Carrie (R)

A bloody bible. An un-medicated child birth. A creepy mother and newborn. And that’s just in the first sixty seconds. Based on the classic 1974 debut novel by horror legend Stephen King, and itself a remake of an infamous scary movie, the 2013 version of “Carrie” follows true to form the book and shows the viewer just why Stephen King has been a master of terror for an entire generation.

As King’s first published novel, the piece (which was written on an archaic typewriter) sold 30,000 copies, but has since grown into a classic horror tale with the titular Carrie serving as a hero to some, but a demonic creature to all.

Telling the tale of an ultimate revenge, “Carrie” stars young Chloe Grace Moretz as befuddled and awkward high school senior Carrie White. Held captive from the world by her religious zealot nut of a mother (played perfectly by Julianne Moore) Carrie is the subject of intense ridicule at the hands of her classmates.

Moretz, herself a veteran of a handful of low end horror films, embodies Carrie in a genuine way. Moretz is cute, but acts weird enough that she becomes believable as the school’s whipping girl – despite a strange orgasmic type face she seems to readily employ in all facets of danger.

Judy Greer (one of my Hollywood crushes, though I’m not really sure why) plays gym teacher Rita Desjardin, the only adult figure that stands up for Carrie in the face of her tormentors, a pack of vicious cheer-type girls led by Chris Hargensen (Portia Doubleday).

King explores other themes as well, in particular the dangers of religion. As Carrie’s mother is at fault for her daughters primitive upbringing, its completely expected that she will be constantly picked as a perfect target by the rest of her classmates. In today’s world of bullying, “Carrie” seems to be an almost educational watch as much as it is entertainment. The story stays true to the novel, but some updated scenes are added which make it better, such as the inclusion of cell phone technology and videos.

My answer to cyber-bullying is to turn the computer off. Luckily, Carrie takes a different approach for justice. Discovering magic powers she possesses, the aftermath of Carrie’s rage makes Columbine look like a paper cut.

A downside of “Carrie” is the sparse horror scenes. There’s literally nothing to be scared of throughout the film, despite the well known images that seem to accompany it. As you wait for the notorious prom scene, its sparse in the way of fright. The story does a good job of depicting Carrie’s life and struggles, but it gets a little dry.

Like most works of fiction, the bullies are depicted as way more over the top than they probably should be. Carrie is tormented at the beginning but it seems to go a notch overboard what is normal. When Chris is expelled from the prop after skipping out on a detention, she takes her comeuppance on Carrie to the next level – but I guess its what should be expected from an unreal story.

When fellow student Sue Snell (Gabriella Wilde) begins to feel guilty for picking on Carrie, she goes way out of her way to make amends. Rather than just apologize, she sends her stud boyfriend to be Carrie’s prom date. The interaction between Carrie and Tommy (Ansel Elgort) is a thing of greatness, and shows that not all the students in the school are complete a-holes.

In the end, “Carrie” is a solid movie, but it lacks in terms of scares. I may resort to watching the original next year for better comparison. Its not bad not something that’s going to give you the necessary Halloween creep factor either.

by – Matt Christopher