Carrie

I wanted to like Mike Flanagan’s Carrie. I really did. I’m fond of Flanagan’s work in general. And in particular, I adore his takes on Stephen King’s stories. If somebody was going to convince me that Carrie needed eight episodes, he seemed a good bet. Having watched them, however, I’m still wondering why this needed to be a series. It is packed with good performances across the board. The series departs from the novel in ways that are at lest worth discussing. And overall, it is a competent retelling. But the longer it goes on, the more its achievements feel like reasons to admire individual scenes rather than recommend the whole thing.