Carrie (2002)


Carrie was a difficult novel to film.  It's early Stephen King, so the book is a bit more on the pulp side.  It is quite engaging, but it is a slow build to the explosive end.  Also, a good deal of the story is told through interviews and newspaper clippings.  Brian De Palma, in adapting it, did not have the budget to represent the level of destruction that Carrie White does to her town, so he didn't try.  He came up with an inventive way of presenting the massacre at the prom, using split screens and all number of camera tricks.  Always the fan of Alfred Hitchcock, he took many cues from the famous auteur director while still keeping King's story intact.

There was a misadvised sequel to Carrie in 1999 and, for that reason, King backed off having anything to do with this made-for-television remake.  Written by Bryan Fuller, this version of Carrie attempts to be more accurate with the book while pretty much being a beat-for-beat remake of De Palma's film.  In addition, it was meant to be the pilot for an entire series that featured Carrie White and Sue Snell fleeing to Florida to help other psychic kids.  That never happened at the time, although it seems like it will be coming up next year.  Just hopefully without another slog like this to kick it off.

Carrie White (Angela Bettis) is a withdrawn teenager.  Set upon by everyone at her school, from the popular Chris Hargensen (Emilie de Ravin) on down, things come to a head when she has her period while showering after gym class.  Thinking she is dying, the incident becomes just another excuse to make fun of her, much to the displeasure of Miss Desjarden (Rena Sofer), the girls' P.E. coach.  It is even worse with Carrie's mother Margaret (Patricia Clarkson), who takes this late onset of her daughter's cycle as proof that she has sinned.

Chris is banned from prom after her and other girls play a prank on Carrie.  Sue Snell (Kandyse McClure), feeling guilty, asks her boyfriend Tommy Ross (Tobias Mehler) to take Carrie to the prom.  At first things go well, but Chris, along with her boyfriend Billy Nolan (Jesse Cadotte), has one more trick to play on Carrie to get even with her.  Unfortunately, this will prove to have consequences that no one could have imagined. 

Bryan Fuller's script does not deviate much from Brian De Palma's film.  What it does is add back a number of elements from the book, including an early onset of Carrie's powers as a child and a greater manifestation of them when pushed too far.  There is some aftermath explored, including a detective (David Keith) interviewing survivors to find out what happened and why Carrie is missing.  The problem is that director David Carson did not have the skill to pull it off.  Much of the direction reminds me of that of Mick Garris, including the "dramatic" slow motion that just looks cheap.  In fact, the whole thing looks cheap, even for a television movie.  The CGI effects are almost on the level of Birdemic.  

A major error is having Patricia Clarkson play Margaret White straight.  Piper Laurie's performance is so memorable because she thought the character was ridiculous and played it for comedic effect.  The result was so over-the-top that the true level of Margaret's psychosis came through.  By playing it deadly serious that menace is gone.  In addition, pretty much no one is up to the same level as the actors in the original.  Kandyce McClure and Rena Sofer are both solid, Tobias Mehler is okay, but Emilie de Ravin and Jesse Cadotte just fall flat.  

The one shining part is Angela Bettis.  She took the role with the promise of it being a series, where the steady pay would allow her to keep making the movies she wanted to do.  She hated how the movie turned out and was no fan of remaking one of her favorite films.  To that end she plays Carrie her way instead of imitating Sissy Spacek, and Bettis does so successfully.  Her portrayal is undercut by Carson insisting that Carrie go into a trance when the rampage starts rather than being aware of what she is doing in an effort to make things a bit more politically correct, but she still manages to do well with the character.  This movie is watchable only for her.  Without her this would be dull to the point of being unwatchable.  

Carrie (2002)
Time: 132 minutes
Starring: Angela Bettis, Patricia Clarkson, Kandyce McClure, Tobias Mehler, Rena Sofer, Emilie de Ravin, David Keith
Director: David Carson

 

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