Carrie - C-

Rated R, 92 minutes

Unnecessary version of "Carrie" a mess, offers few scares

Chloe Grace Moretz

Remakes can be tricky, especially ones based on very familiar Stephen King stories. The original, very frightening version of King's "Carrie" was made in 1976, starring Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie and was huge hit. The new "Carrie," directed by "Boys Don't Cry" Kimberly Peirce, isn't a total fiasco but still problematic. Carrie White (Chloë Grace Moretz) is a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious but abusive mother (Julianne Moore), who unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom. This "Carrie" has some good points: it's well-cast, age appropriate and is more faithful to King's novel, but overall lacks the chilling originality of Brian De Palma's classic film, which still produces nightmares to this day. The biggest problem with the new "Carrie" may be the familiarity with the book and the indelible first film, which made a huge star out of Spacek and garnered Oscar nominations for her and Laurie, who played the creepy Mom so well. This essentially renders the new version unnecessary, and certainly not as scary as the first, and bottom line the new movie is a mess narratively and technically. Some contemporary touches (cell phones, You Tube etc.) are to be expected but lack relevancy, while others (a bizarre prologue and a brief flying stint by Carrie) don't work at all. Worst of all, the shoddy 1970s-esque, haunted house-like special effects of flying objects and beds (really?) and Peirce's crucial mishandling of the bloody climax, so powerful and frightening in the original, is devoid of any real chills. Peirce, really the wrong choice of director for this, also wastes two fine actresses in Moretz and Moore, both inspired casting choices but lacking the genuine creepiness of Spacek/Laurie. This needless, gratuitous version of "Carrie" is a disappointment, but some will still show up out of curiosity. Don't waste your time and rent the much scarier, chilling 1976 De Palma version.

Wes's Grade: C-