Director – Kimberly Peirce (Dear White People, I Love Dick)
Starring – Chloe Grace Moretz (Dark Shadows, Let Me In), Julianne Moore (Psycho, Hannibal), and Gabriella Wilde (Doctor Who, Wonder Woman 1984)
Release Date – 2013
Rating – 3/5
UHD Release – 3.5/5
Stephen King has contributed a lot to the horror genre over the decades. His writing has influenced countless over the years, and it shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. When you mention King’s name while discussing cinema you will often hear mention of Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining, Silver Bullet, Sleepwalkers, Creepshow, Maximum Overdrive and so on.
The film adaptations of his work are iconic but one film that I immediately think of when someone mentions King is the original adaptation of Carrie from Brian De Palma. I don’t know why I immediately think of this version, but I do. Hell, it’s not even my favorite Carrie film when it’s all said and done. The ’76 adaptation is an amazing horror film and so is the 2002 adaptation, But Carrie 2 has always been my favorite in the Carrie franchise.
Back in 2013 Carrie was once again adapted into a film from King’s original story and I paid it no mind until I heard that Chloe Grace Moretz was attached. I checked it out when it was released theatrically, and I remember liking it but I never revisited it since the original release. Honestly, I forgot about it until recently when Scream Factory announced that they were releasing the film on UHD. I decided it was the perfect time to revisit this one, so I reached out to my friends over at Scream Factory and they were kind enough to send a review copy my way. Like always, I want to thank SF for hooking me up!
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows the socially awkward Carrie (Moretz) who lives with her extremely religious and abusive mother. An incident in school when she starts her period results in a video being made of her in the moment of embarrassing panic. One of them is suspended from school and not allowed to go to prom so she puts a prank on motion with her boyfriend after learning that another girl had her boyfriend ask her to prom to make up laughing at her. This extremely hurtful prank results in Carries date being knocked unconscious and her covered in pig’s blood while she was on stage being crowned prom queen. This sends Carrie over the edge when she starts using her newfound teleketic powers to kill everyone that’s laughed at her. **Spoiler Alert**
I know my taste in films is odd, but I refuse to lie or say I like something that I truly don’t. Carrie 2: The Rage is my favorite Carrie film closely followed by the original Carrie. While I didn’t remember a damn thing about the 2013 Carrie, revisiting it was a lot of fun and placed it near the original in my opinion. It doesn’t have the same tone or atmosphere that made the original so much fun but with a more modern spin to it. I honestly enjoyed it and I wish I had revisited it sometime before now.
The acting in this one is great. As I stated earlier, I’m a big fan of Chloe Grace Moretz. She never disappoints and this may be my favorite performance from her. While most may be quick to toss up her performance as Hit-Girl from Kick-Ass, I would be more confident mentioning Carrie. She shows great range here going from a timid and bullied teen to a real-life monster with abilities. I also loved legendary actress Julianne Moore as her deeply religious and abusive mother. I was not expecting her in that role during my initial viewing and it still caught me off guard in this revisiting. She’s such an amazing actress and seeing how she approached the role reminded me a lot of the devout older Christians in Appalachia where I grew up. The supporting cast is solid as well, but these two performances made the film for me.
The story for this one follows the source material for the most part but it does take some liberties with it to make it more appealing to a modern audience. I loved the addition of recording Carrie in the showers and posting it online later. This is something that that is still happening in school and works very well with the story. I also loved how religion and child abuse go hand in hand with the film. I’ve witnessed this a lot where I grew up and nothing is more terrifying to me than organized religion. When you take those and add the iconic telekentic abilities Carrie is known for and you get a pretty fast paced film that doesn’t let up once it picks up. It has great pacing, and the action really holds your attention.
Finally, the film has a lot of blood, but it doesn’t really give the viewer any memorable deaths. The kills use a lot of visual effects, and they happen too quickly for the viewer to truly appreciate. Overall, Carrie is another fantastic adaptation of King’s work. It has an amazing cast, and the story is able to be updated without taking away from what made the original story so enjoyable. I highly recommend checking out this UHD release from Scream Factory.
Special Features:
DISC ONE (4K UHD):
Feature Film In 4K
In Dolby Vision (HDR-10 Compatible)
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 & 2.0
Audio Commentary With Director Kimberly Peirce
DISC TWO (BLU-RAY):
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 & 2.0
Audio Commentary With Director Kimberly Peirce
NEW “The Devil’s Hand: Designing Carrie” – An Interview With Production Designer Carol Spier
NEW “They’re All Going to Laugh At You: Adapting Carrie” – An Interview With Author Joseph Maddrey
Alternate Ending
Deleted/Alternate Scenes
“Creating Carrie” Featurette
“The Power Of Telekinesis” Featurette
“Tina On Fire” Stunt Double Dailies
“Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise”
Theatrical Trailer
