Movie Review: Carrie (2013)
Written by Anthony Sargon
Some stories are just too good to be left alone. A remake of the 1976 Brian De Palma classic (based on the wildly popular Stephen King novel), "Carrie" is a pretty good remake, although it's not much of a "re-imagining." It boasts a strong central performance by the ever-impressive Chloë Grace Moretz, and does Stephen King's story justice, which is all someone can ask for in this case.
The story revolves around a sheltered and lonely high school student by the name of Carrie White, who also happens to have telekinetic powers. After experiencing a hugely embarrassing incident in the girls’ locker room, she becomes even more of an outcast. When fellow student Sue Snell tries to cheer Carrie up by asking her own boyfriend to take Carrie to the prom, her best friend decides to make prom night a living hell for Carrie, which, if you haven't guessed by now, ends up backfiring pretty badly. If that wasn’t enough, Carrie's mother is a total psycho obsessed with keeping Carrie sheltered and away from anything she considers "sinful."
Chloë Grace Moretz does a wonderful job as Carrie. She’s come a long way from just being Hit-Girl and has really matured as an actress, and I can't wait to see what she does next. Julianne Moore does a good job as her crazy-religious mom, although she struggles to find a new way to portray the character.
I will admit that the movie is a bit too faithful to the original (certain shots look almost the same), but that didn’t really bother me. I believe that if a story is really worth telling, then we should do our best to make sure it's being told. A lot of people have never seen the original and wouldn’t give it a chance because of its age, so if a remake will help introduce a new generation of moviegoers to the story, then so be it.
Although director Kimberly Peirce seems happy to just re-create the original, she does manage to make a few changes, but just a few. Some of the changes are cool, while others are perfunctory and do very little to move the actual story forward.
Anthony's Verdict:
Bolstered by a great performance by Chloë Grace Moretz, "Carrie" is an effective remake that tells a timeless tale of revenge. It may be a bit too faithful for its own good, but its entertaining nonetheless.
Numerical Score: 7/10
Read the Original post on A Geek's Blog
