Film Fridays
Looking
for something to watch this weekend? On Film Fridays I take a look at
both new and old movies.
Director: Kimberly Peirce
Writers: Lawrence D. Cohen and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Judy Greer
DVD Release Date: January 14, 2014
Rated: R for bloody violence, disturbing images, language and some sexual content.
Synopsis from IMDb:
A reimagining of the classic horror tale about Carrie White, a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother, who unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom.
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MY THOUGHTS:
I
was a bit skeptical about watching the remake of the movie Carrie with
Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore. While I like both actresses and
think they do great work, Carrie just seemed like one of those films
that didn't really need remaking. I checked the movie out from the
library and ended up watching it yesterday afternoon because it was due
back and I wasn't really doing anything else besides waiting to go work.
While an alright film, it was exactly what I was expecting: a perfectly
fine, but completely unnecessary remake of a classic horror film.
I'm
going to go ahead and assume that my readers are already familiar with
the premise of this film through either the actual Stephen King book on
which it is based or through a viewing of the original, superior 1976
film. Because of this assumption, this review will really be more of a
discussion on the remake itself and will probably end up slightly spoiler-ish.
If you are unfamiliar with the story, but want to watch this movie, you
should probably stop reading now....Still with me? Great.
As
mentioned, this remake doesn't really add anything to the story. I
mean, there was some small additions of cyber-bullying that could have
been extremely interesting if they were explored in more depth, but they
aren't. The whole "plug it up" bathroom scene is still there in the
beginning, but the super mean girl, Chris, videotapes it on her phone
and uploads it to Youtube. That's truly about the only significant difference
between the original film and the remake. Nice, popular girl, Sue, still
decides that her boyfriend, Tommy, should take Carrie to prom to make up
for past sins. Gruff gym teacher, Mrs. Desjardin, still wants to help
Carrie out during this last year of high school and punishes the mean
girls for their behavior, mean girl, Chris, still pours the pig's blood
all over Carrie at prom sparking Carrie to snap.
As
far as the cast is concerned, they really do help make the movie
watchable. Moore is an accomplished actress who plays her roles well.
Greer is a fun addition (I love her) as the gym teacher. Nice(r) popular
girl, Sue, is played by a very pretty blonde and was believable as a
girl struggling with her past behavior. So that leaves Carrie, herself.
While I like Moretz, and think she is a great actress coming into her
own, she isn't who I would have cast as Carrie. Pretty girls get bullied, of
course, but she looked like she was playing awkward more than it seemed
like she was actually awkward.
On
the left is Sissy Spacek who played the original Carrie. On the right
is Ms. Mortez. There is just a natural awkwardness to Ms. Spacek that is
clearly lacking in the rising star which makes Carrie who she is.
In
addition, I would have liked to see more bullying (a phrase I never
thought I would say--yes, I realize how absolutely horrible that
sounds). When Carrie snaps at the prom, bad shit goes down. I'm not
saying that seeing more bullying would justify the deaths of teenagers,
but the tampon incident and the whole pig blood thing doesn't seem like
enough to make somebody snap to the extreme that Carrie snaps. Yes, she
has a zealous mother and people don't seem to really talk to her in
school, but...I don't know. It just doesn't seem all that extreme. Maybe
that's just me.
In
the end, the Carrie remake was exactly what I thought it was going to
be: an almost exact replica of the original film which, in my book,
makes the remake pretty pointless. It's an alright film. It's
entertaining enough if you stumble across it on HBO or whatever premium
channel ends up snagging it in a month or two, or if you get it from
your library, like I did, but don't expect a whole lot.
Official Trailer
I haven't seen this version, but I expected the same thing you did, so I don't really think I'm missing out. It probably would be worth my time to actually read the book, but I've never actually been able to make myself *finish* a Stephen King novel. o_O
ReplyDeleteYou really aren't missing out. I honestly enjoyed this more than I thought I would just because I really do like all the actresses involved, but during the prom scene I couldn't help but think: those girls are mean girls, but they are also teenagers and don't deserve to die. I've only read one Stephen King book. It was called Gerald's Game and it scared the crap out of me. It's about a woman who is tied to a bed in a cabin in the woods and her husband is dead on the floor and a sadistic killer is on the loose. I read it in two days while confined to my bed after knee surgery and when my parents were out of town. The worst reading choice I have ever, ever made. *Shudder*
DeleteGreat review. Nothing can compare to the original Carrie. I really wish they'd stop remaking movies that were already damn near perfect.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. There was absolutely no reason to make this film. Like I said, the cyber bullying aspect could have been so rich and interesting, but there just wasn't enough exploration. Thanks for stopping by!
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