It's been 40 years since Stephen King published his first novel. Over the proceeding decades we would see an onslaught of King's work translated to the big screen, some with great results and the others resulting in garbage, but that's the way it is with a body of work that is continuously wanted by an eager public.
This is the third time that the first novel by King has been presented, the first being Brian DePalma's early classic that exhibits all that DePalma was to be, good or bad, and starred and excellent Sissy Spacek as the title character. There was a sequel somewhere, a TV remake (neither of which I can comment on because why should we bother). This newest version comes to us from director Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry), bringing us an examination of a scared, uninitiated high school girl from an actual woman. Who would have thought...
The story is the same. Carrie White (Chloe Grace Moretz) has lived a sheltered life with her mother (Julianne Moore), a religious zealot trying to make amends with what she considers a hedonistic past. As always, this goes great for a senior in high school who becomes a woman in the middle of gym class. a guilt ridden fellow student decides to have her boyfriend take Carrie to the prom to make amends, but other students aren't as guilty as she. If you have seen any other the previous incarnations, you know the rest.
The film is your basic rehash of the original film and book. There is nothing new here. It's the same animal as 40 years ago. The big finish is epic and satisfying, but the ending leaves something to be desired, almost taking a twist into action overload Michael Bay territory. This is where the original film has the advantage over this new model. The ending here is just to much for a film such as this. It just doesn't gel with the rest of the film.
As always, remakes are remakes and Hollywood still tries to milk an old franchise for all its worth. Carrie is a simple rehash that isn't even twisted around a bit to bring us something new. Unless you're viewing this for free, skip it. You've seen the original. Go find a nice independent film or documentary. Experience something new.
