When I heard there was going to be a remake of classic horror movie Carrie, I was skeptical. I'm not a huge fan of remakes and when it was announced the lovely Chloe Grace Moretz was going to play the leading role, I couldn't see how it would work. Sissy Spacek had the weird loner thing down, Chloe is just too pretty. Carrie is one of my favourite books and I love the film so I hoped they wouldn't completely murder it (no pun intended). Warning, there may be spoilers!
Just to give you a brief idea of the storyline, Carrie White is a teenage girl who is bullied mercilessly at school and sheltered by her crazy puritan mother. Things change when Carrie is asked to prom by a popular boy and has an amazing time, until she is pushed too far and things get a little bit terrifying. The whole school discovers that there's more to Carrie than meets the eye.
The Good
The 2013 film is directed by Kimberly Peirce. What I thought was cool about the film is that it's not just a remake, it's a modern version of the classic. I didn't realise until one of the girls whipped out a camera phone during the infamous shower scene. It definitely made it a bit different to the original, while still sticking to the story.
As I mentioned, I wasn't sure how Chloe could make a convincing Carrie however she totally pulled it off. In fact, although Sissy was incredibly creepy looking in original, I might dare to say that Chloe's interpretation in was a little more relatable for today's teenage girl, which has surprised me. The reason was because she was more real - an outcast but not so weird that you couldn't put yourself her shoes. There's a scene where she is crying in the locker room that I really could imagined how she felt and I never really got that with Sissy. Lots of reviews online disagree with me on this, but that's just my opinion.
I don't want to give too much away, but the death of lets just say two really horrid characters is a lot better than the original. I mean a lot better, I was always slightly annoyed by how rushed this particular death was in the 1976 version, it felt like it should be a bit more epic. In this, I feel they really got what they deserved.
The Bad
Honestly, I think they did a pretty good job with this one. The one thing that did annoy me was the ending. It's not really a big deal, but I was really bracing myself for the famous hand out of the grave grab ... but it never happened. Slightly disappointing.
This is going to sound very vague, but in the very end of the film there is an important death scene which I always thought was executed brilliantly in the 1976 film. However, it didn't have the same shock factor or painful irony in my opinion, it's a shame as all the other deaths throughout the film were pretty great. I do feel they fell at the last hurdle there.
Not that Carrie was ever the scariest movie, but in my opinion, Sissy definetly trumps Chloe in the freaky scale. The transformation from a sweet girl to a monster is so much more abrupt in the original which is great, who could forget that famous terrifying silent scream face? Chloe, bless her, just isn't that scary. Don't go see this if you're expecting a conventional horror filled with fright, it isn't. It's more of a disturbing revenge flick.
The Bottom Line
Despite going in with doubts, I really enjoyed this remake. It made the story it's own and Chloe did a fantastic job in my opinion. It's not scary but it's literally the perfect film if you're getting picked on at school, it's the ultimate bullying victim's revenge. If you love the original film and book don't fear, chances are you'll be a fan of this version too. I highly recommend it.
Rating
★★★★★
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