Review of The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999) by Linda U — 20 Oct 2011

It's no wonder fans of the 1976 Stephen King movie CARRIE are scratching there heads about this film. Besides the fact that Rachel Lang is supposedly Carrie White's half-sister; and Sue Snell, one of the main bullies in the original film, has now ironically become the school's guidance counselor (still portrayed by Amy Irving); THE RAGE virtually has nothing in common with CARRIE. In fact, the title is very misleading. If this were to be even remotely better, somebody could have simply suggested changing the title to something like, "Rachel: The Rage", and billing it as "the follow-up to CARRIE.".

As a whole, CARRIE was a prom film, with a horrific twist. Does THE RAGE: CARRIE 2 even hint at the possibility of a prom being held? Of course not! That's what bad sequels are for, anyway. And this is supposed to be a supernatural horror film, like the original, because Rachel also has telekinetic powers (what next, a film in which we discover that their common father has telekinesis, and that it was genetic to begin with?). There's the scenes that show the supernatural side (i.e. a scene early on after Lisa commits suicide, and because of this, Rachel becomes mentally frustrated, causing every locker in the school to fly open), but the "horror" of it all is never revealed. So really, this is just like a science fiction film.

The music was part of what gave nightmares to many people who watched CARRIE. Why does it come across as surprising that there is one solid theme in the beginning, and the rest is just a bunch of rock tunes composed by Danny B. Harvey (whoever he is)? Who finds rock music scary, anyway?

Overall, THE RAGE: CARRIE 2 is dreadfully underwhelming. There is nothing horrific about it, and it is just an unsuccessful homage to the 1976 classic. Do not waste your time with it.