Rating: 
Summary: Carrie is Really Good
Review: High school is a horrible place. Everyone is really cruel. The popular kids, pick on the nerds, the nerds dump on the popular kids, and the kids left in the middle, they pick on and make fun of the nerds and the popular kids. But there is always that one kid. The kid who sits at lunch by himself, he never says a word and boy does he get dumped on the most.That's why the Stephen King's classic CARRIE will always appeal to mass audiences. She's the quiet kid who's always getting picked on. It prays on our irrational fear of the one who is a little odd, but it also gives us a glimpse into our own hurt psyche. We've all been put upon in our lives. We've all be humiliated by the people around us, and we all wish we could gat back at out enemies. As I sat through the recent television remake of CARRIE, all I could think of is how I am Carrie, but I'm also the one who has destroyed people like Carrie. It's the human condition, I guess? It's that ever-present darkness we all have in our hearts. No matter how we try to suppress it. Angela Bettis (May) plays Carrie White, a high school senior with a legalistic mother and the whole world against her. She's quiet, introspective, and really naive about what's going on the world. So of course all the girls in school pick on her, and tease her. They are downright cruel at some points. Little does anyone know, but quiet Carrie has begun to develop weird powers. She can make things move using her mind. But when another prank goes wrong, Carrie goes medieval and takes no prisoners. Angela Bettis was born to play Carrie and she is great. She has this innocent and yet dangerous look about her. She gives Carrie this poised quirkiness that the film desperately needs. You can see how each humiliation wears away at her façade, and without Bettis's small but subtle character changes, this simple and yet so complex character would fall apart at its seems. I especially liked the scene in which she's waiting for her prom date Tommy (Tobias Mehler, Disturbing Behavior) to arrive. He's late, and she thinks she going to be stood up and as the minute's progress the furniture slowly begins to rise off the floor. That is a great sequence. The supporting cast also does a great job Patricia Clarkson's (Far From Heaven) performance, as Carrie mom is one of true evil and even a little sympathy. She generally cares for Carrie, too bad she's so bad at showing it to her daughter. To bad she's been duped into the lie that legalism can save your soul. I like that it has more dimensions than Brian Deplama's characterization of Carrie's mom in the original film. Rena Sofer (TV's ED) is also very good as Carrie's tough as nails gym teacher, one of Carrie's only supporters. She walks that thin line between feminine and bitchy without turning her character into a farce. I liked how she handled her gym class, when they obviously deserved worse, and I loved the small conversation she has with Carrie at the prom. Sofer is one great actress. Director David Carson (Star Trek: Generations) visual style is also refreshing. Much of the film is shot with stylized steady cam and disjointed camera angels. While many times this technique can be distracting. It works really well for this film, and is never distracting. My only qualm with this movie is pretty trite. Since it is a TV movie some sequences are a little choppy because of commercial breaks. I wished they had fixed some of the editing at these points for the DVD. Because I found it distracting that they would go to black only to come back to the same shot. It's also a tad overlong, and some sequences drag on merely to stretch the running time. But they are few and far between, so forget I even mentioned them. This new CARRIE is really good. It has a great cast, a nice visual sense, and aspires to do something new and different. I would recommend you see Deplama's film before you see this one. But don't let that discourage you from giving the new CARRIE a look. This is one of the best Made-For-TV movies I have ever seen.
Rating: 
Summary: genius
Review: I bought this DVD with no further knowldge of the movie than it was a Carrie film. I personally own the Special Edition of the 1976 version, the 1999 sequel, and now this little number. I am currently in search of the '76 soundtrack.
This TV version falls under the same category as the Sci-Fi sequel to "Firestarter," but definitely holds more value to Carrie fanatics like myself.
First off, this vesion is more inclusive as far as holding true to the novel. The camerawork, one might notice, is a tad amateur, but behind the special effects, brilliant performances (especially on Bettis and Clarkson's part), and music that strangely resembles that of the original films--one hardly notices the flaws of this "modern remake."
The DVD contains no special features, regrettably, but does have some MGM trailers that might encourage you to visit the video store.
Have fun,
GIGI
Rating: 
Summary: Stephen King vindicated...sort of
Review: I can't remember what came first-I either read Carrie or saw the Sissy Spacek original. I was really disappointed in the movie. Apparently DePalma et al ran out of money and goodbye last third of the book. But the end was also kind of silly. Hands sprouting from the grave-so overdone.
