Carrie – Film review
Director: Kimberly Peirce
Starring: Chloe Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore and Gabriella Wilde
Release Date: Nov 29
The remake of the classic Brian De Palma film (or the re-adaptation of the book, whichever way you want to look at it) is a pretty big film and that, right there, is the main problem with this lack-lustre adaptation. Something that horror enthusiasts should know by now is that the bigger the hype surrounding a horror film, the bigger a flop it tends to be.
Brian De Palma understood this, to a certain degree, which is why his vision of Carrie is a charming enough little romp through female monstrosity with some incredible, individualist scenes. Kimberly Peirce’s vision, however…
For those that don’t know the story, Carrie White (Moretz) is an unpopular girl at her local high school, bullied for her shy and conservative manner. Her mother (Moore), a fiercely devout Christian to the level of insanity, has worked hard to ensure that Carrie knows the shame of exploring the pleasures of the flesh.
All of this comes to head when Carrie has her first period, which simultaneously enrages her mother and catalyzes the dormant telekinetic powers sleeping within her…
The link between female sexuality and monstrosity, it is safe to say, has never been expressed clearer than it has in the story of Carrie. No sooner has she entered into womanhood than she is suddenly a horrifically dangerous individual, just waiting for the right push to cause a blood-stained massacre.
And in Chloe Moretz, there lay the most amazing potential for this portrayal. In many ways, she is perfectly cast for a current generation Carrie.
Modern audiences are desensitized, not just to horror, but to sexuality as well. Gone are the days when audiences would squirm uncomfortably because they could see Janet Leigh’s bra at the beginning of Psycho.
Now, it has become the norm to portray slutty teens water-skiing topless before going home for a quick fuck with Brad or Drake (see Friday the 13th (2009) ).
The fear associated with the sexually empowered female is not necessarily lost but severely diluted. Yet, the fear remains, and how better to convey this than through Chloe Moretz?
An underage girl (Chloe is only 16 at the time of writing), she has portrayed a number of extremely powerful female characters, such as Hit-Girl from Kick-Ass and the vampire Abby from Let Me In.
She is undoubtedly an attractive young woman, constantly portrayed as fiercely independent and charismatic, but totally off-limits sexually.
Her power stems from a confident sensuality that is part of her star persona, yet which remains overwhelmingly taboo. It seems doubtful that a more ideal candidate to highlight the fear associated with female sexuality could possibly be found.
And yet, sadly, this avenue of her character isn’t so much mishandled but rather left completely unexplored.
Instead, Carrie seems happy to produce a safe, by-the-numbers rehash of the original film, with the occasional twist and the odd splotch of CGI thrown in at badly timed intervals.
The worst instance of this occurs when Carrie is flung, by her mother, into the hellish closet beneath the stairs, where she is ordered to pray for her soul.
Easily the most unsettling moment of the original, it plays out in a near identical manner until, in a painful attempt to define itself, we are treated to a shot of Jesus on the cross crying bad CGI tears of blood.
It is such an overwhelmingly bland clichè that it becomes very difficult to take any of the scenes that follow seriously.
Which, unfortunately, seems to be the director’s ultimate goal. The story of Carrie is one that is designed to shock, and to that end, this remake never even comes close.
With the exception of one grisly death sequence, which links monstrosity with the female reproductive system in an admirably subtle way, this feels more like a grim high school comedy than the horror landmark it should be.
Worse still, the atmosphere the director and her cast create is clearly more suited for jump scares and shocks, but instead they try to walk down the abandoned road of pervasive creepiness. Upon which they trip over the very first pebble.
Much of this is down to Moretz herself who, while incredibly charismatic generally, hits a fairly dull note in this horror role. It is most unfortunate that the last character she played was Hit Girl in Kick Ass 2, earlier this year.
There, she was portrayed not only as a cool kid, but as literally too cool for school. The transition from egotistical vigilante to painfully shy outcast is an awkward one.
When it comes to cynicism, it is easier to accept her telekinetic powers than it is to accept her lack of popularity.
She fares slightly better when she is on the rampage, channeling Sadako from Ring and emanating a passable air of malice. Unfortunately, this is pantomime malice, marginally unsettling at best and feeling utterly disconnected from her character as a whole.
Julianne Moore fares considerably better, portraying Margaret White with much the same gusto that Piper Laurie did in the 1976 version. Her first appearance onscreen is ominous and threatening, she is set up as far more villainous here than she was in the original.
It seems strange, then, that her screentime does not rise in proportion to her overall significance to the film. Even more surprisingly, she and Moretz have very little chemistry onscreen, which is particularly damaging to the overall story.
There are just enough changes to her character for Moore to make Margaret her own, but only barely. As a result, she does a good job by herself and there is little more to be said about it.
Slight changes are made throughout, but nothing is revolutionary. Social media, the quintessential way of signposting how ‘contemporary’ your film is, plays a minor role in the narrative, but not nearly enough to make any sort of impact.
Sue Snell gets an additional sub-plot of her own, which ties in well with the overall theme. However, it feels like a missed opportunity in execution and is disappointingly underwhelming.
A high note, however, is Ansel Elgort, who portrays Tommy Ross. One of the few characters who feels satisfyingly well rounded, he does a good job of portraying ‘the popular kid’ (or tween) in an age when popularity is far less black and white than it was in the 70’s.
In the end, this version of Carrie feels very much like the original film, but with a very expensive Thesaurus at hand. Performances are mostly bland and forgettable, horror largely absent and there is only just enough charm to make the end result watchable, but not particularly enjoyable.
Score: 2/5
Written by Stephen Hill
