Brian De Palma
With the current big budget remake of Carrie (directed by Kimberly Pierce) currently playing in theaters, I figured it was about time the original classic finally got a write-up on here. I'll start out by saying that I'm not sure whether or not I'm even going to bother watching the latest adaptation of the Stephen King novel. I've already read up on it quite a bit and all I see are mostly indifferent reviews from critics and lots of bickering on internet message boards. Morbid curiosity will probably get the better of me eventually, but I'm sure as hell not going to pay to see yet another lesser version of an already perfectly fine film. Going to the cinema to watch these things only ensures more of the same and I'm done giving lazy filmmakers and producers my hard-earned money, and thus showing my approval, for what they're doing. The general consensus of fans of the original seems to be that the remake is a pale copy that brings absolutely nothing new to the table and is subpar in every way imaginable to De Palma's original. Remake defenders state the original is dated and this new one updates both the story and the special effects to contemporary times for a new generation. And that's pretty much all I had to hear to finalize my decision on skipping out on Carrie 2013 for the time being.
Even without seeing this newest version, I still have a bone to pick with many of its fans for pulling out the tired "It's dated" card. Anyone who frequents movie message boards is already well-acquainted with this lame defense mechanism. It's all about finding ways to denigrate the original, even for the most asinine and ridiculous reasons imaginable, in an attempt to boost up the newer one. While no film is perfect, and the original Carrie is no exception to that rule, 70s era fashions and hairdos most certainly do not deaden or lessen its impact one bit to a modern viewer; at least not those hopelessly stuck on small superficial details.
Well over three and a half decades later, the film still tells a harrowing story about what it's like to be an outcast during an already-confusing time in one's life, and also stands as an astute warning to those who like to poke hornet's nests with sticks. If you do, you pretty much deserve what you have coming to you. In addition to its still relevant themes, the compelling central performances, the artistry of De Palma's direction (which has about the best use of split-screen you will see), the haunting elegance of Pino Donaggio's score and the star spangled beauty of Mario Tosi's cinematography, all ensure that the original will forever remain a classic. We'll see how well-regarded Carrie 2013 is by 2050. And with that, I'm done talking about the new Carrie... until it pops up on the Lifetime Network here in about two years and I have nothing else to watch.
Aside from what De Palma and his crew brought to the table, Carrie's enduring popularity can also be attributed to a trio of terrific performances. The first, of course, comes from Sissy Spacek as the meek, shy, abused outsider who's tormented by her peers at school and has to deal with even worse problems at home. Spacek's impressive performance, a breakout role which garnered her an Oscar nomination, has two very distinct layers to it. While she always enlists our sympathies, she's also downright scary when push comes to shove and, decked in a coat of crimson pig's blood, her telekinetic powers are unleashed in all their fury. Whether victim or avenger, we learn to genuinely care for the character, which makes the build-up to the inevitable tragic climax all the more powerful, and Spacek deserves all the accolades she received for helping to make that happen. Piper Laurie, who also received an Oscar nomination, gives the second standout performance; a scenery-chewing, barnstorming interpretation of a nutso religious fanatic that, once seen, is never forgotten. The third performance of note comes from Betty Buckley, who is often overlooked in favor of the two leading ladies, but in her own way is equally impressive as tough yet tender-hearted gym teacher Miss Collins; one of the few people to show our troubled protagonist a little compassion.
Much of the rest of the cast also contribute pretty solid work. Nancy
Allen (who'd later marry the director) is perfectly detestable as
Chris; the extremely nasty girl who masterminds the cruel Prom prank on
Carrie with help from her moronic boyfriend (a pre-Saturday Night Fever
John Travolta; who's actually about the weakest acting link here).
Amy Irving (who'd later marry Steven Spielberg) offers a
counter-balance as Sue, who puts her popularity at risk trying to help out
her tormented classmate by offering up her own boyfriend Tommy (William
Katt) as a Prom Night date. P.J. Soles and Edie McClurg
(as a few of the other mean girls), Sydney Lassick (teacher), Stefan Gierasch
(principal) and Irving's real-life mother Priscilla Pointer as same round out the cast.
Apparently a joint casting call was placed for this and Star Wars
(1977), with some actors chosen for this project and some going to the
other. It was clearly a win win situation for whoever managed to book a
job that day. The director's son, Cameron De Palma, appears briefly
as an obnoxious little boy riding a bike.
An extremely successful film, both commercially and critically, Carrie
spawned its share of clones and a flop Broadway musical that lasted only
two weeks, as well as many more genre films meant to appeal directly to a
teenage audience. It however wouldn't be until 1999 that an official
sequel emerged. Despite not being too bad of a movie overall, Katt Shea's
The Rage: Carrie II (which featuring Irving reprising her role),
received poor to middling reviews and didn't quite set the box office on
fire. Nevertheless, a made-for-TV mini-series was released just three
years later. Though more faithful to the book and boasting a strong
central performance from Angela Bettis, the overall effect was muted by a
3-hour run-time, a pointless framing device and ugly cinematography. It
didn't help matters that the horrific Prom massacre was reduced to a
barrage of horrible CGI effects and a moronic, misconceived twist was
grafted onto the end. (Apparently, they wanted to turn the movie
into a TV series at one point. Yikes!) Oh well, feel free to ignore all
that if you want. The original's not going anywhere and it's easy to find.
Personally, I think it's one of the few examples of a film being better
than its source novel (it was adapted by Lawrence D. Cohen).
★★★1/2
The new Carrie is pretty laughably bad, especially the massacre, even compared to the one in the otherwise okay 2002 remake.
