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MPAA/Content R [AC, AL, N, SV] |
Distributor Screen Gems |
Technical HD 2.35:1 |
Genres HOR THR |
Runtime 99 mins. |
Country USA |
Budget $30M
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CAST
Chloë Grace Moretz, Judy Greer, Portia Doubleday, Alex Russell, Gabriella Wilde, Ansel Elgort & Julianne Moore
CREDITS
Director: Kimberly Peirce; Screenwriters: Lawrence D. Cohen & Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa; Producers: Kevin Misher; Director Of Photography: Steve Yedlin; Production Designer: Carol Spier; Editors: Lee Percy & Nancy Richardson; Costume Designer: Luis Sequeira; Music Composer: Marco Beltrami
THE SYNOPSIS
Maine, years ago. A religious but disturbed young woman named Margaret White (Moore) gives birth to a girl and intends to kill her. She doesn’t and raises her instead. Modern day: daughter Carrie (Moretz) is a shy—but special—girl who’s nearing high school graduation. Besides having to contend with her disturbed mother at home, the young woman is the victim of school bullies—especially when Carrie experiences her first menstrual cycle during a post-gym class shower.
The other girls, led by the nasty Chris Hargensen (Doubleday) and Sue Snell (Wilde), throw tampons at Carrie and record phone video for internet playback. The bullies are busted by gym teacher Miss Desjardin (Greer) and punished—ousting Chris from school and the prom when the girl rebels. Wanting to make real amends, Sue gets her jock (but simpatico) boyfriend Tommy Ross (Elgort) to ask Carrie to the prom—who agrees.
On prom night, Margaret tries to dissuade her from going. Their confrontation becomes violent as Carrie’s strengthening telekinetic powers puts Mother in her place immediately. Meanwhile, that nasty Chris and her nastier boyfriend Billy Nolan (Russell) plot revenge on Carrie. They slaughter a pig and fill a bucket with its blood. Chris’ friends on the prom committee rejigger the ballots to make Carrie and Tommy prom queen and king.
On stage, Carrie glows with pride…until Chris and Billy cause the bucket to spill on her and Tommy (a nice guy to the end). The metal bucket lands on Tommy’s head and kills him. Not realizing the extent of what’s happened, the crowd laughs at Carrie, now covered in pig’s blood. They laugh no more when Carrie goes on a telekinetic killing spree—sparing almost no one but the benevolent Miss Desjardin and a few lucky kids who manage to escape the gym.
Sue appears, not realizing what has happened—but is spared by Carrie’s wrath. The same cannot be said for Chris and Billy, who try to run Carrie over with his hot rod. They die very painfully. Later, Carrie, zoned out and blood-splattered, heads home to confront her mother—who believes that the Devil has possessed her little girl. It doesn’t end well…
THE CRITIQUE
It seems these days as if every new generation needs their watermark movie—even if that movie is a remake of an already established (and superior) motion picture. The new CARRIE is no exception. Based on prolific author Stephen King’s 1974 debut novel, it is a updated retread of its cinematic progenitor, 1976’s Carrie—helmed by the brilliant Brian De Palma and starring the talented Sissy Spacek during her angenieux days. The long shadow is starting to cast itself…now!
The remake (or “reboot”—a silly moniker that studios are using today to recreate movies that usually don’t need to be) is an ambivalent motion picture with a strong pedigree. It was co-written by the original film’s screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen (he also wrote the TV versions of King’s It and The Tommyknockers) and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (TV’s Big Love and Glee). A nice touch to bring in the screenwriter of the original—yet at it is also a curse, because one cannot grab lightning in a bottle twice.
However, the scribes smartly updated the premise to modern times and incorporated the digital technology to further incense Carrie’s bullying—e.g. posting her menstrual freakout on the internet…further intensifying her humiliation beyond the walls and ecosystem of her own high school. The movie’s downside is that we’ve seen this all before—and with better results by De Palma, et al. The new screenplay downplays the novel’s—and the original film’s—religious overtones and parallelism of Carrie’s telekinesis with the late onset of puberty in favor of the type of teenage angst one can see on TV’s CW network. A pity…
CARRIE is competently directed by Kimberley Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry, Stop-Loss), an intelligent and measured filmmaker. The idea of hiring a female to direct a movie like this makes all the sense in the world…in theory. Female director, female cast, female problems of puberty, society and maturity—it will make more sense now, right? Ehh…not so fast! Working from a mediocre script, Peirce is forced to make changes in the fabric of the story to meet the new plot points.
Her cast of interchangeable actors and actresses also suffer, as they all look alike: clean-cut, wired for technology and either wispy (the girls) or wimpy (the guys). At least (in the original) Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, John Travolta and William Katt all looked different and had interesting personalities to boot. Here, I feel like I’m watching the CW network programming…further pissing me off because I’m not as young, trim and handsome as I used to be. Well, still handsome at least!
I love the casting of Julianne Moore (a lovely and talented actress in her own right) as the religious zealot mother—though she is sadly hampered with an underdeveloped character that neither frightens nor inhibits. Now, Piper Laurie (as the original Margaret White) scares the crap out of you—because you can surely believe that the cuckoo bitch will indeed knife you to death! So start prayin’ and get the hell outta Dodge while you’re at it!!
Which brings me to Carrie White herself, Chloë Grace Moretz. Another talented actress who has done better work in better movies (check her out as the ultraviolent “Hit-Girl” in the popular Kick-Ass movies), Miss Moretz happens to be in the right age bracket to play the character. However, I feel that she is too young to play Carrie White—why not cast a girl above age since we’re going to be exposed to her budding sexuality…vis-à-vis, telekinetic powers. Casting a waify, almost-ethereal Spacek (then 26) as Carrie White at least allowed us (the viewer) to indulge in De Palma’s lurid high school girl fantasies (and that is NOT an indictment—De Palma knew how to push our buttons!).
Moretz, bless her heart, is not given the necessary motivational ammo to portray a tortured soul. And, she too is hampered by a screenplay that quashes her budding telekinesis until Act III…where she goes all X-MEN on everyone. Why? More build-up throughout the movie would have solidified Moretz’s performance; more bloodshed (like the original) would have made her performance scarier.
Anyway, at least the production values for this $30 million (boxofficemojo.com) movie—made in Toronto, Canada—are modest across the board. Using the ARRI ALEXA camera system, the HD-widescreen cinematography, lensed by Steve Yedlin (Brick, Unknown, Looper), is clear and serviceable. Gone is the soft-focus/creepy look of the original; in its place is a palette designed to darken towards the end, when Carrie goes on her telekinetic rampage.
Smooth editing by veteran cutters Lee Percy (Re-Animator, 54, The Ice Harvest) and Nancy Richardson (Selena, Lords Of Dogtown, Twilight) highlight good production design by David Cronenberg’s favorite designer, Carol Spier (The Dead Zone, Naked Lunch, A History Of Violence) and a lush, underused score by genre composer Marco Beltrami (Scream series, Dracula 2000, World War Z).
My problem with this polished, well-produced, (surprisingly) R-rated vehicle is that it’s not scary! The original had that ‘70s, otherworldly, organic horror thang brewing under the surface. It was scary! Here, the scariest aspect is the effective poster art featuring a close-up of Moretz’s bloodied Carrie White. That’s what we needed more of in the movie—which was quite bloodless for a horror movie. In De Palma’s masterpiece, you felt the horror because NO ONE WAS SPARED Carrie’s wrath.
Another thing—and I am certainly not advocating this—is that the bullying felt trite. In the Carrie of the 1970s, bullying was a serious matter that was largely ignored (believe me, I remember!). Today, there is a national and societal taboo associated with bullying and its consequences—post Columbine, post-Virginia Tech, et al. I did not believe for one minute that Carrie’s tormentors were capable of going to the lengths that they’re scripted to.
Again, blame the actors…the scribes…the director? Yes, they’re all culpable, so burn the gym down flip as many cars as you want. Then watch the original, because that long shadow has already covered this mediocre remake. After that—and if you’re in the mood to watch remakes—pop in Marcus Nispel’s scary The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and Zack Snyder’s terrific Dawn Of The Dead (2004). At least those flicks scared you!
THE BOTTOM LINE
In terms of remakes, the New Millennium CARRIE neither misses nor hits its mark. Living in the long shadow of the previous feature film adaptation, this one attempts to update the plot to modern times and norms. On the plus side, the movie is polished and well-produced with a game cast. Too bad about that long shadow, though…
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1939659/
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_(2013_film)
Official Site: http://www.carrie-movie.com/site/
MoonStar Film Reviews 
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