around. Therefore the drama is a bit frictionless at times.
What is keeping you engaged through most of it though is the acting and fully fleshed out community. Howell and Sloyan not only feel like a real mother-daughter duo, but the dramatic tension is at its strongest when the two are going head-to-head, bringing both the beautiful and the ugly out of each character. They're truly excellent here. Thornton nails the main bully role because Chris is genuinely a walking abortion/condom ad. Some of the other kids might look way older than what's on the page, but Agudong, Oulette and Totah play their parts convincingly. The actors playing the staff add more shades in the portrait as well. Thanks to this and the brilliant casting (by casting directors Anne McCarthy, Kellie Roy and Morgan Robbins), the series feels alive and intimate.
That said, there's some more wonkiness in the craft, perhaps because eight episodes might have stretched the budget a bit too thin. Flanagan's editing is much better here than before as he's less afraid to kill his darlings. The result is tighter pacing with less emphasis on uneven monologues. His collaboration with The Newton Brothers, the composers, is erratic because the score doesn't match the vibe of the overbearing yet peppy girly pop soundtrack. The whole amalgam has ups and downs. Some of the jump scares and ghost stuff early on feel out of place (and it feels like Flanagan is repeating himself to insipidness with the latter) in the show, yet the visual language and direction are very solid throughout.
But when your story builds up towards a bloody, explosive and furious endgame, it is disappointing to see that the VFX, FX makeup, music and sound aren't up to par. The VFX specifically are pretty terrible in the finale. You simply can't have godawful CG fire when the narrative puts Carrie through hell and she transforms her religious upbringing into an inferno when she finally snaps.
Alas, the ending is a letdown. We haven't even gotten to the framing that indicates the desire to turn it into an ongoing series, which is just so awkwardly executed with its "Carrie White will return in Telekinetic Revengers: Endgame" and "What are we? Some kind of Telekinetic Revengers?" denouement. None of it works in the slightest, including the way that Siegel's inclusion and Carrie's psychosis are handled. The final shot is also rather dreadful.
For most of the first seven episodes, Flanagan very much justifies his modern take on the material and that alone is worth something. The show is not a prom night to remember per se, but the stellar acting and fresh perspective make sure that you'll have a decent time on the dance floor nonetheless. Until all hell breaks loose, of course.
Smileys: Acting, casting, dialogue
Frowneys: Ending, VFX
It's pronounced like "pest", actually.
3.0/5
[Editor's note: Apologies for the image quality, Prime Video did not provide stills before the publication of this review.]
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