Mike Flanagan Rewrote CARRIE Finale Around Haute & Freddy’s “Shy Girl” and Says Their Music Defined the Series
Mike Flanagan found the perfect song for his Prime Video adaptation of Carrie, and he liked it so much that he actually rewrote the finale to make room for it.
The filmmaker recently revealed that Haute & Freddy’s song “Shy Girl” played a major role in shaping the eight-episode Stephen King horror series. What started as a great music discovery eventually helped establish the sound of the entire show, including a memorable moment in the finale, titled “AP Physics.”
During an interview with Please Relate To This, Flanagan explained how the band became such an important part of his creative process.
“So, Haute & Freddy became our musical identity very early on. We heard ‘Shy Girl’ before the album was released. We heard ‘Shy Girl’ and it made me rewrite episode 8 to get it into the series.
“It became the foundation of our musical score. I listened to Haute & Freddy’s album, this was before it had been released, and was like, ‘This is our show.'”
That's a pretty awesome endorsement. It's one thing to find a song that fits a scene, but Flanagan heard something that felt so right for Carrie that he changed the writing to accommodate it.
The song ultimately found its way into a key sequence in the finale, giving Carrie White a chance to dance even after the horrifying events of prom night.
Haute & Freddy's influence also extended beyond the soundtrack. Flanagan worked the band's merchandise into the story through a small detail involving Carrie, played by Summer H. Howell, and Tina, played by Josie Totah.
At one point, Carrie discovers Tina's Haute & Freddy T-shirt in the school's lost-and-found and transforms it into something of her own. “We thought it would be great to make the t-shirt, I love that t-shirt,” Flanagan said.
Music was clearly an important part of Flanagan's approach to the series. He also revealed that he incorporated lyrics from Lana Del Rey's “A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” directly into the script, while other musical selections “came out organically through production and post.”
Still, Haute & Freddy remained the biggest influence on the show's musical direction. Flanagan added: “But I think Haute & Freddy, more than anything else, defined the series for us. They are huge. It’s been so awesome watching them explode. To me, they are the genetic identity of the sound of our show.”
Flanagan's take on Carrie follows Carrie White, a socially isolated teenager raised under the strict religious control of her fiercely protective mother, Margaret, played by Samantha Sloyan.
Following the sudden death of her father, Carrie enters the brutal world of public high school, where she becomes the target of relentless bullying and a viral scandal.
As she struggles with the cruelty of her classmates and the pressures of growing up in the social media age, Carrie also begins discovering her mysterious telekinetic abilities. Those powers eventually turn her already difficult teenage life into something far more dangerous.
Flanagan's adaptation brings King's story into the modern world, where online humiliation can spread just as quickly as the cruelty Carrie experiences in person.
It's interesting to hear how much Haute & Freddy influenced the series, especially considering Flanagan discovered their music before the album was even released. He clearly recognized something that connected with his vision for Carrie White's story.
All eight episodes of Carrie are now streaming on Prime Video.