Home :: DVD :: Horror  

Classic Horror & Monsters
Cult Classics
Frighteningly Funny
General
Series & Sequels
Slasher Flicks
Teen Terror
Television
Things That Go Bump
Carrie (TV Film)

Carrie (TV Film)

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $13.46
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Better than the original
Review: Of course, as a remake, the film is going to incite scrutiny. I still feel that the remake of Carrie is better.

Carrie was Stephen King's first novel which I loved. I was so dissapointed at the DaPalma movie because it was so unfaithful to Stephen King and his classic book. Many original (and important) plot events were scrapped. The name of the school was even changed from Ewen to Bates. The scenes in which Carrie kills her mother and where she uses her telekinesis to kill off Billy Nolan are switched around. Most of all, concerning plot, I don't know where in hell the writers for the DaPalma film got the idea for their last scene (she takes a bath, then the crucifixion of her mother with kitchen knives, and the house burnins down.) Stephen King's original conception in the book is much better (no bathtub, just Margaret stabs Carrie who, in turn, stops her heart, and Carrie crawls around half-dead in the destroyed town when, at last, she is confronted by Billy and Chris Hargensen, and our heroin uses her telekinesis to flip their car over. Then Carrie is found by Sue and Carrie dies in Sue's arms.) And there is no tacky finale in which the house sinks into the ground. Neither the original or remake use this ending, and in the remake, Carrie is even shown to survive the ordeal and move to Florida. I hope at least alternative endings will be available on the DVD.

In Da Palma's film, I also felt some of the characters which were "transcribed" from the book were shallow -John Travolta's Billy Nolan, for one. In the remake, however, Billy is that intimidating, mischevious, yet demonic teen that your kids go to school with. John Travolta's Billy just seemed... well... dumb. Whoever actor is that plays Billy in the remake, does it better.

In the original, the important character, Mrs. Desjardin is omitted and changed to Mrs. Collins, another rather shallower person than portrayed in King's book. There was no angry fire in the scene where she reprimands the girls for their treatment of Carrie (and even goes as far as throwing Chris Hargensen against a locker- one of my favorite parts of King's book). But at least in the remake, Stephen King's character is back. And, in my opinion, one of the more interesting characters too.

I like Angela Bettis's acting much better than Sissy Spacek's. The reason why is that Sissy Spacek's characterization was so mousy that it seemed fake. Ms. Bettis's portrayal is more real, and I can even identify an "Angela Bettis Carrie" when I wait to pick up my kids from school. Spacek, who is a great actress nontheless, does not convince me.

Sue is also more interesting in the remake. Here, she really appears remorseful for Carrie. Amy Irving in the original did just fine. The actress in the remake, however, is the better candidate.

My favorite character is Margaret White. Piper Laurie is fantastic, but she can get too... "Broadway" at times. You really see the abuse and fanaticism in the later actress.

Among my favorite scenes that do not appear in the original, but in the remake and in the book are: the parent/teacher conference with Chris Hargansen's father, the destruction of the town, Mrs. Desjardin's angry locker room scene, the scene where Carrie literally "throws" her mom out of her bedroom using telekinis, Carrie's first real self-training of her powers with a hairbrush, and Jackie Talbot as messenger to Chris and Billy's motel room after the disaster, and others.

Aside from my praises, a few small rants against the remake: the aerial views of the burning town in the remake look very fake, and hopefully they will fix this problem by the time the DVD is released. Also, the ending is unfaithful to the book-- Carrie LIVES! We even see her driving to Florida in disguise with Sue Snell. Hopefully, again, they will fix this problem by the time the DVD is released (perhaps with an alternate ending feature?)

