The new series Carrie (2026), inspired by the classic horror novel by Stephen King, sets out to revisit one of the most iconic characters in horror literature. Under the creative direction of Mike Flanagan, the production modernizes Carrie White's story, introduces new characters, and attempts to expand the mythology behind her supernatural powers. However, despite presenting some good ideas and a strong cast, the series ultimately loses its way when it should be delivering the most memorable moment of the entire story.
Over the years, Carrie's story has been adapted in different ways: the original film in 1976, the 2002 television film, and the 2013 theatrical adaptation. Now, in 2026, we have a new interpretation of the same story, attempting to find its own path between faithfulness to the original work and the expansion of its universe. Each version has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the latest production is no exception.
The Cast Is the Biggest Highlight of Carrie (2026)
If there is one aspect in which the series truly succeeds, it is the casting. The choice of Summer H. Howell as Carrie White and Samantha Sloyan as Margaret White works particularly well, establishing a convincing dynamic between mother and daughter.
Summer manages to convey the fragility, isolation, and discomfort of a teenager who has never had the opportunity to experience a normal life. Her performance helps portray Carrie as more than just a victim of her circumstances. She is also a young person trying to understand herself and the world around her.
Samantha Sloyan, meanwhile, delivers a disturbing portrayal of Margaret, a woman defined by religious fanaticism and a pathological need to control her daughter. Margaret is one of the main sources of Carrie's suffering, making their home environment just as oppressive as the school. Their relationship is essential to understanding how repression, fear, and psychological abuse contribute to the protagonist's emotional deterioration.
Another strength is the first part of the series, which takes its time developing the characters and establishing Carrie's reality. Rather than rushing through events, the narrative allows viewers to understand her struggles and the different factors contributing to her social exclusion. This approach makes the character feel more human and establishes an emotional foundation for what follows.
Carrie's Powers and the Opportunity to Expand Stephen King's Universe
One of the aspects that bothered me most about the series is how Carrie's powers are portrayed. The narrative leans toward an interpretation associated with magic and witchcraft, wasting an excellent opportunity to explain these powers through the presence of the Shine.
Carrie's powers are primarily associated with telekinesis, the ability to move or manipulate objects with the mind. In the original work, this ability does not need to be understood as the result of spells or a tradition of witchcraft. Instead, it manifests as an extraordinary ability that becomes increasingly dangerous as Carrie experiences stress, humiliation, and suffering.
This is precisely where the series could have explored a more interesting connection to Stephen King's mythology: the concept of the Shine.
In King's works, the Shine is a form of psychic sensitivity that allows certain individuals to perceive phenomena and information beyond the limits of ordinary senses. Depending on the individual and the story, these abilities may include premonitions, telepathic communication, the perception of distant events, and other supernatural manifestations. Danny Torrance, from The Shining, is one of the best-known examples of this concept.
It is important to emphasize that the Shine is not necessarily a canonical explanation for Carrie's powers. The character has her own origins in King's novel, and connecting these abilities would be a creative choice intended to bring different elements of the author's universe together. Even so, this approach could provide a more organic way to explore the existence of people with extraordinary abilities, especially considering the interest shown by other recent adaptations in expanding King's supernatural mythology.
This approach could also establish parallels with Welcome to Derry, a series that explores the supernatural side of the universe of It. Rather than treating Carrie's powers as something resembling an isolated tradition of witchcraft, it would be interesting to investigate how these abilities fit into a world where different psychic and supernatural phenomena can coexist.
Such a connection would not require turning Carrie into a completely different character. On the contrary, it could preserve the essence of her story while opening up new possibilities for future narratives. For a series that appears interested in expanding the character's mythology, this would be a particularly promising direction.
The Modernization Works, but It Doesn't Always Convince
Updating Carrie for a contemporary setting is a good decision. The presence of smartphones, social media, and other technologies makes it possible to explore new forms of public humiliation, exposure, and harassment among teenagers. Bullying, already central to the original novel, takes on new dimensions in a society where school incidents can be recorded, shared, and turned into public spectacles.
This modernization also makes Carrie's struggles more relatable to a generation that deals daily with the pressures of social media. Violence is no longer confined to the school environment: it can follow victims home and remain accessible to others through videos, messages, and online posts.
However, one aspect of this modernization feels forced to me: the way Margaret White begins interacting with technology, practically adopting the behavior of a social media influencer.
Considering the character's religious, controlling, and deeply dogmatic personality, this transformation feels abrupt. The series portrays a woman whose worldview is shaped by the rejection of certain aspects of modern society, yet she begins embracing technological tools with a degree of ease that does not entirely match her earlier resistance.
The problem is not imagining Margaret using the internet or discovering social media. Such a development could even enrich the character, particularly if it were connected to her need to control her daughter's image or impose her beliefs on others. What is missing is a more gradual progression that explains how and why someone with such rigid convictions would adopt this behavior.
A brief period of resistance followed by such rapid acceptance undermines the consistency of this transformation. In a narrative that dedicates so much time to character development, this change deserved greater attention. One possible counterargument is that Margaret begins embracing technology through the security cameras installed in her home, but there is still a significant logical leap between that development and her subsequent behavior.
