I never did see this "Carrie" remake while it had it's television run, but I rented it on DVD and found it to be a worthy remake of the 1976 horror classic. The plot is basically the same as the original film. Carrie White is a shy, mousy high school teenager who lives a strict and isolated life with her overbearing religious mother. She is harassed at school by classmates, and suffers physical and emotional abuse by her mother. Carrie begins to learn that she has some strange powers - if she concentrates enough, she can move objects with her mind. As her powers begin to grow, Carrie is invited to prom by Tommy, the boyfriend of a girl named Sue who asked him to take her out as an apology after playing a prank on Carrie in the locker room. But when Carrie is doused with pig's blood at the prom by Chris Hargensen and her boyfriend Billy, her telekinetic powers are released, and all hell breaks loose.
It'd be nearly impossible to raise this remake to the level of the original, especially since it was originally a television mini-series, but it was much better than expected. Having read the novel, one sure thing I can say about this film is that it was much closer to Stephen King's book. The 1976 version didn't include a lot from the novel and left some holes here and there, and this film pretty much covered it all. Some of the special effects were a little cheap looking, but weren't bad for a TV movie. Angela Bettis plays Carrie this time around, and I absolutely loved her work in "May" and Tobe Hooper's horror remake "The Toolbox Murders", she has talent. Patricia Clarkson, while not nearly as scary as Piper Laurie was in the original, plays her role quite well. Emilie DeRavin ("The Hills Have Eyes" remake) was also very good in her role as the bitchy Chris, who torments Carrie. While they hardly resemble the actors in the original film, the cast did a good job.
The prom scene was much longer and dragged on a bit if you ask me, but there were some neat things that took place and it was overall interesting to watch. The whole film is constructed around the actual police investigation into the disaster caused by Carrie's telekinesis, and the events are recalled by witnesses in rather long flashback sequences, which was a somewhat creative way to tell the story. The only major bad thing I can say about the film is the lackluster conclusion, that completely changed the whole film around from what it should have been. Turns out Carrie doesn't die after the prom, and Sue has been hiding her out during the investigation. This revelation of course eliminates the classic hand-from-the-grave scene with Sue, which was a bit disappointing. This bizarre ending to the story was apparently written with the intent of a "Carrie" television series, but the idea was dropped because of the low rating. Kind of a lame idea if you ask me.
To sum things up, "Carrie" is a pretty good remake of a classic. While it isn't nearly as good as the original film was, it sticks closer to the novel that it's based on and gives a little more explanation, and I was entertained by it. It's not quite as bad as many people here are saying it is. 7/10
It'd be nearly impossible to raise this remake to the level of the original, especially since it was originally a television mini-series, but it was much better than expected. Having read the novel, one sure thing I can say about this film is that it was much closer to Stephen King's book. The 1976 version didn't include a lot from the novel and left some holes here and there, and this film pretty much covered it all. Some of the special effects were a little cheap looking, but weren't bad for a TV movie. Angela Bettis plays Carrie this time around, and I absolutely loved her work in "May" and Tobe Hooper's horror remake "The Toolbox Murders", she has talent. Patricia Clarkson, while not nearly as scary as Piper Laurie was in the original, plays her role quite well. Emilie DeRavin ("The Hills Have Eyes" remake) was also very good in her role as the bitchy Chris, who torments Carrie. While they hardly resemble the actors in the original film, the cast did a good job.
The prom scene was much longer and dragged on a bit if you ask me, but there were some neat things that took place and it was overall interesting to watch. The whole film is constructed around the actual police investigation into the disaster caused by Carrie's telekinesis, and the events are recalled by witnesses in rather long flashback sequences, which was a somewhat creative way to tell the story. The only major bad thing I can say about the film is the lackluster conclusion, that completely changed the whole film around from what it should have been. Turns out Carrie doesn't die after the prom, and Sue has been hiding her out during the investigation. This revelation of course eliminates the classic hand-from-the-grave scene with Sue, which was a bit disappointing. This bizarre ending to the story was apparently written with the intent of a "Carrie" television series, but the idea was dropped because of the low rating. Kind of a lame idea if you ask me.
To sum things up, "Carrie" is a pretty good remake of a classic. While it isn't nearly as good as the original film was, it sticks closer to the novel that it's based on and gives a little more explanation, and I was entertained by it. It's not quite as bad as many people here are saying it is. 7/10