Skip to content of Stephen King Carrie Since its publication in 1974, it has been revised and revised at various times. As his first novel (up to this point he had only published short stories), Carrie Explores a young girl with telekinetic powers who was relentlessly bullied from childhood until her life became a perfect storm. As his mother indoctrinated him with absurd religious ideals and his schoolboys destroyed him, he couldn’t hold back.
What is it about this story that needed to be adapted for film over and over again? Maybe it’s because the themes are universal: coming of age, mother-daughter turmoil, teenage bullying, religious trauma. Or maybe it’s because we were either Kerry or knew Kerry once. Maybe we’re just enjoying a good old revenge story. Regardless, it gave us another adaptation, this time as a TV series from Mike Flanagan. Watching the show and rewatching the previous movies, it’s hard not to notice how much this character and this world has changed over the years. Let’s take a look at Kerry White’s evolution.
1974
Kerry stood between them defiantly, a frog among swans. She was a fat girl with rashes on her neck, back and buttocks. “He looked the part of the scapegoat, a constant butt, believed in left-handed monkey buttons, constant insults, and that was it. And . . . he certainly denied that he thought Kerry was a fat, slobbering pig sack.” This is Stephen King’s Carrie White. Born to Margaret White, a woman who thought her baby was cancer and proceeded to torture him with religious fights and the beliefs of his upbringing. According to her neighbour, Estella Horan, Carrie was “such a beautiful girl”, but Margaret changed all that. She looked in the mirror, hated herself, saw sin and wanted to be pure like her mother.
She became a shell unable to express herself or be who she wanted to be. Children bullied him since the first grade. It’s a tame, odd ball that just couldn’t fit. “Carrie was always missing the ball, even in kickball, falling on her face in Modern Dance her sophomore year and chipping a tooth, crashing into the net during volleyball…even when Chris Hargensen called after school from the Kelly Fruit Company and asked her if she knew it was Sp.
Fast forward to her senior year of high school and she falls face down in the showers and wets the pillows. So when he’s asked to spring ball by Tommy Ross, he immediately feels like it’s all a gimmick. He’s so horrified by what these kids have done to him over the years that he can’t accept a moment like this as a trick.
Carrie In Control
But this is a turning point for King’s Carrie. Until now, he knew his abilities, even when stones fell on his house. He knew it was him. But it’s Tommy Ross’s insistence that she be the girl on his arm at the ball that boosts her confidence in what she can do. So when he tells his mom he’s going to leave, he makes it clear that he’s in control now. “He didn’t know if his gift came from the Lord of Light or the Lord of Darkness, and now, at last, when he found he didn’t care which, an almost indescribable relief came over him, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.”
Carrie relied on her abilities, and the boy did. We know how this story ends. Chris and Billy prepare a bucket of pig’s blood at the prom and give it to Carrie to drink because she’s called the prom queen. As everyone laughs, he locks them in the gym and his powers kick in, causing the school to eventually explode with everyone inside. And it doesn’t stop there. He does not cause any more destruction in the city. He taught everyone a lesson, including Chris, Bill and Margaret White.
Death is white
When Carrie returns home, ready to confront her mother about her crime, she encounters something else instead. For those who have not read the book, but watched the last series, Margaret’s death is familiar. After being stabbed by her mother, Carrie uses telekinesis to slow her mother’s heart before she dies. A short while later Sue finds Carrie and she dies in her arms. of the king
The ending is sad for Kerry. He seeks revenge, but is broken by what he has allowed himself to do. Even in death, she remembers the witch her mother thought she was.
1976
Brought to life on screen by director Brian De Palma and writer Lawrence Cohen, Carrie is played by Sissy Spacek. He is not the frog that the king originally wrote. However, Spacek delivers Carrie’s character as the meek, tortured soul King described. The film opens with Carrie taking a shower in the dressing room and getting her period. De Palma reveals her naivety here – Carrie White has no idea what a period is or what’s happening to it.
Margaret White completely thwarts Carrie, but she questions her mother with trepidation. “Why didn’t you tell me, mom?” De Palma follows most of the story faithfully to King’s novel, down to some of the dialogue. Like the book, Carrie discovers her abilities early on. It’s not as controlled though; He is mostly reactive and it is during high stress moments that we see his powers.
Graduation scene
The movie took the prom scene to another level. It is here that we see Carrie exact her revenge with the greatest force, a surprise even to herself. When the pig’s blood is poured on him and Tom, it falls on Tom’s bucket and kills him. In the book, Carrie is already outside the gym when this happens. But here, she sits by his body, clearly traumatized by his death. We got to watch Tom see her in a new light leading up to the coronation. They even share a kiss on the dance floor. I mean, he liked his verse after all. So the weight of what happens next is only intensified because Tom dies.
