Better Late Than Never – My Review on Carrie

I had always been excited about the modern version of Carrie, especially since Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore would be in the starring roles as Carrie and her mother. For some reason I didn’t get around to seeing it because it came out around the same time as Thor 2 and Ender’s Game and I was more concerned about seeing those movies at the time. Anyway, I was and still am a massive fan of the original Carrie which was released in 1976. I’m also a big Stephen King fan and I originally read the book about 15 years ago, so it is not at all fresh in my mind. I was always told by reviewers that this movie is more in line with the book than the original.

The 2013 version of Carrie can best be summed up as a modern remake of the 1976 movie. It really does stick with the classic, even with the opening shower scene. It’s like the screenplay writer just said, “What would Carrie be like if the story took place in 2013 and lets do exactly that.” So, not only is Carrie bullied at school, but she is also the victim of cyber-bullying as well.

The supporting characters like Chris, Sue, Tommy and the gym teacher are pretty much the same as in the original movie. The big differences are the way Chloë Grace Moretz plays Carrie and Julianne Moore plays the mom. Chloë Grace Moretz plays a more vindictive and diabolical Carrie, although she is just as socially awkward as Sissy Spacek.

Julianne Moore plays the mom more naturally than the original. She’s quiet and religiously preoccupied, not as melodramatic. Julianne Moore is an amazing actress, but the role of Carrie’s mother does not require an award winning actress. The role requires someone over the top to really drive the point home that Carrie is being raised in an strict, emotionally abusive environment. In the original, Carrie’s mom was the villain. In the modern remake, Carrie is the villain and her mother just seems like a nice lady.

The prom scene sticks to the original, the only difference is since it takes place in 2013, there’s a big screen slideshow. Really, that’s it. According to the previews, it looked like Carrie was going to burn the whole town down, but I didn’t really see much of that. It’s more like she blew up one gas station and started a very manageable fire in the high school.

If I were to give this movie a grade, it would be B-. There really weren’t any new ideas or new ways of looking at Carrie in this movie. It sticks to the original, but not as badly as the Vince Vaughn version of Psycho where it’s word for word and shot for shot. At least the 2013 version of Carrie doesn’t crap all over the original like some horror remakes do.