Carrie White, she’s among horror pantheon’s most well-known and even iconic anti-heroines, and without a doubt one of Stephen King’s greatest creations. The book was a bestseller. The 70s adaptation by Brian De Palma was an Academy Award nominated film, one that launched the indomitable Sissy Spacek into superstardom. The late 90s witnessed the release of the underappreciated sequel, The Rage: Carrie 2. There was a tragically misguided television remake in 2002. And there was even a Broadway musical. In 2013, Carrie has been resurrected once more in a lovingly produced theatrical extravaganza helmed by Kimberly Pierce, the director of the highly acclaimed award winning motion picture Boys Don’t Cry.
To proclaim Carrie White had captured our imaginations would be an understatement. She’s become a pop culture idol, and for good reason. Many of us can identify with her struggle, and though she’s been warped by some into the status of villain, we’ve cheered her vengeance even as we’ve been horrified by it. Who but the mercilessly tortured Carrie White more deserved to enact such retribution upon her tormenters? Arguably, no one.
We all know the story of the shy, unassuming wallflower shrinking away from the world as the minions of society’s vile underbelly persecute her with unimaginable cruelty. Dominated by a fanatically religious sociopath at home and ignored by most of her school’s indifferent faculty, Carrie’s life is an epic nightmare from which she can only dream of escaping. Slowly, she discovers an otherworldly gift boiling inside her, and with it she will have the final say.
Remaking the Academy Award nominated original adaptation was a Herculean task for Pierce, one that could have destroyed her, but I’m thrilled to boldly announce that it didn’t. She nailed it. The third outing for Carrie White is the best. I state this knowing the original holds a special place in the hearts of millions (myself included), but I must acknowledge that while it is a classic, it is by no means a flawless one.
Pierce’s film benefits from a cast that genuinely looks the part, no suspension of disbelief is needed to picture these performers as high schoolers. The script is good, but it doesn’t deviate very much from the De Palma film. The directing is arguably better, the unintentionally campy moments of the previous film are thankfully not present here. It’s hard to imagine anyone portraying the dysfunctional Whites better than Spacek and Piper Laurie, but Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore transcend those iconic performances. They are both brilliant. Chloë Grace Moretz imbues Carrie with an awkward adolescent allure unseen in her predecessors. She is the bullied Carrie down to her very core, and the deliberate and tense physicalities of her manifested emotions are stunning. You can practically feel her strain and desperation. Moore is no less astounding. Together, they light up the screen.
Everyone involved has every reason to be proud of this film. Highly recommended.
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