The Cutprice Guignol

So, a few days ago, we got a look at the first stills from Mike Flanagan’s upcoming series adapting Stephen King’s Carrie. And, amongst those, of course, was Carrie herself, as played by Summer H. Howell:

Now, I’ve deep-dived the book in more detail than anyone ever asked for, so this is a matter that’s quite close to my heart. And I already have some reservations about this adaptations (what do you mean, Margaret White “fiercely loves her daughter”? And that other characters with powers are going to be revealed every episode? I’ve loved quite a few of Mike Flanagan’s adaptations, even where they’ve deviated from the source material, but everything I’ve heard about this one doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence), the biggest issue I have so far is how Carrie looks. I mean, let’s be real – Summer H. Howell is a conventionally attractive young woman with clear skin, a slim figure, and clean girl make-up on in pretty much every shot we’ve seen of her so far. Aside from the unflattering clothes, she wouldn’t pass for Carrie at a glance for anyone familiar with the book. I mean, they couldn’t even let her grow out her eyebrows for this? I rest my case.

In the book, Carrie is described at various points as a “chunky girl with pimples on her neck and back and buttocks”, a “frog amongst swans”, with “wet hair completely without color”, “a fat, whiny bag of lard”, with a “dull, stupid, bovine face, and vapid eyes, the red, shiny pimples, the nests of blackheads”. These descriptions come from omniscient narration, Carrie’s own perception of herself, and other character’s descriptions of her, so we’re not just talking one point of view on Carrie’s appearance here – the way she looks, and that she does not fit in to virtually any of the beauty standards of the time, is consistently a driving factor in how she is treated, which, without question, is ultimately what drives her to become the murderous version of herself we see at the end of the book. And look, to be very clear, there’s nothing in the physical description of Carrie that justifies her treatment – I was a greasy, chunky teenage girl riddled with skin issues once myself, and it didn’t make me any less worthy of respect as a result. My fashion sense did, but that’s another conversation for another time.

So why, in the name of fuck, have we not gotten a version of Carrie that accurately adapts these aspects of her character? From Sissy Spacek in the Brian de Palma adaptation, to Chloe Grace Moretz in the Kimberly Peirce version, and now Summer H. Howell in the upcoming Mike Flanagan TV series, there has been no live-action adaptation of the story that has meaningfully embraced her physical appearance as the vital part of this story that it is. Now, I’m not trying to dunk on any of the actors who have played her so far – it’s not their fault that the casting calls that went out for these roles clearly ignored her actual description in the book – but I do think it’s fascinating that, in 2026 and even in the hands of a progressive horror creator like Mike Flanagan, the chubby, ugly, physically unappealing Carrie is still seemingly such a taboo.

Of course, she isn’t the only character to change significantly in the jump from page to screen, and I don’t think there’s an inherent issue in casting in a way that is not slavishly accurate to the book’s description – provided that the appearance of the character doesn’t impact their story, which, for Carrie, it absolutely does. The disdain, disgust, and alienation Carrie is victim to comes as a direct result of the fact that she doesn’t fit in, and her physical appearance is representative of a huge part of that – even the clothes she wears, their matronly and old-fashioned design, is intended to underline how far removed she is from her peers, her more-sympathetic teachers viewing her with veiled disgust as they try to help her. Despite the book’s issues, it is one of the few I’ve read that I felt meaningfully captured the way that people in general and women in particular outside the beauty standard are often treated; it’s a complete rejection of the often-touted “it’s what on the inside that counts!” replaced by a more blunt and brutal confession about how those who do not conform (willingly or otherwise) are actually treated. That’s fundamental to Carrie’s arc, the tragedy in that she could not help her inability to fit in, and that the final confirmation of it – that comes in the pig’s blood crowning at the prom, even that a cruel jibe about her weight – is what pushes her over the edge and into the violence that defines the iconic third act. In cutting that aspect of her character, you cut a major chunk of her arc with it; of course, it can be replaced by other alienating factors, but it’s interesting that this is the one that always seems to stay on the cutting room floor.

I find it particularly funny – in a horrible sort of way – that the violence else Carrie commits makes it to screen without as much as much downplaying as her looks. We’re alright with seeing this girl murder innocent people, cause immeasurable suffering in the process, basically tear apart an entire town with her psychic powers – but the physical attractiveness that is such a fundamental part of what alienates her into doing all of that is still A Bit Too Much to bring to the screen. A young woman can be murderous, but God forbid she’s ugly and fat while she does it, you know?

Of course, we’ll have to wait and see how Flanagan approaches the character of Carrie in the series, which is due out in a couple of months – I am genuinely interested to see what he does with this story, given his obvious love for King’s work, but it’s a let-down to see that the production has balked, once again, at putting a book-accurate version of Carrie on-screen. I would love to hear what you think of this casting, and the various live-action Carries we’ve had over the years, so please let me know in the comments below! Check out my review of the Carrie book here (and my ongoing deep-dive into Christine, if you’re interested), and, if you’d like to support my blog, please consider supporting me by buying my books or dropping me a tip via my Support page.