How Mike Flanagan’s Carrie Series Will Stand Out

It seems there are few more perfect pairings than Stephen King and Mike Flanagan. And with a new horror series based on the uber-popular Carrie story, the pair are trying to prove that once again. Flanagan has long made it clear that he’s quite the auteur regarding horror. He’s also, coincidentally, shown that he might be at his best when adapting literature, even if he sometimes wanders away from the source material to put his own spin on things.

Flanagan definitely has a way of making horror movies and shows that stand out. They tend to offer something that other IPs in the genre aren’t able to do. That’s one of the reasons people are excited to see Mike Flanagan work on this new Carrie series. When the show does eventually land on Amazon Prime, there’s a very good chance that people will realize he was the absolute perfect pick to helm this project.

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Horror With A Pinch Of Trauma

Flanagan is becoming one of the biggest horror directors out there. While some of his work, especially The Fall of the House of Usher, has some gore included, it’s not anywhere near the point of the movie or show the way it is in other projects in the genre. The fear and eventually terror that he gets out of his audience tends to be more because they are invested in what’s happening to the characters. When Nell died in The Haunting of Hill House it was bloodless, but he still managed to make that scene quite sad and then her repeated appearances as The Broken Neck Lady scary.

With Flanagan taking on Carrie , there’s a ton to like about what that project may turn into, especially since he has total control over the direction it takes. The man does a great job of taking people who are emotionally damaged and putting them in situations where things are only going to get worse because of it. Most of his characters tend to have some sort of deep seeded problem. Sometimes it’s right there on the surface, such as the children in Usher who have extreme personalities, and who all have some serious sexual hangups. That last part is especially important when trying to envision what Flanagan’s version of Carrie will entail.

Mental illness and the effects it can have on people in a person’s gravity is a massive part of the Stephen King book. The supernatural aspects, when Carrie sees her powers awaken is really secondary to why Carrie massively loses her cool when the kids just repeatedly treat her terribly and then there’s the one scene where she not only loses her cool but loses her control, unleashing her telekinetic powers.

Flanagan has talked about how big a fan he is of Stephen King. There are parts of his shows that feel like they could be channeling his love for the author in the way he tells the story. There’s also the little fact that like King, there are stories where no one manages to get out unscathed. Even if they do survive, it’s pretty clear they’re never going to be the same again.

Flanagan has shown time and time again that he’s able to make people who are legitimately villains still seem sympathetic. He’s able to show use straight horror and the trauma people went through to add to the horror aspects of the show. In Usher, it was the patriarch of the clan. He was the person who had caused all the damage, had ruined lives and yet, when death was coming for him, the audience could feel bad for him, even root for him to somehow find an escape. This is a formula that can make Carrie work in a way neither of the movies that came before this Amazon series were able to do.

Flanagan Is The Perfect Choice For Carrie

If there is anyone who can take a subject matter like Carrie and really show how she became what she became, make people feel sorry for her despite the fact that is in fact, a bit weird and offputting, it’s Mike Flanagan. On the other hand, it’s almost certainly going to be a show that has plenty of gore and plenty of death.

The titular character will almost certainly be laying west to her town and her school at some point in the show and Flanagan will be able to put her trauma front and center and make her someone who the audience is supposed to feel sorry for, but also not really like at the same time. He’s getting a reputation as being singularly skilled at this kind of storytelling and it’s one of the reasons why he’s also become so popular. And it’s why the Amazon Prime show should be quite compelling.

Stephen King

Stephen King is one of the most prolific living authors. A master of horror, King’s classic works include The Shining, Carrie, Cujo, It, and the Dark Tower series. Many of his books and short stories have been adapted to film and television, including The Shawshank Redemption, Lisey’s Story, 1408, Secret Window, and The Stand.

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