Original film, book better than latest adaptation
The name “Carrie” alone conjures up images of blood and a solitary girl, and the plot is known to most, even those who have not read the novel or seen the previous films.
Carrie White (Chloë Grace Moretz) is the repressed teenage daughter of Margaret (Oscar nominee Julianne Moore), a religious fanatic. While she is devoutly spiritual, Margaret abuses her daughter emotionally and psychologically. The opening of the film differs from the original novel and previous adaptations by showing an early conflict Margaret has concerning her child.
Carrie has her first period in the gym shower in high school. When the blood trickles down her thighs and legs, she screams in terror because she has no idea what is happening. She assumes she is bleeding to death. The other girls in the shower start teasing her by yelling and throwing tampons at the poor young woman.
The other girls are punished, but Chris (Portia Doubleday) fights back and argues with the gym teacher, Ms. Desjardin (Judy Greer), until she is suspended from attending prom.
Sue Snell (Gabriella Wilde) feels guilty about ridiculing Carrie, so she convinces her boyfriend, Tommy Ross (Ansel Elgort), to take Carrie to the prom instead of her. Furious, Chris decides to take revenge on Carrie at the prom with a plan that cruelly relates to the incident that kept her from the prom.
When Carrie is attacked, she uses her telekinetic powers that she has discovered and exercised earlier in the film.
“Carrie” was the first novel written by the prolific horror writer Stephen King. “Carrie” was also the first film adaptation of one of his works. Brian De Palma (“Dressed to Kill,” “Scarface”) directed the 1976 film version with bravado and style to spare. Sissy Spacek plays Carrie, and Piper Laurie plays Margaret. Both actresses were nominated for Oscars for their performances.
Kimberly Peirce (“Boys Don’t Cry,” “Stop-Loss”) directed this completely, utterly pointless remake. The original film is a classic of the horror genre. Peirce’s film has some good performances, but it suffers from an existential crisis, and not in a good way.
Spacek is so frail and shy in the original that it is almost painful to watch her. Moretz is a fine young actress, but she pales in comparison. She is too average and conventionally beautiful to be believable as the introverted Carrie.
Moore is good in every film she is in, and she gives a creepy and tragic performance, but, again, Laurie did it first and did it better. Moore’s Margaret seems dazed in her world of religious obsession, whereas Laurie’s is more disturbing, because she often appears sweet and motherly. Laurie makes the mother eerie by playing her with normality.
The best performance is by Greer as the gym teacher. She comes across as the most realistic character in the film and seems like the one who is acting the least. Many of the best scenes in the film are between Ms. Desjardin and Carrie or the other girls. The quieter moments, not the shocking ones, are the most powerful.
The film is never scary, and the climactic showdown is badly choreographed. When all hell breaks loose, the violence and mayhem resemble the more mediocre scenes in the “Final Destination” series. The attacks are laughable, but they are played seriously. It does not help that, once again, CGI is used when practical effects would have worked fine.
The original “Carrie” is easily available, digitally or on paper. Just go watch De Palma’s film on Netflix or read King’s novel.