Stephen King’s Carrie was first translated from book to film in 1976. The horror was so popular, it’s been adapted multiple times to film and even Broadway. I’ve never seen any of these adaptations.
With the 2013 release of director Kimberly Peirce’s Carrie, I decided it was time to get in
the loop. I went to see the film with no knowledge of the story to critique it from an unbiased standpoint.
Carrie is about the story of a shy, insecure girl who is shunned by her peers and sheltered by her extremist and cultic religious mother. Besides her struggles with the world around her, Carrie is beginning to realize that she has unique telekinetic abilities. These abilities become too much for her to handle for her fragile emotional state, and she is eventually pushed to the limit the night of her senior prom.
The cinematography and special effects for this film were decent, but there was plenty of room for improvement. The length was appropriate too: It wasn’t too long, but long enough to tell the
story.
Regarding the story itself, it wasn’t entirely original, but the execution was well done with
what the director had to work with. The story carried an even build towards the end, though the
cheesy end scene took away a lot from the film’s potential, ruining the realistic possibility in an
unrealistic story. Stephen King is a master of fantastic story ideas, but I feel that he does himself a disservice with his opened-ended conclusions, leaving the audience unsatisfied and feeling somewhat cheated.
On a positive note, the highlight of this film for me was Chloë Grace Moretz’s raw and
emotional performance. This young actress single-handedly transformed a less-than-believable
story and brought it to life with her portrayal of Carrie.
Overall, my impression of this film was that it was somewhat mediocre and immature. It’s such a
shame, because Carrie held great potential to be a blockbuster hit. I suppose I should see the
1976 original. That rendition, after all, is what made Carrie a horror movie legend.
Emily Yozamp
The Broadside