ReplyDeleteFor God only knows what reason, they had Carrie wave her arms all over the place, like some kind of crazed conductor.
Suffice to say, it's probably not going to do anything to dispel the horribly unfortunate stereotype of women being unable to direct horror.
Oh man, if it's worse than the end of the 2002 version I'm probably going to hate it. Maybe they stole the idea of her waving her arms around from the Carrie rip-off Jennifer (1978), where the lead does that to summon snakes to kill off a bunch of bullies. I've heard they also swiped scenes / ideas from The Rage for the new one. I pretty much figured when I read of all the re-shoots this new one was headed for trouble.
ReplyDeleteYep, that is definitely an unfortunate stereotype. There are some real gems out there from female directors. I think on the list of hidden gems I just did not long ago, 3 of the 20 were made by women.
Carrie was the first novel by Stephen King, AND the first film based on one of his novels. And for a first, it was an enormous critical and commercial hit, so it paved the way for many other films based on Stephen King novels, most of which were also big hits. And for the first film adaptation of King's novels, I think it's definitely one of the best, and it's one of my favorites, along with one of my favorite horror movies. And that's a lot saying, because this may surprise you, but except for movies that are actually very good, I am not a fan of horror films in general like I was when I was a teenager. I've just changed my mind a lot over the years and developed a particular interest in ones that are actually good, such as Carrie. I've just come to dislike the genre because it's rare for horror movies to be very good and not so over the top with violence and frightening scenes. I hate being scared, which is also why I don't like them, but I can overlook and get used to them in the good films.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen the 2002 TV film or 2013 remake, but I heard they were mediocre at best. In any case, they'll never be as loved as the original 1976 movie, and that's the bomb for sure! 😁 Even King himself likes this movie. 👍🏻
Yep, this movie's popularity pretty much started the entire Stephen King craze, even more so than the novel itself I think. Soon after, there was Salem's Lot and The Shining, and the rest is history.
ReplyDeleteI actually DID end up caving and watching the remake. You're not missing anything at all. It's a weak carbon copy of the original film. I made this comment on IMDb back in 2014, which I may as well carry over here to supplement this review...
"I noticed that Lawrence D. Cohen, who'd adapted the Stephen King-penned outsider's revenge novel for the Brian De Plama original, is again credited with this adaptation. Did he actually re-write this or did they just re-use his old script? Either way, I was shocked at just how closely this followed the 1976 film. Much of the same dialogue, many of the same camera movements (the pan shot up to show the bucket; the camera beginning to spin around Carrie and Tommy as they dance, etc.) plus weak copycat shots of everything from the fire erupting behind Carrie to the blood falling on her from multiple angles (laughably overdone in this one) are all recycled here once again. They even cloned the silly "getting ready for Prom" montage and if you think the one here is any less corny than the one in the original, you are mistaken. It is one thing to adapt a famous novel that's already been filmed and try to update it for the times, but it is a whole other thing to weakly emulate another director's visual style when you are doing so.
What few "new" things have been added here are sadly not to the overall betterment of the core story. Including cyber-bullying in the mix is - in theory - a good way to update it, but it isn't elaborated upon enough to make it the least bit interesting and is presented almost like an afterthought instead of it being an integral part of the story. Images of Carrie's locker room humiliation being projected in front of everyone at Prom were simply carried over from THE RAGE: CARRIE 2 (1999), where they project embarrassing videos of Rachel at a party. In other words, this movie does absolutely nothing fresh or new with the concept. Nothing.
Moretz's "blossoming" from an outcast to someone who could possibly be accepted by her peer group didn't come off at all. The transformation for Sissy Spacek in the original film was dramatic as she went from awkward, mumbling Plain Jane to a nice-looking, appealing Prom date. Here, Moretz looks exactly the same before and after. Her fresh-faced, squeaky-clean appearance throughout the film makes it's a hard swallow that Tommy (vacantly played by Ansel Elgort) could look at her wearing a dress and then suddenly be like "Wow!" when he barely paid her any mind before. I thought both Spacek and Angela Bettis in the 2002 version pulled this off better. Both actresses also actually modulated their performances; something young Moretz simply does not yet have the gravitas or skill to do..."
(cont.)
ReplyDelete"It's not just Moretz who pales in comparison. Julianne Moore is one of the best actresses working today, but she simply cannot compete with Piper Laurie's go-for-broke, thoroughly unhinged portrayal in the 1976 film. Moore is simply too low-key and restrained to make the part the least bit memorable; the same exact trap Patricia Clarkson fell into in the 2002 version. Whiny-voiced Judy Greer is just plain awful as the gym teacher and is absolutely no match for Betty Buckley's mixture of strength and compassion. A key scene in the original film (Buckley's character discussing her own Prom night disaster with Carrie used as a sort-of 'calm before the storm') has been removed from this one for no good reason. The fate of the character has also been altered; stripping this of an important element of horror and tragedy. None of the young actors portraying the bullies are able to broadly paint their personalities on screen in a memorable or notable way. Portia Doubleday probably comes closest in her portrayal of ringleader Chris Hargensen but she still doesn't seem quite as nasty and vindictive as Nancy Allen.
There was a haunting elegance to the direction, score and photography in the original film and all of that is absent here. This film's ordinary visual presentation, point-and-shoot cinematography, generic music score and CGI effects do absolutely nothing to spruce up the familiar story. In other words, what exactly is the point? Like many other soulless cash-grabs remakes, this will be completely forgotten here in a few years while the original film will forever live on as a genre classic."