Carrie (2013)

By now, it doesn't need to be said what the general moviegoing public thinks of remakes. Some will moan about the constant retreads while others embrace the notion of a new vision to a familiar work. The latest version of Stephen King's Carrie may find a mix of both groups. It probably won't persuade cynics to give it a shot, but for those who go in wanting to see how someone else handles high school revenge, they may walk out feeling not too offended.

The funny thing about Kimberly Peirce's updated version, and something that may be problematic to audiences, is that for a movie called Carrie, an awful lot of time is spent away from Carrie and we see more of the people that torment the titular character. Sure, there is focus on Carrie putting her powers to good use, but only after the film seems to forget that she's supposed to be the main character. Of course, that's not to say these supporting characters are wasted. Sue, the one atoner among the mean girls, is portrayed more sympathetically, while Chris, the chief antagonist, is more present here and even has moments where it looks like she's not a complete monster, and most of the blame falls on her scumbag boyfriend Tommy. While they are interesting characters, it's a bit distracting when we ought to follow Carrie and we don't learn much about her past the fundamentalist upbringing that is already quickly established.

Peirce also steers into some of the tired horror film and high school film cliches that almost seem pretty forced. It gets to a point where you might go "Okay, we get it" after all the times Carrie's peers automatically laugh at her when she breathes, or every time an eerie rumbling happens whenever Carrie makes something crazy happen. But what everybody wants to see is the climax at the prom, the moment when Carrie puts her foot down (literally at one point) and unleashes her fury upon everyone who has ever mocked her. It doesn't have the spooky build-up that Brian De Palma's film had, but considering how many liberties can be taken these days, Peirce doesn't fail in this department, allowing for some rather awesomely brutal revenge kills. It is certainly the highlight of the film, and even for those who know what's going to happen, it is pretty satisfying.

The film may often hammer down the "bullying is bad" theme down to a T, but it mostly emphasizes that you never know what anybody is capable of. Maybe nobody is going to hurl their tormentors against a wall with their minds, but the harsh truth is that certain people can snap at any given moment when pushed far enough. And that's what has happened to Carrie every time the story's been told.

While Carrie doesn't bring anything new to the table, it proves to be fairly entertaining with an intense climax and a far better look at the characters, even if it would have been nicer to actually see more of Carrie herself.