Carrie Review

Carrie is Mike Flanagan's eight-episode reworking of Stephen King's first novel for Prime Video. Flanagan developed it, runs it and directs four episodes, with Kate Siegel, Axelle Carolyn, Kyra Sedgwick and Hiromi Kamata directing the others. Summer H. Howell plays Carrie White and Samantha Sloyan her mother, Margaret, with Siena Agudong, Alison Thornton and Joel Oulette as Sue, Chris and Tommy, Amber Midthunder as Ms. Desjardin and Matthew Lillard as the principal. It moves the story into a present-day school of phones, social media and active shooter drills, and all eight episodes arrived on October 7, 2026, after a premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

It is the best reviewed Carrie since Brian De Palma's: 85 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes from 117 critics with a 7.2 average, and 72 on Metacritic. The consensus says Flanagan expands the teen mythos with added compassion and ingenuity. Empire called it a strikingly fresh, superbly acted version, Polygon a daring and complete retelling, and TIME said it gets out from under De Palma's shadow, with Howell's lead performance the most praised thing in it.

The dissent is about fear and setting. The Hollywood Reporter admired its topicality and Howell but found it less distinctive and far less scary than it should be, some critics were not sold on the update, and the Telegraph dismissed it as another vapid teen drama.

Howell and Sloyan lift acting to an A. The rest is good Flanagan, humane and well made but gentler than the story needs, so plot, cinematography and dialogue are B grades, and it is a B.