Carrie is a shy, 17 year-old girl who has been sheltered by her religious fanatic mother and is the social outcast at her local high school. One day after gym class, Carrie gets her very first period and not realizing what it is – because her crazy mother never taught her about puberty – panics, believing she is bleeding to death. Her classmates relish in her screams and cries and, led by Chris (Portia Doubleday), begin to torment Carrie, throwing female products at her while she cowers on the floor in tears. When the gym teacher, Ms. Desjardin (Judy Greer), discovers what has occurred she does her best to console Carrie, punishes the girls involved by making them run non-stop during gym, and suspends Chris for a week which means she won’t be allowed to attend prom. This, of course, makes Chris hate Carrie even more, blaming her for her own horrible behavior.
Once home, Carrie must deal with her mother who blames Carrie for imagined sins against God that caused the trouble and demands Carrie pray for forgiveness while locked in ‘her’ closet. It’s during Carrie’s struggle to get out she discovers she has telekinetic abilities when she cracks the door with her mind. Fascinated by this, Carrie starts practicing her newfound power in secret on objects and gets stronger and more precise with her talents.
Meanwhile, Sue (Gabriella Wilde), one of the girls who joined in on teasing Carrie, is feeling horrible about it and makes her boyfriend Billy (Alex Russell) promise to ask Carrie to the prom as a form of repentance. At first Carrie turns Billy down fearing it’s a mean prank, but when he shows up in front of her house still determined to take her to prom – or face glaring disapproval from Sue – Carrie agrees. When Chris finds out Carrie is attending the prom, she sets out to ruin it for her by setting up one of the meanest and disgusting pranks ever thought of.
Based on the Stephen King novel, Carrie benefits from two strong female leads but is still a lifeless, uninspired, and pointless remake of a film which got it right the first time around.
Chloe Grace Moretz delivers a solid performance as Carrie, the shy, tormented young girl who only wants to fit in and maybe find a friend or two. Her best scene in the film is during the prom when Carrie slowly begins to enjoy herself and begins to break out of her wallflower shell. Julianne Moore delivers the best performance in the film as the overly religious mom who created a home life any child would be justified to run away from. She ultimately becomes Carrie’s worst tormentor.
These two performances pale in comparison however to Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie’s Oscar nominated performances in the 1976 original film. Spacek conveyed both true vulnerability and menace as Carrie. Her wide-eyed stare and quick head turns as she uses her telekinetic powers to reign terror on her tormentors was truly frightening and compelling. Laurie was terrific as Carrie’s fanatical mom so much so it’s really hard accepting anyone else portraying the character. The struggle between Carrie and her mother was also much more intense in the original film. A perfect example of this is the scene when Laurie as Margaret is insisting Carrie not go to the prom and Spacek as Carrie uses her powers to startle her mother into silence and than calmly says to her, “I’m going to the prom mother…and I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” It’s a shocking and disturbing moment that’s handled perfectly by two great actresses and wonderfully directed by Brian De Palma.
The real problem with this retake on the story is the utter lack of suspense or terror. There are no scares. None. The CG special effects during Carrie’s attack on her tormentors and some innocents who have the bad fortune of being at the wrong place at the wrong time are effective but are not an improvement over the original film’s horrific prom scene.
Lacking suspense and flat, Carrie is an unnecessary remake which should be skipped in favor of watching the far superior 1976 film instead.
GRADE: C-
Carrie is rated R for bloody violence, disturbing images, language and some sexual content.
– By Kevin Finnerty
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