2. Carrie
If Kimberly Peirces 2013 remake proved anything, it was that Stephen Kings story of an adolescent girl with telekinetic powers doesnt really work in the digital age, where the answer to everything is only a Google search away. It made Brian De Palmas version look like a curio, an antique from a different time, a situation exacerbated by the presence of pre-fame John Travolta. From the fashions to the slang to De Palmas use of split-screen, the movie has the 70s written all over it. In an era of school shootings, the idea that the worst thing the bullies can do is embarrass Carrie at the prom seems almost twee. Neither has time been kind to the films dream ending, which was ripped off first by De Palma himself (Dressed To Kill), then by Friday The 13th, then by every journeyman filmmaker seeking a clever way to end his movie.
Ian Watson
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
See more from
Ian