Carrie: Remake of the 70s Horror Masterpiece falls flat

Chloe Grace Moretz as Carrie White in the new adaptation, directed by Kimberly Pierce (courtesy of Parade.com)

Everyone remembers Carrie White (whether they'd like to or not), the role originated by Academy Award Winner Sissy Spacek in the film adaptation of Steven King's famous novel. Carrie was considered a landmark horror film when it debuted in the 1970s, and has since been reffered to as one of the best films ever made. It made Sissy Spacek a household name, launching her career. In addition, the film was a box office success, and was recognized in major categories at the Oscars (recognizably in Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress) which was very unusual because the horror genre is usually ignored when it comes to major awards. To say this new adaptation starring up and coming starlet Chloe Grace Moretz and Academy Award Nominee Julianne Moore had big shoes to fill, is an understatement.
Director Kimberly Pierce's involvement in the project intrigued me, and I admit when I heard she was heading the project I had higher hopes for this project than I did when I originally heard the announcement. Though her last film Stop Loss left much to be desired, her debut film Boys Don't Cry was nothing short of a masterpiece, and proved the extent of her talent. I was also intrigued by rumors that this version of Carrie would be even closer to the novel than the original film was. I'm also a huge fan of Julianne Moore, and whenever she's involved, I pay attention. She's such an underrated talent in Hollywood.

So you understand the extent of my disappointment when I discovered that this new version of Carrie was nothing more than an hackneyed updated version; the film is literally the 1976 version picked up, and placed into the year 2013. Dialogue is lifted straight from the original, but it doesn't land the same way it does in the original; it comes off as cheap. And never, for even a second, did I believe that Chloe Grace Moretz embodied the character of Carrie White (though to her credit, she fared a bit will than I originally thought she would). She's too gorgeous to play a homely, social outcast; she's prettier than a lot of the girls bullying her, when the film is asking us to believe she's not. Her acting in most scenes comes off as if she's bored or not at all excited to be participating in this film.

A lot of the scenes where Carrie uses her telekinetic powers seemed like rejected scenes from the X-Men movies, where the teenage mutants discover their powers for the first time. In the original, Carrie's powers correlate with her journey to standing up to her crazy domineering mother. It's slow, and well thought out in its execution. But in this version, Carrie's personal journey of self discovery is rushed. One second she's this mousy unconfident girl, and literally a second later she's gained control of her powers and is confident and outspoken.

The overall tone of the film also annoyed me. The original Carrie was almost like a tension building roller coaster ride, and was a pure horror movie, by definition. Whereas this film (much like Carrie's rushed character arc), just almost fast forwards straight to the violent prom scene; it almost seems like a little kid dressing up for Halloween, it's not really what it's trying to be. There was also random pregnancy plot line with the character of Sue Snell hastily thrown into the film at the last second, never to be dealt with or referenced again. Not only is its abrupt introduction and end aggravating, but there's not a real reason for this to be included in the film whatsoever. It's almost as if the screenwriter wrote it in, and forgot about it while writing the rest of the movie.

The movie, for all of its faults, does have some positive features. In particular, I appreciated Julianne Moore's acting choices. Instead of trying to do better than Piper Laurie (who received amazing reviews and many awards for her work in the original), she takes a quieter and more restrained performance than Laurie did in the original, and though I still like Laurie's performance more, I appreciated this original aspect in a film that tried to do nothing but copy the original.

The iconic prom scene was also a highlight. The new visual effects gave the scene a different feel than the older version which of course in these days does seem a bit dated due to its age (though again another case of where I prefer the original), and I have to admit it was emotionally satisfying to see Carrie get back at these mean girls; I couldn't help but cheer. But the visual effects don't make up for the film's rushed plot narrative, in fact one could argue that it takes away from the emotional aspect of the Carrie's character behind her psychic powers.

I almost feel bad that I came to this film with the intention of hating it from the very beginning, and came out hating it even more. I don't really, however, because the end product is exactly what I pegged it to be from the moment I saw the first trailer. There was no real reason to remake this film in the first place, and you'd think all of the people involved would've tried to at least steer closer to the novel like they originally stated they would. Instead, they just hastily copied and pasted the original with less enthusiasm and attention to detail, like a college student finding a paper online for class, and changing some things around so their professor won't notice they plagiarized.


Grade: 4/10