Mike Flanagan's new Carrie remake needs to get the casting right to compete with the classic original Stephen King film, and one of his earlier Netflix shows could hold the answer for a key role. Mike Flanagan has become the go-to name for Netflix horror, and now, Amazon Prime is hoping to get some of his magic on their platform. Amazon's streaming service has begun to work on an adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel, Carrie, with Mike Flanagan spearheading the production.
Flanagan has previously worked on several adapted stories by Stephen King, along with other original stories for both TV and film. However, Carrie is one of the most popular titles from King, and potentially the biggest adaptation that Flanagan has worked on yet, with two previous films already adapting the story. While Flanagan has more time to explore the characters in a TV format, he needs to get the casting right to ensure his show does now fall into irrelevance, and potentially damage his track record for spectacular storytelling.
Samantha Sloyan As Bev Keane In Midnight Mass Already Proved How Perfect She'd Be For Carrie's Margaret White
Samantha Sloyan Is An Extraordinary Talent
Fortunately for Flanagan, he appears to have a head start in of casting, having worked with some incredible talent who could help to make his new Carrie show a hit. Previously, Flanagan created an original series, Midnight Mass, which featured an ominous island with an isolated church. While many of the residents on the island were of that parish, it wasn't until a new energetic priest arrived that the community began to actually attend services and actively pursue their faith. However, one woman remained , Bev Keane.
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Keane led the congregation in the absence of the priest, but her devotion exceeded simply assisting the clergy. Keane memorized scripture, corrected the priest when he wore the wrong religious dress, and she resented the community who did not attend until a new priest arrived. This character was perfectly captured by the actress, Samantha Sloyan, who made her both pious and poisonous. This character also bares a striking resemblance to the abusive Margaret White in Carrie, who chooses to chastise her daughter in accordance with her religious observance.
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Margaret White Is An Even More Terrfying Villain Than Bev Keane
However, while Bev Keane was a nosy neighbor, and an aggravated religious zealot, and a know-it-all, Margaret White is much more dangerous, and ultimately a darker villain. Bev Keane wants to be faithful, and is willing to follow her priest when he arrives on the island with a monstrous vampire, who they both believe to be an angel of God. This leads her to make terrible errors in judgment, and harm others in order to 'save' them. There is no doubt that she is an evil and dangerous woman, but she is also misguided and naive.
This character was perfectly captured by the actress, Samantha Sloyan, who made her both pious and poisonous.
Meanwhile, Margaret White fully indulges in her faith to such a degree that she chooses to physically, emotionally, and mentally abuse her young daughter for fear of the slightest promiscuity or sin. Margaret's religious convictions are so extensive that she harms herself in attempts at contrition, but she also views anything and everything as sin. Raising a daughter in this type of environment causes her to constantly terrorize, punish, and harm young Carrie. Ultimately, this would make her a much more intense and terrifying character than Bev Keane, but still a perfect character for Sloyan to adopt.
Mike Flanagan's Carrie Show Will Have Big Overlapping Themes With Midnight Mass
Mike Flanagan's Carrie Is His Biggest Challenge Yet
While Midnight Mass follows a supernatural story with vampires, and Carrie follows a young girl with mysterious psychic powers, there is a lot that connects the two. Both stories are set within a small, isolated community. Both stories deal with themes of religious extremism. Both also revolve around supernatural elements, with the vampires and the psychic powers. And both see characters dealing with themes of morality in a way that puts them in opposition to zealots.
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While this means that Flanagan clearly has the experience and ability to make Carrie a hit horror show, it could introduce problems of making the shows too similar, or too distinct. Midnight Mass was an original story made for Netflix which allowed Flanagan to let his imagination run wild, while Carrie is based on a popular novel, with an even more popular movie adaptation. Mike Flanagan needs to hit the right balance by putting his mark on the Carrie series, while also staying true to the source.
