Carrie

Some remakes are said to be better than their originals. Sometimes thats true. This is one of them. Carrie 2002 may not have the same flair that Depalma used in the equally effective 76 movie but its a TV movie so thats to be expected. However, this newer version delivers more development, more intense sequences, especially the prom climax, and also a better ending in my own opinion but ill let you be the judge of that if you watch it. Angela Bettis is a mixture of mousiness, beauty, and shyness and she was definitely born to play the role of Carrie White. Her journey from class doormat to vengeful prom queen is definitely a sight to see. Also, the whole police investigation into the case is really unique as well cause its already happened so it gives more detail into why it happened and the truth is gradually uncovered. All in all, The newer version delivers more than its share of chills and thrills. it takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions and shows a pretty accurate portrayal of school life. Worth a watch or two definitely.

To state that this new version of Carrie doesn't remotely compare with the original horror classic is to belabor the obvious, so I will leave that issue aside. However, I expected this movie to be simply garbage, like the recent "Rose Red", or dull and mediocre, like the TV remake of The Shining, and surprisingly, it was better than that. Making a remake of a classic film is usually inadvisable, but under the circumstances, this was an honest and decent rendition of Carrie. TV movies tend to be endlessly drawn out, with low proudction values, and this was better than average. Most of the credit goes, however to the casting. Most of the cast were a very competent group of actors who I think really gave it their best shot in creating a new angle on the Carrie story. Particular mention should be made of Angela Bettis in the title role. She tackled the daunting task of taking a part made very famous by someone else, and making it her own. Her Carrie is less a neurotic mess than Sissy Spacek', repressed and unhappy but still strong and with some guts. She was very sweet and vulnerable, and was often very touching, as when she was suddenly, out of the blue, asked to the prom by such a handsome, nice boy. One big disappointment was Patricia Clarkson as Mrs. White. The part was really reduced in scope in this version, and the actress played her in a very restrained and bland fashion. I can well imagine that it was decided that to replicate Piper Laurie's over the top baroque performance was inadvisable. The idea here was to have a more low key sinister approach. But the result was completely dull and uninteresting character that had less relevance to the story than it should have. So for a TV remake of a horror classic, I give it A for effort, with some very good elements to it. However, this is still a movie you will probably watch only once. The real Carrie, Brian DePalma's 1976 classic, is one that is always fun to watch again and again!

Carrie was originally a nerdy girl who was tormented over and over. Next, she was a goth who was videotaped having sex. This time, she's an epileptic girl struggling with life as a whole. Instead of doing a third one, the people decided to do something that people would rather see- remake the original loosely and transform it into a polished version of the book. While I do love the original, this one is closer to the book. There are a mere three things that I hated- the ending was stupid and Patricia Clarkson was too toned down for the role. They should have gone with a direct clone of Piper Laurie's flawless version of the character. Also, th pig blood dumping scene sucked this time. Ironically, all of the original's blonde characters are brunette here, and vice versa. The ending sort of copied the graveyard sequence at the end of the first one, but isn't as scary. But as a whole, this third in a blooming series was quite good and worth a few watches.

I do not care how many of you read this and think "What a moron." Because I am not, I am right. Anybody can call themself a Stephen King fan because they've seen all his movies. Well, if you've never read his books then you're not a Stephen King fan, you're a horror movie fan. I read Carrie for the first time when I was 10 years old. It was the scariest, most f'ed up book I had read. (Remember I was 10, before Carrie I read Goosebumps and Freckle Juice) And my dad told me there was a movie. I had heard of it before, of course. So, I rented it. Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, and John Travolta were good, but the thing is they were the hottest stars at the time. Travolta was a teen hunk from Kotter and Sissy was your "girl next door" type. The original is a classic, I will never deny that. It's one of the best horror movies of the 20th century. Even though the acting was superb, Spacek wasn't the perfect Carrie, because she is pretty. Carrie was awkward and weird looking. Bettis is attractive, but in a creepy sort of way. Clarkson was a much better Mrs. White, because Laurie portrayed this wild, gospel radio type woman yelling out Christian nonsense. Mrs. White was described in the book as a insane woman with a sane face. Okay, let's be honest, Travolta sucked in Carrie. He was playing the role he ALWAYS did in the late 70s, a stupid, pretty boy. The guy that played Nolan in the remake portrayed him as a insane, extremely psychopathic. And Chris and Billy's relationship in the original wasn't as convincing. In the book, they were kind of a match made in heaven, they were both sadistic and cruel people. The only things I have to say about the original is Amy Irving was a better Sue, and the original Miss Desjardins was better too (the gym teacher). All in all I thought the remake of Carrie wasn't as classic as the original, but was more according to the book and they picked the characters well. 9/10

I think everyone knows the story of Carrie. The strange innocent misfit who's teased mercilessly and maliciously by a few of her school peers. and develops her telekinetic powers to protect herself after a particularly cruel and humiliating prank is pulled on her. Well, I think I enjoyed this because it put a different spin on the original story. That is, the story is told after the fact in a series of interviews conducted by the police. The movie has a good cast and the script is good. The special effects, while used to good effect, aren't particularly 'special', but the camera work, particularly in the ballroom scene when everyone is panicking, is deplorable. I've taken better home movies. Still, if you can ignore that.... Overall I really enjoyed this telemovie and would recommend it to anyone who wants a bit of a scare and to be entertained, and not I'll probably be burned at the stake for this too, but I preferred Angela Bettis charactisation of Carrie to Sissy Spaceks in the original.

