Brian De Palma’s themes of the pains of puberty and the journey into womanhood still resonate over 35 years later in Kimberly Peirce’s “Carrie,” a slicker, modern-day update of the 1976 horror classic, both adapted from Stephen King’s debut novel from 1974. Starring Chloë Grace Moretz as the titular telekinetic teen once iconically played by Sissy Spacek, it retells the tragic tale of troubled high schooler Carrie White, a social outcast who exacts bloody revenge against her teen tormentors when their bullying goes one trot too far.
Following De Palma’s original pretty much step by step, Peirce’s “Carrie” lacks the element of surprise that helped make De Palma’s movie so shocking back in ‘76: Peirce recreates the narrative of and whole scenes from the De Palma version with little variation outside of modernising the dialogue and updating the technology. But Peirce manages to squeeze out a fair bit of effective suspense from the recreated build-up, as Carrie lives under the thumb of her abusive, bible-thumping mother (Julianne Moore, hammy but scary), discovers her amazing ability to move objects with her mind and as her tormentors plot her final, fateful humiliation.
All of which is carried (geddit?) on the shoulders of 16-year-old Moretz, a supremely talented young actress who in “Kick-Ass” and “Let Me In” displayed a knack for handling roles more complex and mature than are expected for her age range. Complaints that Moretz is miscast, of which there were many when news of her casting first broke out, are unfounded: though without the gaunt, freckle-faced figure that gave the sublime Spacek a certain otherworldly quality, Moretz does a terrific job in inhabiting Carrie’s shy, introverted awkwardness, her endearing naivete, her bewilderment over and later embracing of her newfound powers and then in the film’s final movements her demonic, unbridled rage.
As for Peirce’s extravagant restaging of the infamous prom night finale, with the bucket of pig’s blood hanging ominously above the stage, it’s let down by an over-reliance on pesky CGI but still packs both an emotional and visceral punch. And Peirce smartly, teasingly side-steps that darkly comic final punchline, knowing fully well that much as you try, you just can’t top the original (unless you’re a Carpenter or Cronenberg).
Rating: 6/10
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