De Palma allows Carrey to unleash his powers in this scene, not only throwing Ms. Desjardins into a wall and out of the gym, but she stays in the gym in the film. I don’t know why, but I find that her staying makes her even more ruthless than Carrie. He kills his teacher in this adaptation, destroying him. His movements are stiff; His face shows shock and pain. It’s raw here, almost uncontrollable.
Move the victim
Everything is a result of what was done to him in the first place. De Palma reveals that Carrie is still a victim. Finally, when she returns home, Margaret is determined to kill her daughter. But not only does Carrie beat her mother to death, but she is chained to the wall as if she were on a crucifix – killing her the way she lived, religiously. Unlike in the book, Carrie uses her powers to cause the house to cave in, killing her inside. He felt bad, wrong; As sinful as her mother said she was on the day of her period.
2002
Full disclosure: There is a 2002 TV movie adaptation, but I haven’t finished it. It was very difficult to watch. But I will say that this version of Carrie is completely different than she’s ever been. His “weirdness” is more mischievous and less meek and shy. It was hard to empathize with him. I read that this was the first attempt to make it into a series that prepared Carrie to meet and help other people like her, so this is the first time we see Carrie survive. Maybe this is what we can expect in future seasons under the Flanagan umbrella?
2013 year
The 2013 remake was directed by Kimberly Pierce and written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Pierce Carrie It starts out the same, but adds a water volleyball scene where Carrie tries to fit in with the other girls laughing when the ball mistakenly hits Sue Snell in the head. She’s also an ordinary beauty that you wouldn’t expect.
Portrayed by Chloe Grace Moretz, there’s nothing frog-like about it. This time, when Tommy Ross tells her she’s beautiful at the prom, she’s really stunning. Khloe does her best to appear withdrawn, shy, introverted, but her image pales in comparison to Spaceky’s. It’s also the first time we get a look at what makes Margaret tick, so to speak. He is meek himself, the complete opposite of how we see him in De Palma’s film. He is loud and dominant in this adaptation. Here he hesitates to talk to others, going so far as to self-harm due to his anxiety and great fear of the outside world.
graduation series
Pearce saves his adaptation with De Palma for the graduation sequence. When she and Tom are crowned Homecoming King and Queen, she stays in the gym and spoils her classmates a lot. But unlike De Palma’s Kerry, Pierce’s Kerry is controlled and confident. But when he returns home, wanting that comfort from his mother, Pierce returns to Dash
Palma script, margaret removal, crucifixion style. But it changes everything here. In the book, Sue Snell finds Carrie telepathically, and Carrie realizes that Sue had nothing to do with the pig’s blood. There is no Sue at all in De Palma’s adaptation. But here, as Carrie holds her mother’s body, Sue arrives ready to help Carrie. Carrie forgives Sue and informs her that she is pregnant and pushes her to safety before the house falls on her.
This Kerry is again a victim of her upbringing and environment.
2026 year
Almost fifty years later Carrie Published, we have another adaptation. Adapted this time by Mike Flanagan, Carrie is the most different version than any we’ve seen so far. In the new series, now streaming on Amazon Prime, Carrie is much younger. Now portrayed as a sophomore, Carrie is portrayed as a naive, sweet, sheltered girl who has fallen victim to her parents’ beliefs. This Carrie grew up with her father, but lost it in an accident at work. Carrie, forced into public school by social services, doesn’t know much: period, school shootings, and Maya Angelou. I know why the caged bird sings. It’s as green as they come. Her curiosity and genuine attitude, along with her handmade clothes, make her an easy target. But despite being bullied and mistreated, Carrie remains true to herself and chooses to see the glass as half full.
gear shifting
Where Flanagan chooses to change gears is with his telekinesis. It introduces new characters that influence Carrie’s development throughout the series. Now he is influenced by a girl named Emmaline who seems to want to take Carrie as far as possible. So when prom disaster strikes, it’s not Carrie at the wheel.
Because our hubby is still very fragile and young, Emmaline is “driving the wheel”. It’s him using Kerry’s powers to retaliate. Before he meets Billy and Chris; Then it’s all Kerry. But only after being pushed by Emmaline. The thing about King’s Care is that he had the autonomy and full authority to destroy the school and the town. But here, Flanagan limits Carrie in that regard, making her yet another victim of someone else’s agenda. I’m sure he has a purpose for it, and I hope that the next season of the series will start playing.
Death to Kerry White?
Kerry White lives on. Unlike the previous adaptation and the original book, Flanagan’s Carrie leaves town with Emily. Since 1974, we’ve seen Kerr evolve over time and find new adaptations Carrie Has new additions to the story. So I ask again: What is it about this story that makes it special enough to be filmed and reimagined? Do we see it?
yourself as Carrie? A person who becomes a victim of childhood, traumatized by the choices of their parents. Someone who isn’t given the chance to flourish, to be authentically who they are without being mocked or bullied. I’m sure we all have a little heart. I know I do. It’s not really about horror, it’s about what makes us human that keeps a story like Kerr’s so relevant.
