Carrie (2013) movie review

So, let me just say this up front, usually I feel that re-boots of movies are totally and completely unnecessary, and I usually am not a fan of them. That is even more true when the original of the movie being rebooted was nearly perfect. That is NOT the case here. Yes the original was nearly perfect, and no it was not necessary to reboot it, however if one must insist on a rebooted and updated version of a classic, then this is how you do it. If you want to synopsis of the story then please read my last review of the original, because it is still the same great classic Stephen King story, but what it is is a true updated version of that classic. First of all casting the amazingly beautiful Chloe Grace Moretz as Carrie White was perfect, and Julianne Moore as her mother was also perfect. Chloe's portrayal was absolutely amazing, Carrie is an emotionally abused person, both at home from her overly zealot Christian mother, who is overly protective and forces her strict religious beliefs on her, and then at school, where everyone bullies and mocks her. The portrayal of Carrie here is very believable as a person who doesn't fit in, who is a social outcast, who is socially awkward. This portrayal is absolutely perfect. Julianne Moore's portrayal of her mom was also perfect, she is exactly how I pictured her while reading the book. The rest of the casting was all really well done as well, definitely a updated teen feel to it, and it works absolutely beautifully. Speaking of updates, I like how they modernized the story by adapting cell-phones into the equation by having the Character Chris video the tampon incident on her cell phone, and the posting it online, which is exactly what a bully would do if this story were to take place today. The story is essentially the same as the original, including a lot of scenes with word for word dialogue matches, however some of the changes that were made actually made this version closer to the original novel. For example her walk home after the prom, is much more faithful to the novel, and I really appreciate that. I actually think that this version works a little bit better in many ways than the original, which doesn't take anything away from the greatness of the original, because that was a nearly perfect movie. So yes, this version does up the teenage drama a bit, which could almost clump it into the teen-horror movie genre, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I don't know I find these kids harder to identify with than the students from the older movie, but I feel that, to the millennial crowd the opposite is probably true, and maybe that is why it was actually good to re-boot this classic movie. Also I realize that the CGI effects allowed them to do things that were not previously possible, however, at times I feel like it just looks a bit fake, and not as smooth and seamless as the original's practical effects looked, but that might just be me taking a bit too much of a critical look at it, but CGI effects often times tend to have this unrealistic look to it that turns me off. Even with these minor flaws the movie is absolutely beautiful, and a wonderful movie, and true to its predecessor as well as to its source material of the novel. Would I recommend this movie? Yes, without a doubt I would whole-heartedly recommend this movie. I think it was beautifully done, and as iconic as Sissy Spacek's portrayal of Carrie was, I honestly feel like Chloe Grace Moretz's portrayal was a little bit better. Did this movie need to be made? No, not really, but I feel like since it was made, that I need to give it the credit it deserves as being a really good movie, and even more true to the original novel. The critics seemed to kinda shit on this movie, but like I have previously, I disagree with them, as a Stephen King fan, who has read all but his newest books, I would say that this version actually captures the story and its themes better than the original did. So yes, everyone should see this movie, and don't let it get swept into the heap of teen horror movies and forgotten forever, because this one is actually a great movie, and I hope that in time people will start to appreciate it more.