Stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore. Gabriella Wilde, Portia Doubleday, Alex Russell, Ansel Elgort and Judy Greer Directed by Kimberly Pierce It would be hard to do a review of this new iteration of Carrie without drawing comparisons to the original adaptation by Brian dePalma back in 1976. Back then, Sissy Spacek played the titular character, Carrie White, a young girl on the edge of womanhood who also discovers that she has telekinetic abilities. Back in 1976, this played out as a horror movie. Here in 2013, this plays out like an off-shoot of an X-Men movie, albeit a touch on the gory side. Still, since director Kimberly Pierce has set out to adapt Stephen King’s novel as much as dePalma’s version was also an adaptation of the novel, albeit with certain limitations, the 2013 edition is squarely a remake. The beats are almost the same although it may seem that the R rating was not fully utilised. Sure, the sensibilities then and now are different. Current star, Chloë Grace Moretz, was only 15 during filming while most of the ‘teens’ back in 1976 were played by actresses over 20, which allowed more risqué shots then. The use of technology on display is also evident and incorporated into the plot itself, reflecting the state of bullying in today’s high-school environment. That is probably something the writers and director might have expanded a little more on, but did not, probably to stay closer to the source novel. The role of Carrie White itself might have been a challenge for Miss Moretz, especially after turns in Kick Ass, Kick Ass 2, Dark Shadows and especially Let Me In. It’s not that she has that aura of vulnerability to convey the quiet, reclusive and insecure Carrie in the first half. Instead, she relies on the physical side of acting, keeping her arms closed or crossed, hunching over and keeping her head down, all of that slowly loosening up as the movie progresses to the inevitable Prom scene (see the trailers). Then, it’s full gestures with arms motioning for action as a representation of her unleashed power. This, in comparison to the quiet rage and subtle gestures used by Sissy Spacek. And it’s not to say that Moretz did a bad job, as she more than adequately carries the movie on her shoulders. It’s just different. She genuinely is one of the better young actresses around. It’s just… it would be very interesting to see what Elle Fanning would have done with the role. On the other half of the double act, we have Julianne Moore as Margaret White, Carrie’s ultra-religious mother. Now less a Bible thumper that was Piper Laurie in the 1976 edition, but somewhat unhinged in a self mutilating way this time around. The character still comes across as an ultra-religious nutter, perhaps a little too much. Still, Moore does fairly well with the role, and there are those moments where the caring mother figure does come through, enough to show that Carrie and her mother are somewhat dependant on each other to a certain extent. The rest of the young cast appear to run through the motions with Portia Doubleday perhaps struggling a bit to play the main baddie, Chris Hargensen. Not quite menacing and more spoiled brat comes to mind. The kind who believes she can get away with anything. Maybe that’s what they were going for here. As mentioned earlier, it’s less of a horror movie and more of a twisted super-hero movie. A more recent comparison might be rather excellent Chronicle (2012), which would make a decent double feature paired with this movie. With the source novel and the original movie being supposed ‘horror’ classics, this version gets marketed the same way, and I doubt it would do the movie any favours. The sensibilities today are different and in that context, a movie like this wouldn’t really be classified as a horror movie. A drama, perhaps. Maybe as far as a light psychological thriller. There is blood, of course, and some gore, but I doubt it’s anything more shocking than what one might see on an episode of CSI. Still, the cast and crew manage to present a decent movie that might stand on its own. The production values are good, as are the effects. They definitely managed to do more than dePlama who was restricted by budget and technical restrictions of the time. It might even get some young movie fan to seek out the original 1976 edition or even the 2002 TV Movie edition with Angela Bettis in the title role.
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