At first glance, Summer H. Howell and Stephen King’s Carrie White have nothing in common.
asserted
Howell → have → nothing
The other is a traumatised telekinetic teen who destroys her hometown in a vengeful rage.
asserted
who → destroy → rage
They do, however, share one key experience: they both spent their first prom covered in blood.
asserted
they → share → blood
Howell missed her high school dance – or “grad” as they call it in Canada – because she’d been working.
asserted
she → miss → Canada
Little did she know she’d stumble upon a second chance while filming the lead role in Carrie, Mike Flanagan’s TV adaptation of King’s seminal horror novel.
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she → know → novel
“I had a wonderful prom,” Howell says with fond reminiscence and a hint of trauma.
asserted
Howell → have → trauma
“It feels like one big fever dream ...
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It → feel → dream
I had about 11 days covered in blood, head to toe.
asserted
I → have → toe
I did a lot of relying on other people and sitting, trying not to mess up my continuity …
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I → do → continuity
It was really cool to get to experience it in a way.”
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It → get → way
It began, of course, with King’s 1974 debut novel, which introduced the image of Carrie doused in pigs’ blood following a cruel prank.
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which → begin → prank
It’s the pivotal moment in a story about an outcast teen who faces relentless bullying by schoolmates and a fanatically religious mother before unleashing her telekinetic powers in a fit of destruction.
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who → ’ → destruction
Equal parts horrifying and tragic, the scene has been recreated many times including in Brian De Palma’s 1976 film with Sissy Spacek and the 2013 movie starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore.
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scene → recreate → Moretz
It’s even had several incarnations in a stage musical.
asserted
It → have → musical
In other words, the story has been told – exhaustively.
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story → tell → words
So, when Amazon Prime Video pitched Flanagan the idea of adapting Carrie for the small screen, the showrunner’s first instinct was to turn it down.
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instinct → pitch → it
Not only was it not on his King adaptation wishlist, he also generally avoids remakes and sequels, opting instead for fresh source material like Gerald’s Game and The Haunting of Hill House.
asserted
he → avoid → House
The horror legend believed there was no need for more Carrie.
asserted
legend → believe → Carrie
“He said, I think it’s been done’,” Flanagan recalls.
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Flanagan → say → ?
“And I said ‘I think I agree’.”
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I → say → ?
The filmmaker wouldn’t proceed without King’s stamp of approval.
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filmmaker → proceed → approval
But an idea kept niggling at him.
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idea → keep → him
“Teenagers today deal with cruelty and anxiety to a degree [Stephen King] never could have contemplated 50 years ago.
uncertain
King → deal → degree
“I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” Flanagan says.
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Flanagan → stop → it
“It’s been half a century since Stephen King created that character and that story in that world, but so much of what he was talking about is more relevant today than it was when he wrote it.”
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he → create → it
“Teenagers today deal with cruelty and anxiety to a degree Steve never could have contemplated 50 years ago – that I couldn’t contemplate when I was growing up.
uncertain
I → deal → that
I never went to school afraid I could be killed there.”
uncertain
I → go → school
When Flanagan had his “Carrie moments”, he notes that they also remained largely private.
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they → have → moments
His “most vulnerable, humiliating and defining moments” weren’t preserved digitally forever, in full view on the internet.
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vulnerable → preserve → internet
Teenagers today can’t relate.
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Teenagers → relate → ?
So what would happen if Carrie were dropped in the age of TikTok and rampant school shootings?
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Carrie → happen → TikTok
Flanagan, who’s renowned for his emotional, character-driven horrors like The Fall of the House of Usher and Oculus, came up with what he calls the “anti-Carrie”.
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he → renowne → what
While De Palma’s lead character was traumatised from the moment the cameras started rolling, Flanagan’s is more of an “unspoiled heart”.
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Flanagan → traumatise → heart
“We created a character who came into the world with trust, eagerness and openness – with a fearlessness socially and a genuine belief in the goodness of the environment around her.
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who → create → her
She then reacts to the realities we’ve all normalised in society for teenagers,” he says.
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he → react → teenagers
This, it turns out, was enough to convince Stephen King.
asserted
it → turn → King
But with that hurdle overcome, the next presented itself: finding the new Carrie White.
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next → overcome → White
Flanagan, along with King as an executive producer, searched for someone who embodied an earnest curiosity without being naive, and a vulnerability paired with hidden strength.
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who → search → strength
More than 1400 people auditioned for the role, making it the biggest casting effort of Flanagan’s career to date.
asserted
it → audition → date
They searched tirelessly until, finally, Howell emerged.
asserted
Howell → search → ?
…and 46 more, not listed.
The Aporia