In short, I enjoyed this new effort better than the old, DaPalma effort (which I watched immediately after viewing the remake for comparison). It was more faithful to the book plotwise, charactereise, and with the dialogues, and the characters and the way they develop is far more superior.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Carrie (2nd take of original)
Review: Ok this movie has no famous actors/actress's in it and it tells the same story of Carrie just in a made for TV movie. Kind of odd it's a remake by MGM(who also made the first one) This version tells the same story but has some more little features that are covered in the book, like the rocks falling from the sky. I thought it was pretty neat. In the original at the prom Carrie goes ballistic and she is kind of in a trance and I tell ya the look on her face scared even me. But in this version she just kind of stands there and don't even move that lock of hair that is in the way. And in this one ya can tell it's kayro syrup and food coloring, when in the original ya had a hard time telling that it really wasn't pig blood. I do like the way this version ends though, Carrie does not die in the house with her mom and that's pretty cool to leave it open like that. I'll have to read the book by Stephen King and see how this movie is really suppose to happen. One bad thing in this movie is ya can tell when the TV stations insert commercials because there is a black screen every 12 or so minutes in the movie that discouraged me somewhat.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Interesting Enough To Merit A Viewing
Review: Originally intended to serve as a backdoor pilot to a possible weekly series, this TV movie version of "Carrie" nevertheless still works fine on its own and is told interestingly enough to merit a viewing. This time around the story is more faithful to Stephen King's novel and the filmmakers used a more gritty, gothic style in making the movie, thus making it a completely different film than the original "Carrie" in 1976. On its own, this version is a relatively good movie with some solid performances, especially from the two leads, and some decent if not always perfectly-rendered visual effects sequences. Still, the wrap-around story dealing with the police investigation of Carrie White cuts into the film too often and gives it a sort of jagged, disjointed feel. The film itself is a bit overlong (although it was required to fit into a three-hour running time including commercials so this is understandable) and some scenes tend to drag. Despite all its flaws, however, this version of "Carrie" is still worth viewing, although ultimately the original Brian DePalma 1976 version is a much better film.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Wasted Opportunity...
Review: Sadly, this TV remake does little to improve upon Brian DePalma's original screen treatment. While it DOES include more of King's novel in the adaptation, way-too-many things still lack or are just plain wrong. For lover's of King's original, my first thought was "Why did they get a Spacek clone?"- star Angela Bettis is thin and attractive, which was NOT the "Carrie" of the novel(fat, frumpy and virtually invisible in her plainess). Patricia Clarkson's take on Margaret White was so underplayed, that memories of Piper Laurie's hystrionics in the film were sorely missed. The "tagged-on" ending defeated the purpose of the whole tragedy of Carrie White(why? So a television series could possibly follow?). But the biggest crime is the new commercial DVD/VHS release- the 180 miniseries has been pared down to 212 minutes, so viewers of this home video release will NOT see what was originally presented. Let's hope that the new mini-series remake of King's BEST novel SALEM'S LOT (with Rob Lowe, Donald Sutherland and Rutger Hauer)will not suffer the same fate...

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A disappointing remake of a brilliant horror classic.
Review: Seldom do movies ever look bad in their trailers. The studios behind them always seem to come up with some method of making them look higher in quality than they really are. Thus is the case with NBC's hugely disappointing 2002 TV remake of Brian De Palma's brilliant 1976 horror classic, "Carrie." As a hardcore fan of the original myself, I was quite intrigued when NBC first began airing promos for their remake. But, as with most movies that are purposely hyped-up in their commercials to attract attention and to create anticipation for its release, I was inevitably let down the night of its initial airing. In comparison to Brian De Palma's original "Carrie," NBC's remake leaves everything to be desired. It's barely even satisfying in its own right.

The first problem with NBC's "Carrie" is its inadequate cast. The casting of the main characters in Brian De Palma's original "Carrie" was impeccable. Sissy Spacek was the ideal "Carrie White." No-name Angela Bettis is asked too much of herself to fill Spacek's shoes in this one (an impossible feat for anyone, really). Patricia Clarkson's portrayal of "Margaret White" was, in truth, ridiculously bad and horribly underplayed. Kandyse McClure ("Sue Snell") and Emilie de Ravin ("Chris Hargensen") are frequently seen trying to match-up to Amy Irving's and Nancy Allen's original performances of these characters, and pretty much fail.

The mediocre performances, however, are not necessarily the complete fault of the actors. The characters themselves have been poorly re-written. "Carrie White" in Brian DePalma's original had an adorable sweetness, an unmistakable prettiness, a certain charm that was so wonderfully endearing. We felt sympathy for the character to the bitter end of the film, and after. "Carrie" in NBC's remake is too mousy, and at best we only feel empathy for the character. "Margaret White" is no longer the hauntingly over-the-top religous fanatic she was in the original. Now, it's as if she sleepwalks through most of the film. She actually appears non-threatening and less pre-occupied with religion. And instead of the sensitive, caring "Tommy Ross" featured in the original, he is this time shallow and apathetic of Carrie, and clearly takes her to the prom solely because he feels obliged.