OK, first off, There was NO need for this film. The original was a CLASSIC. Sissy Spacek was a much more believable Carrie. Angela Bettis -wel, let's just say, she wasn't even fit to play the wall. The kids in this movie seem so FAKE! They look like they fell out of a magazine! Nancy Allen, Sissy Spacek, Amy Irving, and William Katt were amazing! The characters they formed were exactly like the book! I'm a HUGE Stephen King fan, and having read the book many times, the 1976 CLASSIC was 100% perfect. And, most specifically, the prom scene. *spoilers* After they dumped the blood on her, Sissy pulled of a telekenetic trance. Angela Bettis looked like she had been mummified. And the role of Tommy Ross was a HORRIBLE choice I don't know what the director was thinking, but he should have asked Brian DePalma for some advice. I give this film a negative 50

I was very excited to see one of my all time favorite Stephen King stories on TV. What I saw was a huge disappointment. So many things were changed and not for the good. Since when did Carrie make Meteors fall from the sky? It was boulders and stones. The ending was stupid in this production. They totally ruined the entire meaning of the story. I agree with someone else who said "If I were Stephen King, I'd sue." It was just a HUGE disappointment to us real Stephen King fans.

As Stephen King remakes go, I tend to deTEST them. They always want to bastardize the original works, especially the literary works on which these movies are based. I loved the original "Carrie," with Sissy Spaseck and John Travolta, having grown up in that era. And I rented this movie with the intention of hating it. But it actually grew on me. I was half-way through the movie, when I realized that it was, subtly, better. I also did not want to like Angela Bettis as Carrie White. But she, too...grew on me. The hesitations in her performance, are her CHARACTER's hesitations, not a lack of talent. Quite the contrary, in fact. The deviations this work takes from the original movie are constructive variations rather than the mindless drivel customary in the King remakes. Unfortunately, as with many of Mr. King's works, the dogmatic overtones hammer you in the head. They are nowhere near as "ignorable" in this made for TV movie, as they are in the novel, but that is to be expected. Mrs. White is still the insane pontificating zealot she is in the original literary work, but I found Carrie's faith uncharacteristically smarmy. It wasn't exactly out of character, considering who raised her, but it was distasteful, to say the least. The original Carrie was a head-strong girl who knew her mother was crazy. This Carrie was afraid of her own shadow, literally. The pig butchering scene was a delightful deviation, more like the novel and less like the original movie. Nice. It was compelling, disturbing and REAL. I also enjoyed David Carson's (Smallville, the 10th Kingdom, etc.) direction of Carrie, herself. Her experimentation with her powers was a nice touch. It added depth to her character instead of the shrieking plastic Carrie we got in the first movie. Added much to the depth of the movie, as well. The scene where Chris and Billy are in bed together discussing Carrie's fall, has a definite "Cruel Intentions" feeling. A likable, but sinister "Cruel Intentions" feeling. Niiiice. Except for the actors being in their mid-twenties portraying high school kids (also done in the original), the movie had a reality to it that the first one lacked. Rena Sofer as Miss Desjarden was a delight to behold. There should be real teachers out there like her. Law-suits not withstanding, ALL teachers should demonstrate her level of caring and compassion. The way the entire movie was based around the police interviews with the students was wonderfully done, creatively perpetrated and convincingly portrayed. Many various and diverse touches were added to make this a very memorable movie. All in all, a much better movie, than the original. It contains the well-thought-out remake of the original scenes we've come to love and expect from the movie, "Carrie," giving us both what we want and what the movie needed in order to best the original. As I said in the beginning, I had no intention whatsoever of liking this production, but it won its rewards by demonstrating superior direction, screenplay and performances. And, last but certainly not least, I found the ending to be even more dramatic in its portrayal than the original, by giving us less drama and more action. Very VERY nice! Extremely well-done Made-For-TV movie. Brilliant adaptation of King's work. Absolutely delightful. It gets a surprising 7.6/10 from... the Fiend :.

Why not just watch DePalma's 1976 adaptation? While this remake was made for TV, which sometimes can brand a film as belonging to a lower class, it is a more faithful adaptation of King's novel. Have you read the novel? Many of the complaints you have about the "changes" made for the TV adaptation are major occurrences in the novel. Even the way in which the main action is interrupted by interviews, follows the structure of the book. While I like to judge a film adaptation of a novel separate from the novel itself and not on how well it sticks to the story, I found the flow of the novel much more interesting than the almost slasher genre quality of DePalma's film, and subsequently found the remake just as interesting. Pick up a copy...it's a quick easy read and maybe you'll see the remake in a whole new light.

The Original Carrie with Sissy Spacek was incredible. This dribble is pure and utter crap. I try to remain professional when writing a review, but this movie has ruined my senses. In comparison to the original Carrie, this movie is dull, boring and completely off base. Carrie actually survives her mother in the end. The ending just completely threw me off base. On it's own, this movie is dull, boring and completely off base. The acting is terrible, completely unbelievable, and listless. There were times I just felt like screaming at them (the actors) in hopes I could straighten them out. What is worse, I found that this was done only in hopes of creating a TV series! Wow. The network must've been grasping at straws to accept that proposal. All in all, when Stephen King dies (pray in a hundred years: he will always be my favorite writer) he will turn forever in his grave for having his name associated with this garbage.