Carrie

I do not care how many of you read this and think "What a moron." Because I am not, I am right. Anybody can call themself a Stephen King fan because they've seen all his movies. Well, if you've never read his books then you're not a Stephen King fan, you're a horror movie fan. I read Carrie for the first time when I was 10 years old. It was the scariest, most f'ed up book I had read. (Remember I was 10, before Carrie I read Goosebumps and Freckle Juice) And my dad told me there was a movie. I had heard of it before, of course. So, I rented it. Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, and John Travolta were good, but the thing is they were the hottest stars at the time. Travolta was a teen hunk from Kotter and Sissy was your "girl next door" type. The original is a classic, I will never deny that. It's one of the best horror movies of the 20th century. Even though the acting was superb, Spacek wasn't the perfect Carrie, because she is pretty. Carrie was awkward and weird looking. Bettis is attractive, but in a creepy sort of way. Clarkson was a much better Mrs. White, because Laurie portrayed this wild, gospel radio type woman yelling out Christian nonsense. Mrs. White was described in the book as a insane woman with a sane face. Okay, let's be honest, Travolta sucked in Carrie. He was playing the role he ALWAYS did in the late 70s, a stupid, pretty boy. The guy that played Nolan in the remake portrayed him as a insane, extremely psychopathic. And Chris and Billy's relationship in the original wasn't as convincing. In the book, they were kind of a match made in heaven, they were both sadistic and cruel people. The only things I have to say about the original is Amy Irving was a better Sue, and the original Miss Desjardins was better too (the gym teacher). All in all I thought the remake of Carrie wasn't as classic as the original, but was more according to the book and they picked the characters well. 9/10

I bought this DVD even before seeing this movie because I like Angela Bettis a lot!!! She is very good at playing misfits who are sweet, innocent and DEADLY!!!

And I'd heard a lot of people criticize this TV remake of the Sissy Spacek film. The guy at Blockbuster even said, "You're buying the REMAKE???"

Like I said, I like Ms. Bettis's work. She was FABULOUS in a similar role in the film MAY. I figured that would be just about ALL I'd like about this version of Carrie. After all, everyone knows that TV movies are never as good as theatrical ones, right???

But as I watched this movie, I was very impressed. The performances of Bettis and Patricia Clarkson as Carrie's holy roller mom were outstanding and chilling. But the writer of this TV script also deserves a nod. I've never been more impressed with TV writing before. It was just clever, with humor, and unpredictable.

The special effects were not perfect, but they were impressive for TV. The guy who played Carrie's date was TOO OLD to be a high school kid. The girls who were mean to her were well acted, and the guy who slaughtered the pig was a real psycho. His eyes looked crazy even.

Good movie. I give it an A.

The most horrifying shot is the tableau at the end of the first bathtub scene near the end of the movie. (The second bathtub scene near the movie's end has more to do with turning this TV movie into a TV series--the plan that never came to fruition.) The three hour length of this TV version is well suited to amplify the drama and extend the finale rampage. The disaster effects are good. The different take on Margaret, Carrie's mother, is problematic. On one hand, she becomes more realistic and sympathetic, but on the other, nobody really wants to tone down a human monster whom we would rather not see as so human. Most cast members give fine performances including, but hardly limited to, the actors in the roles of Carrie, Sue, Billy, Tommy and Chris. Although Billy is surprisingly the one who seems to be possessed by evil; so where did that come from? I think this version is as good as the original in some ways, not as good in others and yet better in still others. A second crack at turning Stephen King's story into a film developed some of the story line more fully, which is to be expected with three hours.

To state that this new version of Carrie doesn't remotely compare with the original horror classic is to belabor the obvious, so I will leave that issue aside.

However, I expected this movie to be simply garbage, like the recent "Rose Red", or dull and mediocre, like the TV remake of The Shining, and surprisingly, it was better than that.

Making a remake of a classic film is usually inadvisable, but under the circumstances, this was an honest and decent rendition of Carrie. TV movies tend to be endlessly drawn out, with low proudction values, and this was better than average. Most of the credit goes, however to the casting. Most of the cast were a very competent group of actors who I think really gave it their best shot in creating a new angle on the Carrie story. Particular mention should be made of Angela Bettis in the title role. She tackled the daunting task of taking a part made very famous by someone else, and making it her own. Her Carrie is less a neurotic mess than Sissy Spacek', repressed and unhappy but still strong and with some guts. She was very sweet and vulnerable, and was often very touching, as when she was suddenly, out of the blue, asked to the prom by such a handsome, nice boy.

One big disappointment was Patricia Clarkson as Mrs. White. The part was really reduced in scope in this version, and the actress played her in a very restrained and bland fashion. I can well imagine that it was decided that to replicate Piper Laurie's over the top baroque performance was inadvisable. The idea here was to have a more low key sinister approach. But the result was completely dull and uninteresting character that had less relevance to the story than it should have.

So for a TV remake of a horror classic, I give it A for effort, with some very good elements to it. However, this is still a movie you will probably watch only once. The real Carrie, Brian DePalma's 1976 classic, is one that is always fun to watch again and again!

I have read the book and seen the original 1976 movie, numerous times. When I saw this advertised and heard that it followed the book, I knew I had to see it! It was interesting to see the book brought to life in a film. Even though it was modernized with Carrie making references to the internet, Chris using a cell phone, etc. I really enjoyed watching it, even though I still have to say that the original 1976 movie is still a classic! For some strange reason, during the prom scene where the blood is poured on Carrie, I was actually waiting to hear the famous line, "They're all gonna laugh at you!" That was such a nice touch in the original, but very difficult to duplicate. I also noticed in the credits that Jasmine Guy was in this film, but I looked and was not able to see her anywhere. The only thing I did not like is the fact with it being on regular television, the commercial breaks interrupted some of the good parts. Just when I was really into watching it, a commercial appears! Overall this movie was enjoyable to watch and to see a classic book and film come back. I am not much on remakes, but this one was not that bad. Still, nothing can hold a candle to the original!