When does a story become a myth? At some point in its telling and retelling, there must be a moment where ownership of the narrative transcends authorial bounds and becomes part of the fabric of a culture. Stephen King might still be gripping onto the spine of his novel Carrie, but after a celebrated 1970s adaptation starring Sissy Spacek, feature film versions in 2002 and 2013, and now an eight-episode TV adaptation from Amazon Prime, the story of a bullied high schooler who exacts bloody revenge on her tormentors must be halfway into our modern mythology.
When social workers enter the house of a deceased construction worker, they find, to their surprise, a teenage girl and her mother. The girl, Carrie White (Summer H Howell), has spent her life locked up with her survivalist father and overbearing mother, Margaret (Samantha Sloyan). When she is suddenly thrown in as a sophomore at Ewen High School, she must learn to navigate both the intricacies of algebra and the nuances of social life. That means dealing with Sue Snell (Siena Agudong), an aloof but well-meaning classmate, and Christine Hargensen (Alison Thornton), the horrible Queen Bee whose life is imploding. But just as Carrie is dealing with all these new experiences, she starts to notice strange things happening around her. “I don’t think I realised how small my life was before,” Carrie confesses as infinite possibilities – boys and computers and telekinetic superpowers – unfurl before her.
