The third adaptation of Stephen King's 1974 novel, the 2013 version of Carrie lacks the creepiness of the Brian de Palma version but is still an interesting film, mainly because it is based on entertaining material not because it is innovative cinema or storytelling. Carrie is a naive girl, cowed down by her religious maniac mother Margaret. She gets her first period during a shower scene in school and thinks she is bleeding to death. The other girls mock and jeer her and Chris the school bully films it on her smart phone. Margaret comes and collects her from school and because she has the 'curse of blood', she gets bunged into closet to pray. Carrie has powers of telekinesis which she develops and learns to control. Bully Chris is suspended from attending the prom and vows to wreak revenge on Carrie. Meanwhile Sue, a fellow classmate feels very guilty about the shower incident and gets her boyfriend Tommy to ask Carrie to the prom. Her mother is aghast but Carrie repels her using her psychic powers. She gets to go to the prom but as she is on the stage after winning Miss Prom, Chris and her braindead boyfriend Billy tip a bucket of pig's blood over her. The rest is history. Upon hearing that Carrie was to undergo a third screen adaptation, Stephen King's reaction was one of bewilderment, as Brian de Palma had so successfully rendered the film on the Big Screen. For a laugh he suggested Lindsay Lohan for the part but it eventually went to Chloé Grace Moretz. By no means a terrible movie, Carrie is, however, an unnecessary remake that adds nothing new to the original. It is still one of the best horror movies of the year though, just for the very fact it is Carrie - a great story and it is competently made and acted. Julianne Moore walks off with acting honours as Margaret the religious mental case mother, however Chloé Grace Moretz does not make such a big impact as Carrie. She is quite bland and doesn't possess Sissy Spacek's awkwardness and homely misfit demeanour and appearance which made the original character so memorable as she fought back against her oppressors at the end. Moretz is as good looking, if not better looking than the girls around her - so she doesn't stand out much as a target for bullies. Slightly bloodier than the original, it is an entertaining film on its own merits, very good for Carrie novices but for the bulk of you who have seen the film, you can't help but compare.
My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!
