Review of Carrie (2002) by Midlands M — 20 Apr 2014

This remake of the 1976 Brian De Palma classic from the Stephen King novel of the same name is a valiant attempt to breathe fresh life into the tale of a psychic teen outsider pushed by her bullying peers into revenge filled horror but it sadly fails to deliver the screams and scares with a teen-rating and a short 99 minutes run time lacking any really new innovations.

Chloe Grace Moretz is always watchable and Julianne Moore provides underused acting heft as the disturbed mother picking on her shy daughter and the film thankfully avoids the problems of most updates by staying away from the shoehorning in of modern technology.

It thankfully allows the young rivalries to take place in the real world rather than online or on mobiles. An overly long, but somehow not deep enough, build up paves the way for the final 30 minutes of chaos and carnage as Carrie's powers culminate in violent and inventive destruction as payback to her tormentors.

With good support from the underrated Judy Greer as a gym teacher and some gruesome and gorily inventive killings, it was never going to challenge the De Palma film for originality but there are a few highlights in this hexed horror to make it worthwhile for its intended adolescent audience.

6.5/10 Midlands Movies Mike.