Where the Series Loses Its Way: Problems in the Second Half
If the first part of Carrie (2026) establishes an interesting foundation, things begin to change in the second half. The introduction of a character who does not exist in the original story shifts the narrative's focus and contributes to some of the production's most noticeable problems.
New characters are not inherently a problem in an adaptation. On the contrary, a series has more time to develop parallel storylines and explore aspects that a film might not be able to fully examine. The difficulty arises when these additions begin interfering with key moments without making a contribution that justifies their narrative importance.
This becomes particularly evident during the prom scene, the event that should represent the emotional and visual climax of Carrie White's story. This is the moment when years of humiliation, repression, and suffering converge into a tragedy that completely transforms the protagonist's life.
In previous adaptations, this event serves as a brutal rupture between the hope of social acceptance and the cruel reality Carrie faces. The prom represents her hope of finally experiencing something close to a normal life, only for that expectation to be devastatingly destroyed.
In the 2026 version, however, the changes introduced during this moment weaken the sequence's impact. The presence and interference of elements external to the protagonist's central journey diminish the event's power, diverting attention from what should be the true focus of the narrative: the full extent of Carrie's powers and the consequences of her emotional transformation.
In my opinion, this is the series' biggest problem. The prom should demonstrate, beyond any doubt, just how dangerous Carrie has become and the magnitude of the tragedy caused by years of abuse. Instead, the changes diminish the moment's weight, making the sequence less impactful than it should be.
The result is one of the least satisfying portrayals of the prom among the major adaptations of Carrie. For a story so closely associated with this particular event, wasting the opportunity to deliver a truly memorable sequence is a considerable mistake.
A Change in Direction That Could Undermine the Original Story
Another aspect worth examining is the growing narrative suggesting that men pursue women with supernatural abilities similar to Carrie's. Although this idea could serve as a starting point for a broader mythology, its use in the protagonist's story does not strike me as particularly convincing.
Carrie's central conflict has always been closely tied to religious repression at home, social exclusion, and, above all, bullying perpetrated by her own female classmates. The cruelty of Chris Hargensen and the other girls is fundamental to the tragedy, demonstrating how violence can come from people who should understand the difficulties of someone dealing with the pressures of adolescence.
This does not mean male characters are free of responsibility or cannot participate in situations involving exploitation and violence. The problem lies in turning the persecution of women with supernatural powers into an overarching explanation for the story's conflicts, when much of Carrie's suffering originates in far more immediate and everyday social relationships.
This change risks oversimplifying the character's struggles and shifting responsibility for her tragedy toward a broader conspiracy, weakening the original work's criticism of intolerance, fanaticism, and the collective cruelty that underpin the story.
The Potential for a Sequel to Expand Stephen King's Mythology
Despite its problems, the series demonstrates that there is room to explore new stories within the universe of Carrie. The initial character development, the updated social context, and the introduction of additional supernatural elements suggest that the production does not intend to simply reproduce Stephen King's novel.
This ambition can be a positive thing, provided the narrative has a clear direction. King's literary universe contains a wide variety of supernatural phenomena, characters with unusual abilities, and events that allow thematic connections between different stories. Exploring these possibilities would be a way to create something new without relying exclusively on further retellings of the same events.
A potential sequel could delve deeper into the nature of psychic powers, investigate the existence of other people with similar abilities, and explore how these powers are perceived in different contexts. It could also establish more thoughtful connections with concepts such as the Shine, provided these connections were developed coherently and with respect for the distinctive qualities of each work.
To me, this would be a much more interesting direction than simply extending Carrie's story through additional conflicts that diminish the weight of the original events. The potential for a sequel lies precisely in the opportunity to expand Stephen King's supernatural mythology, rather than merely changing the fate of an already familiar character.
Verdict: Is Carrie (2026) Worth Watching?
Carrie (2026) begins with good ideas, features a competent cast, and builds an engaging first half. Summer H. Howell and Samantha Sloyan are the main highlights, delivering a disturbing mother-daughter relationship that adds depth to the drama. The modernization also works in several respects, particularly in its exploration of bullying and public exposure in the digital age.
However, the series loses momentum as it progresses. Some changes feel poorly justified, certain character transformations happen abruptly, and the introduction of new elements ultimately harms the central conflict. The result is an ending that fails to achieve the expected intensity, particularly when it comes to recreating the iconic prom scene.
The biggest missed opportunity lies in the failure to explore Stephen King's supernatural mythology more effectively. Rather than finding a balance between Carrie's story and the expansion of this universe, the production seems to favor changes that do not always enrich the experience.
Ultimately, this is an adaptation that starts stronger than it finishes. The cast, the initial character development, and some of the ideas on display are all worthwhile, but they are not enough to compensate for the problems in the second half. A sequel could still build on the possibilities introduced by the series, provided it prioritizes a more coherent and compelling expansion of Stephen King's universe.
For fans of the different versions of Carrie, the series is worth checking out, especially for its new interpretations of the characters. However, viewers hoping for an adaptation capable of surpassing its predecessors or delivering a truly unforgettable prom scene may find the experience disappointing.
Final Rating: 3/5
What did you think of Carrie (2026)? Did the new series do justice to Stephen King's work, or do the previous adaptations remain superior? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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