The original Carrie film from 1976 is one that I have always liked but could never really say that I loved it. Now it was a good film that has an excellent payoff at the end, years later in 1999 they made a sequel and even a made for TV movie in 2002. I did see the sequel, but honestly I don't remember much about it due to only seeing in once years ago. What we have now is the 3rd adaptation of the Stephen King novel, does it deserve to be given praise or is it just another cash grab for the movie studio?! Let the autopsy begin!
"Carrie" follows Carrie White who is a social outcast at her school and gets teased and belittled by her fellow classmates. At home she has to deal with an extremely religious mother who tries at nothing to shelter her from the world. One day Carrie ends up having her period for the first time and she freaks out which leads to her becoming the laughing stock of the school. Soon after Carrie realizes she has telekinetic powers and that leads to a very shocking ending.
Going in I was skeptical about how good this adaptation was going to be and honestly the skepticism quickly vanished. This is very much a more modern adaptation of the book that I think will appeal to younger audiences where the original adaption does not. At the same time I think that fans of the original will also find some enjoyment in this updated version. There is alot of good going for the 2013 version and that mostly is in the acting and how the characters were handled.I have heard a person or two say that Chloe Grace Moretz is too pretty to be believable as an outcast. I think those people are wrong because when it comes to being outcast amongst your peers it most the time has nothing to do with beauty, but more of what that person has done or how different they act than the general populous of the school. In the character of Carrie's case she is more pushed away by those around her due to what her mother has done in the past.
If you look at Chloe more from the perspective of how good she did in her role in "Let Me In" I think you will accept her more in this role than you would of ever before. Basically I think she did an excellent job at bringing the character of Carrie to life. Another performance that really stuck out to me was Julianne Moore as Carrie's overly religious psychotic mother. She took the reigns of that character and blew me away with how she portrayed her. Now when I said the way the characters were handled I mean that they didn't go with the typical way of making everyone seem like they want to harm and torture Carrie, they actually had characters that were in the popular group that sympathized and even stood up for her. I really like to see that because in ways it may show say the teen viewer of this film that it is fine to stand up for those who are being picked on instead of just standing there letting it happen.
The only small little thing I wish they could of touched on a little more is the back story of what Carrie has went through by the hands of her mother. They do touch on it here and there, but I would of liked a little more. This is one case that I can say that a book like Carrie being re-adapted is just fine and will open up younger viewers to the book as well as the original 1976 adaptation. The only thing I can give you advice on is please go into this film with an open mind because you may actually enjoy what you see. Overall this is a very good film that I highly recommend to those who both have seen the original and those who are new to find out about Carrie.
The picture quality on this release is what I expected and is simply excellent. The detail is high and it just looks great like you'd expect from a film made in 2013. The audio is fantastic as well and has the punch to it that helps to bring the film that much more alive. Along with the great presentation you also get some very cool special features that include an alternative ending. The alternative ending is kinda cool, but I am glad they went with the ending that is in the film.
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: Kimberly Peirce
Lead Actor/Actress: Chloe Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Blu-ray Release Year: 2014
Theatrical Release Year: 2013
Time Length: 100 mins.
Rating: R
Region Code: Region A + Region 1
Release Company: MGM
Website:
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