A reimagining of the classic horror tale about Carrie White (Chlo Grace Moretz) a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother (Julianne Moore) who unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom. Based on the best-selling novel by Stephen King Carrie is directed by Kimberly Peirce with a screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.
Review
To be honest the 1976 version of Carrie was only great for that period. It's not hard to see how the audience reacted to the film back in the days but now it's nothing more than an entertaining campy relic. The only thing that many would still be amazed is its iconic prom scene. Another adaptation could be a great idea especially for this generation when the context of the story has become more relevant. Unfortunately it seems everyone behind this new version can't let go of the past and the ambition leans more on recapturing the best moments of the original. However solid filmmaking and great cast makes the film watchable. It's almost like the same movie except with people using modern technology and CGI death scenes. But the rest it's difficult to know what else is the difference.
While fans will always defend the De Palma version a remake is reasonable. Bullying has become a serious subject and sometimes the bullied fights back ending up doing something worse. Those real life incidents resembles so much in this classic story but the film wasn't so focused at that point until the end. Although we get to see more of Carrie being curious about her special abilities and Margaret's briefest backstories which are interesting addition to the plot that didn't make up enough to show its bigger picture. Again the movie is more fond to its campiness. It at least gives a bit of satisfaction to those who crave for horror violence. The famous prom scene has found some inventive ways to kill its characters despite of CGI.
The direction has its own style which works throughout. Still it's bothering that there are parts that really tries to resemble with (I'm comparing it once again) the original. Especially the opening credits just take away the nudity and here you go. If there's anything at least elevated here then that's most likely the performances. Another personal opinion aside from Sissy Spacek I think most of the cast were too broad and sort of hammed it up. It's from the 70's sure but then we need a more credible and dark depiction of high school. Chloe Grace Moretz may not beat Spacek's portrayal as Carrie but she gives a genuine intimidation and eventual natural madness to the character. Julianne Moore is the improvement among. She manifests the pain beneath Margaret White's fanaticism which is quite compelling.
The best advice to see Carrie is to not be familiar with the other adaptations because the surprise is the point of both versions though I wished the film stepped forward more on its message than the camp that made this story such an icon. Overall it's neither inferior nor superior compared to the original it's all straightforward remake with modern time elements except the themes. Despite of being disappointing Carrie is still an entertaining film. It's a great story anyway and giving it a second look with a different vision might be alright. In the end it's a needless readaptation than we thought it would be.