Carrie (2002)

Pretty Good

People are voting emotionally.

How sad is this?

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

CARRIE is the second filmed version of the Stephen King novel, following hot on the heels of an ill-advised sequel version in the late 1990s. Watching this tame TV movie - which has no gore, by the way - and you wonder just why they went to the effort of making it. It's a far, far cry from the 1976 Brian De Palma version, a true masterpiece, of which this is a pale imitation.CARRIE is long-winded and overlong, dragging out all of the boring family drama and pseudo-romantic scenes. It starts with bad CGI meteorites which isn't an auspicious debut and goes on from there. Angela Bettis headlines the production, following on from her turn in the creepy goth horror flick MAY, and the ever-sinister Patricia Clarkson (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD) plays her horrid mother. Film fans might also spot GINGER SNAPS actress Katharine Isabelle as one of the bullies and David Keith as a cop.Direction-wise, this isn't too bad, although the writing is middling and the happy ending a cop-out. The worst thing about it is the bad CGI. The aforementioned meteorites stand out here, alongside the ridiculous flying "creepy Carrie" kid, but these moments are nothing compared to the wallowing CGI overload of the climax, which is completely laughable.

Carrie White is a lonely, shy teenage girl with unbelievable telekinetic powers, and is slowly being pushed to the edge of insanity by frequent bullying from classmates at her school, and her own mother. Soon, she discovers she has these telekinetic powers; and when the most gruesome of gags is played on her on prom night, rage takes over....Obviously as the film is made for TV, and it's back 11 years, it looks very cheap, and the special effects are tragic, like something you'd expect to see on the SyFy channel.But overlook all of this, and you have a very, very faithful adaptation of the classic story, which doesn't taint the original, makes the remake look even more pointless than what it is, and has the inclusion of a police enquiry.Bettis makes this movie. Her portrayal of Carrie is one of total desolation, and you cannot help but empathise with her. She makes you realise that the story isn't just about about a woman who can move things with her mind, its about a girl who has everything against her from day one.She gets no reprieve at school, or at work, and when she fights back, she ends up having to vanish (in this telling anyway). This version, along with De Palmas masterpiece, show you how much of a depressing and sad story Carrie actually is.Its a little too long in places, and it could have easily been trimmed to the 100 minute mark, but its watchable, and Bettis is wonderful.Well worth seeing.

This TV version seemed to showcase the extent of Carrie's powers more, and having her kill people then not even remember doing it was REALLY scary, when you think about it. Bad enough to have an extremely powerful psychokinetic on a killing spree, but worse when that person suddenly snaps out of it and claim complete ignorance of anything he/she did...The unique twist ending with Sue Snell helping Carrie and Carrie getting a chance to live and start over again was a highly original take.Patricia Clarkson TOTALLY nails the role of the crazy, religious zealot mother. Angela Bettis - not to be unkind, but she has a weird bug-eyed look about her that makes her VERY convincing as an outcast.

2 points before I start.Firstly I would like to start this review by saying I really love the 1976 version of Carrie. I think it is one of the the best horror movies ever made. It is also one of the saddest horrors ever made.Secondly I don't see why people are bad mouthing this TV version from 2002. It may not be a classic but it is a very good remake that is more faithful to the source novel than the original film.In My opinion the 2002 version of Carrie is one of the best TV adaptations of a Stephen King novel, up there with IT and the 1979 version of Salems Lot. All the actors play there parts very well. Plus anyone who has read Carrie will realise how close to the novel this version is, well apart from the ending. This was changed due to the fact that this version was originally intended as a pilot for a series.The film starts with the survivors of prom giving evidence to the police. This comes directly from the novel and the story is told in flash back. Angela Bettis makes for an interesting Carrie White. Unlike Sissy Spacek Carrie who comes a cross as a deer in headlights, Bettis Carrie isn't as naive or scared of her tormentors and in a couple of scenes she actually verbally fights back,(Reminding Sue Schell that the only reason she speaking to her in a shop is that none of her friends are around to see). Carrie in this version is fully aware that Tommy was asked to take her to the prom by Sue.This In-fact this is the major difference between the two films. In many ways Carrie is more street wise than her 1976 counterpart. The original Carrie is purposely slick and overplayed, where as this version is subtler and more realistic.This really shows in the the way Carrie is bullied by the other girls and there general reactions to Carrie in general its very realistically played out, making they're nastiness all the more shocking.Patricia Clarkson interpretation of Margret White is one of quiet insanity. It actually makes her performance all the more unnerving.Rena Sofers ,Miss Desjarden is actually a lot better than the original Betty Buckleys, Miss Collins (the gym teacher). This mainly to do with the fact that the role is actually better written than in the original 1976 version. The scene at the prom where she reminds Carrie that High Schools isn't the be all and end all is brilliantly played out.She also shares a great scene where she and the headmaster are confronted by Chris Hargensen father.(This comes directly from Stephen Kings book). The rest of the cast are very good and many have gone on to bigger things. Emilie de Ravin went on to appear in LOST and Kandyse McClure became part of the cast of the New Battlestar Galactica not to mention the always excellent Katharine Isabelle (a real bitch in this version) who has become a cult star of indie horror movies. This adaptation of Carrie only really fails on 2 points. The first is that some of its digital Special Effects don't always work. This was mainly to do with budget restraints. The second is its look. It just looks too made for TV, Its flatly directed and has no real grandeur. This probably why some the reviews have been bad. Also i would like to point out that many of the negative reviews come from people who have never read the book. I really liked this adaptation of Carrie and have watched almost as many times as the original. I'm aware that I've compared the two films in this review but I hope people reading this will not be put off especially as a new version of Carrie is on its way. I hope this version will not be forgotten as its only real flaw was that it was a TV movie.