Carrie Movie Review by Lauren
IMDB Summary: 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.
Review: I’ve seen bits and pieces of the original Carrie film, but I knew I wanted to see this remake as I’m a fan of Chloe Grace Moretz, who plays the title character. While I can’t compare how the movie stays true to the original film (or even the book, since I have not read that either), I can say that I really enjoyed Carrie as its own film.
Throughout most of the film, it isn’t about Carrie’s power. Rather, it’s about her experiences dealing with bullying and abuse. The kids at her school don’t understand her, and instead of trying to lend a hand, they would rather humiliate her for their own laugh. At home, things aren’t much better as Carrie is coming to realize her mom has refused to give her the answers about life that she needs in order to “survive” and possibly even enjoy high school.
Honestly, I found Carrie’s story horribly sad and if it wasn’t for her emerging telekinetic powers, this would be a very moving contemporary story. Just imagine…the way that people treat Carrie ultimately leads to a supernatural breakdown…but what if the only “power” she had was a gun? Carrie could easily be a metaphor for school shootings. What these kids, and Carrie, resort to isn’t something you can approve of, but what you can feel sorry for is what that child went through to be pushed to those extremes.
Beyond that though, the story does turn into an interesting horror film at the end with the infamous pig’s blood and prom scene. Carrie has almost lost all touch with her humanity, and I think Moretz did a great job showcasing the dual natures in Carrie: wounded child who wants her mom to make it better, terrifying woman who can finally enact revenge for all her wrongs.
Everyone in Carrie did a good job with their roles, especially Julianne Moore as Carrie’s mom, Margaret White, who is obviously dealing with many issues. You want to make her a villain, yet you also realize how much she is suffering as well.
Overall, I liked this movie a lot. It’s not a scary film, but there is a lot of blood, for those that are squeamish about that. I can understand it coming out around Halloween, but it’s not a “jump-in-your-seat and scream” type of flick that most people are looking for this time of year. Regardless, I would suggest seeing it.
One of those iconic films that I personally thought shouldn't have been remade. I just can't imagine anyone but Sissy Spacek in the role of Carrie.
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I don't normally mind a lot of blood in films, it's usually the films that mess with your head that put me off. But I like how you mentioned the dual natures that were portrayed so well, I think this would be a difficult thing to accomplish. Thanks for sharing your film review with us! 🙂
You should read the book, definitely.
Huh, perhaps this isn't the best or the scariest Halloween movie, not being horror at all until the end, but it sounds great nevertheless, and I simply adore J. Moore.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
This movie is coming to our cinema on Thursday! I have heard great things for me but I though it was to scary for my liking. I was wrong it seems. Great review 🙂
I always found her mother to be the creepiest part of the movie, both the original and this one!
It has been some time since I have seen this one
Now you need to see the original. It has been years since I wathced it and read the movie. I am most curious about this remake as I adore SK. I hope it stays true to the book!
Carrie was one of my favorite horror movies as a teen and even now so I'm kind of wary of watching this one. At least it sounds like it was decent and I do like the cast chosen for it. The original is not extremely horror either until the end and it IS sad – her mom was such a nut case and she was raised like a hermit who didn't even know what menstruation was. oh who am I kidding I'm definitely too curious to not watch this one >.<
I'd like to see this. I loved the novel and first movie. This remake sounds good.
It's interesting that you say this one wasn't really scary, because I remember being terrified by the original, but that might be because I was so young when I saw it and the blood really got to me. Maybe if I rewatched it now, I'd be fine with it. Great review!
I haven't even watched the original movie of Carrie and never read the book. Really should go see it soon, right? While I'm still in a Halloweeny mood:)
Yeah, I haven't read the book or seen the original, so this would be all new material to me, as well. I like Chloe, too, and from the previews, it looked like she did a good job. I like how you mention Carrie's situation could be used as a metaphor for school shootings. Sad, but you make a very valid point. Thanks for sharing your review. I'm not as big a fan of horror films as I used to be, but I'm definitely interested in seeing this one.
Wow… I never really thought of what "Carrie" might be like WITHOUT telekinesis. That's a very powerful observation, actually.
I've definitely been wanting to see this, though. Julianne Moore looks amazingly crazy in the previews. 😉