MOVIE REVIEW: CARRIE

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Everybody knows her name. She is the tragic monster, a tormented girl with telekinetic abilities who just had enough. The prom is approaching and her fairy tale seems to be coming true. But this is just a set up for another cruel prank. This time payback will be a bitch.

There were hundreds ways of adapting Stephen King’s classic novel. The book is structured as a collection of scraps and interviews that interfere with the narrative, when survivors are looking back at that bloody night, analysing what went wrong and what would they do to make it different.

But the director Kimberly Price, most noted for her another female abuse saga BOYS DON’T CRY chose to follow a straight narrative of  Brian De Palma’s film, only upgraded with state of the art visual effects. It is an emotional, compelling, and tragic movie, but when everyone knows the story as well as the one of Red Riding Hood there should have been more surprises in store.

The prom night scene is shorter and less gory than expected. When Sissy Spasek did it all with a stare, Chloë Grace Moretz is a hands on conductor and very in control of creating this symphony of horror.  She makes a nice very likable Carrie, with only problem, it is hard to believe that such a pretty girl will be tormented so badly. (she is definitely quiche if you ask J’amie, the private school girl).

Julianna Moore in the role of the Carrie’s mother seems to enjoy depicting insanity. Her hands scratchy, bodycutting performance can awake unsettlement even in the hardcore horror viewer.  But in this day and age it is surprising that such woman was still allowed to keep a child in her care. It is obvious to everyone she it totally coo-coo.

Unfortunately CARRIE is a remake and not original adaptation of Stephen King’s classic novel. It is a decent re-telling of the story but it will be helpful if it held at least one original idea in store.