Next, the special effects alone, having that low budget, made-for-TV look, were enough to ruin the movie, as it spoils the climax completely. Laura Karpman's cheesy score is even worse. Another problem is its four-hour running time. The film is already bad enough - to have it dragging on and on makes it even harder to sit through. But the one thing that truly kills NBC's "Carrie" is it's ending, as it completely contradicts Brian DePalma's original film, and Stephen King's novel. The combination of all of these things work to bring the movie down - hard.

At this point in time, you may be wondering why I even bothered to give NBC's "Carrie" two stars. First, while disappointing, it was interesting to an extent, and the cast and crew did put a good amount of effort into it (which isn't saying much). Second, it was truer to Stephen King's novel than the original. Otherwise, this is a total waste of time and should, for the most part, be avoided at all costs. In reviewer Robert Horton's words, "This one delivers its jolts, but when you could just as easily spend time with Spacek and De Palma, why bother?"

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not a remake
Review: The original Carrie was very loosely based on the Stephen King novel, while this TV version was dead on (exc. for the ending). If it is not compared to the orginal--which is absolutely a classic--it is an excellent, well done movie. I especially like the fact that is was more based on the Carrie character and her plight as opposed to "just" being a horror movie.

Almost like the re-make of "The Shining" with Rebecca DeMornay. No, there is nothing like Jack Nicholson's character and his "here's Johnny!"...but, definitely more resembling the events as portrayed in the book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Remember, This is an adaptation of the original novel
Review: This is in response to some of the previous reviews for this film. One should realize that this is an adaptation of Stephen King's original novel. It is not a remake of Brian de Palma's 1976 movie. If you read the novel and then compare with this telefilm you will find that it is one of the most faithful transfers from book to film. Just wanted to wake some people. Also, Angela Bettis's performance doesn't surpass Sissy Spacek's but it isn't any less in my humble opinion, kudos to her portrayal of Carrie and to the rest of the cast and crew. A truly accurate portrayal of high school life.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: One time viewing recommended
Review: This is the kind of film that you will probably only want to watch once. You'll want to watch it if you've seen the original (which is a great film in itself) but don't keep your hopes up high as this remake really falls short.

The DVD really has no extras so far from what I can tell except for some trailers on other movies such as "The Howling" and "The Fog". Amazon states that this DVD has "TV spots" on the DVD but I have yet to find them which means that there aren't any TV spots on the disc or they're hidden.

The picture quality isn't all that great though considering this was made for TV I guess I'll let it slide. This is a bare bones disc that only fans of the remake will probably buy. I only bought it because I love the original movie and that this version has never been played in Australia (to my understanding). I'm not sure if it ever would have gotten played here in Australia. I'm kind of disappointed, I was expecting something better.

Check it out. The gym teacher looks like Demi Moore's long lost twin sister, lol.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: good TVM
Review: this is the same exact elements of the original, which was way better but it was made for TV and its great. only reason was because of intrest for Jesse Cadotte(who you may or may not know from an episode of The Outer Limits called Abduction), Cadotte is the kid with the girl and their car is flung into a telephone pole. cant deny that blood scene and we have a sexy Carrie played by Angela Bettis( I wouldnt reject her man, shes hot) anyway it was a good view and I liked it

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Like reading the book.....
Review: This movie followed the book much better then the original 1976"Carrie" (which scared the dickens out of me with the hand coming out of the grave BUT I was 11 yrs old at the time) I Liked Sissy BUT.... the actress is far better, I feel in this one She acted out as a teenager would on her shoes (and pig's blood covered dress) from being pushed to far by cruel class mates ( I felt sorry for her) this Is a must film BUT you should read the book first, then watch Carrie "1976", And then watch this one..... Strange BUT....this girl seemed more related to the girl(Rachel) Carrie's sister In "Carrie 2 The Rage"


<< 1 2 3 4 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates