Chloe Grace Moretz stars in this unnecessary remake (the third version of Stephen King’s classic novel now committed to celluloid) about a shy high school student struggling to fit in with her peers, who discovers she has telekinesis which manifests itself in the worst way imaginable, when she is pushed over the edge by the cruel kids at prom.
For those of you wondering about the source material or inspiration for the latest incarnation, this version begins with a new prologue (which is about the only original thing present here) and then proceeds to stick more closely to the novel than the original film throughout, although entire lines of dialogue are lifted from that version.
The cast is the strongest thing here with good performances from Moretz, Julianne Moore and newcomers Ansel Elgort (probably my favourite Tommy Ross of the three), Alex Russell and Portia Doubleday. Gabriella Wilde is also good as Sue Snell (and a dead ringer for Amy Irving across the face). Judy Greer was wasted in comparison to Betty Buckley but was still good.
All of the classic lines are there from “I can see your dirty pillows” to “Go to your closet and pray” via “They’re all gonna laugh at you” but the whole affair comes across like a high school rendition of a classic film.
Where this version outright fails is in it’s ridiculously OTT climax which relies almost entirely on CGI and literally has Carrie flying out of her prom (I kid you not!). What follows does stick closely to the book but I don’t feel the set-up was there to justify it and the coda is terrible.
I went in expecting this to be a PC version and was surprised/pleased that it was slightly edgy (teenagers having sex, teachers swearing/bullying/slapping their pupils) but it wasn’t my favourite version by a long shot. My friend thought the bullying in this version was worse due to the infamous “plug it up” incident being filmed and uploaded on YouTube but for Carrie fans, even that was nothing we hadn’t seen 14 years earlier in The Rage: Carrie 2!
OVERALL SUMMARY
In conclusion, it’s not a terrible film but it doesn’t need to be seen at the cinema. I probably wouldn’t buy it either. Wait for Netflix.
