Remakes of original films that are considered classics are often times not welcomed. Films based off Stephen King novels are also not often welcomed for their inability to display the true sense of horror his books created. But here we have Carrie, the latest film that’s a remake of a Stephen King based movie from 1976. While this film is certainly not bad and sometimes entertaining, it feels mostly unnecessary.
This remake of the original Carrie follows the same storyline. Seventeen year old Carrie White (Chloë Grace Moretz) is an isolated, shy loner in her school who discovers she has telekinetic powers after an unfortunate incident during gym class. After being harassed and bullied for the event, Carrie begins to research more information regarding her special abilities and overtime strengthens her powers. Carrie’s mother Margaret (Julianne Moore), whose a deeply religious individual, believes she’s possessed by Satan for having telekinetic abilities. It’s only a matter of time before Carrie is pushed to the limit and starts unleashing her telekinesis, causing havoc at her school and in her town.
Chloë Grace Moretz is a good actress, who has been in several other good works in cinema including Hugo and the Kick-Ass series. She puts on a good performance as a shy and awkward girl in this remake. But one important element that is missing from her performance is installing fear into us. Unlike the original, we don’t really fear what will eventually come from Carrie. Chloë Grace Moretz does not show us much of a reason to fear her, but instead makes us feel more sorry for her. Her mother played by Julianne Moore gave a more convincing performance as Carrie’s psychotic and hysterical mother. She is probably the creepiest part of the movie, especially since she frequently abuses Carrie.
However while watching I couldn’t help but wonder why Carrie needed to be remade. There are some instances where the story is brought into the twenty first century, such as when a classmate films Carrie being bullied on her mobile phone and uploads it to the internet. After all the new elements were added, which were not much, did not add anything to the original story. Remaking what was considered to be a very good horror film didn’t make sense to me, but since this film has performed very well in the box office, there’s obviously a lot of interest in it.[amzn_product_inline asin=’B00302QF72′]
The biggest contribution this film adds to the original are the special effects which are well done and convincing. The effects don’t showcase themselves much until during the end of the film, but what we are treated to are explosions, roads splitting apart, someone catching on fire among other things.
This remake of Carrie is not bad movie. But honestly it felt unnecessary and sometimes drawn-out. The only thing the remake adds are the computerized effects, which as previously stated are done well. A younger audience would find much more entertainment from this remake while older audiences will definitely find more enjoyment from the original 1976 film. It’s a movie worth checking out on Netflix or Amazon for an interesting Friday night horror flick.
MOVIE RATING
Reviewed by Ivan Karhoff
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