Review of Carrie (2013) by Leeway — 30 Oct 2013

"This 'reimagining' of Carrie (the classic 1976) is the best remake I have ever seen in a long time. Shouldn't be missed.".

Carrie, played by Chloe Moretz, is a shy outcast in her high school, she lives with her abusive and mentally-disturbed religious mother Margaret, played by Julianne Moore, the keeps her locked up in a crowded closet filled with crosses and Jesus bleeding (black ink?) on a stake. Carrie endures humiliation after experiencing her first period, in which she thought she was bleeding to death, in front of her whole classmates (with the main antagonist Chris, played by Portia, and her friend Sue, played by Gabrielle) who mockingly videotapes the incident as well as telling her to 'plug it up'. Sue, feeling bad about her involvement, decides to convince her long-time boyfriend and prom date (Tommy, played by Ansel Elgort) to take Carrie to their final senior prom. Meanwhile, Carrie develops telekinetic powers 'witch' (dry joke) she uses it to her full advantage when her mother Margaret forbids her to go in fear of 'Adam' taking her virginity due to the slight exposure of her 'dirty pillows.' She does forewarn Carrie that 'they are all going to laugh at you' to which of no avail. When Carrie is at the prom, it all starts out well despite the awkward setting that she has placed herself in, still determined that this will be her night. AND THEN...all hell breaks loose, after Chris (banned from the Prom, exacts revenge) dumps a bucket of pig's blood on Carrie and her beautifully home-made dress. The prom scene isn't terrifying; it's invigorating even if that sounds a tad bit masochistic. We get to feel all the emotions of Carrie; anger, frustration, embarrassment and vengeance. One by one, the body count doubles in tremendously gruesome deaths living up to its 'R'. The final scene with Carrie and her mother is sadistic and tragic, more so than the scenes leading up to it. The ending is decent to the book, cracks and all; we get to hear the bittersweet track by the Cults.

Chloe Grace Moretz plays Carrie straight out of the book. She does her best with the source material and she nails every bit of detail from the Stephen King novel. It's a different approach then Sissy Spacek's shocking wide-eyed performance. She is an actress beyond her age. "...Chloe Grace Moretz delivers a more vulnerable and shocking performance as Carrie White." Julianne Moore is ever 'moore' (dry joke, again) creepy as Margaret with all the head thumping, the bible-reading and the nail-skinning. Gabrielle also does a good job with Sue and is commendable for making the audience truly root for her. Portia gives an exaggerated performance but isn't shocking considering the character was written the exact same way.

Kimberly Pierce does a good job with Carrie, for what it is, even if it has been butchered by many remakes and sequels since the 1976 film. It's tense and brisk in its pacing which does sacrifice some of the character developments but it keeps the viewer consistently engaged. Kimberly Pierce has left Carrie in a final closing though the ending suggest otherwise. Overall, it's a good teen thriller and I hope I don't have to see another remake any time soon.

"The first Carrie was horror. This is tragedy." -rogerebert.