Stephen King has sat through years of mediocre adaptations of his movies. This has been corrected the last few years with the TV remake. And this film was an especially good candidate.
First the good parts. Angela Bettis (you may recall her as Kim Basinger's junkie sister from Bless the Child) is fantastic as Carrie. I like Sissy Spacek but she never really grabbed me in that part. Bettis really conveys Carrie's intelligence and promise while also projecting how close she is to snapping after years of torment. She really makes the movie the sympathetic tragedy that King intended. Ditto for Rena Sofer as the gym teacher who befriends her and Patricia Clarkson as her religious hysteric mother. Clarkson wisely underplays the role rather than re-launching Piper Laurie-style hysterics. This adaptation is much closer to the plot and spirit of the book.
What's not so good is....daggone it, they changed the ending again. I won't spoil anything so enough said. See which one you prefer. Sue Snell is not as sympathetic as she was in the book. I can't tell if that is because Kandyse McClure is miscast or the way the part was written. A little of both I think. Ditto for Emilie de Ravin as Carrie' chief tormenter, Chris Jorgenson. She was bitchy and unlikable but I didn't get the sense she was capable of the stunt she pulls. Many of the special effects are obviously digital-certainly films with far higher budgets have had this problem (The Hulk, we're looking in your direction.) It's a USA TV movie though so good job all things considered.
The plot is updated well (with references to Freddie Prinze and the internet.) If you enjoyed the book and are curious, this is worth a rental. You won't be disappointed over all. If you just loved the book more than life, maybe you should buy this.
Rating:
Summary: Worth renting.
Review: I enjoyed Angela Bettis as Carrie. Unfortunately her performance alone could not completely save this remake of a classic. I liked certain updates like the internet search and the use of cell phones but the mention of a Freddy Prinze movie was just too much updating. Some of the scenes were over exagerated from the book. The ending was very anti-climatic and slightly drawn out to the point of being... well pointless. Never the less the new special FX really make the Prom night scenes worth the price of renting.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: I first saw this remake of "Carrie" on channel 10 TV, and I loved it. Angela Bettis is outstanding as Carrie White and gives a great performance. The whole movie is awesome, and very scary. I also have seen the original "Carrie" with Sissy Spacek, but in my opinion, I think this version of Carrie is better than the original, and is more faithful to the book. If you're a Stephen King fan or a horror movie fan, I highly recommend this movie. I also wish this was realeased in the movies :)
Rating: 
Summary: THIS MOVIE IS A DISASTER!
Review: I just wanna know..What was everyone else watching? It couldn't have been the same thing I was looking at. This movie is a total mess, and a reminder that they need to stop tampering with classics. The original Carrie with Sissy Spacek was awesome, but this remake is just plain garbage to be blunt about it. This movie really deserves no stars to tell you the truth. I'm not really concerning myself with the book, but I do know the original Carrie inside out, and if you're gonna remake that then you could at least do it right. I understand that it was only a T.V movie, but that's all the more reason they should've left it alone. Those cheesy special effects were just dreadful, and them having Carrie walking down the street terrorizing the whole town was definitely NOT! a nice touch. Please, they had this girl walking through the town throwing around and burning down everything. That's some telekenesis HUH!. That was way over the top, and Carrie didn't do all that in the original because she was in a trance, or some state of shock. Another thing is that Carrie's mother was not that memorable in this one. In fact, I have no idea who played her character at all because this movie was full of unknown people. However, Carrie's mother in the original seemed more deranged which was kinda terrifying in it's own right I think. You can't take a movie that's already been made like 20 years ago, wreck the story, and then say it's more like the book. If that's the way it was intended to be they would have made it like that the first time. This movie is a poor excuse for a remake to me. On top of that, Angela Bettis really needs to be stopped because I just watched that horrible movie "May" that she also was in, and I have to say that was crap too. The most they did in reference to the old classic was use some of the lines from the script, but other than that I hated the rest. I'm still in such disbelief at how they destroyed this movie. Carrie actually was alive at the end and riding down the highway to another state, and we all know Sissy Spacek didn't make it. I could bash this movie all night long, but the last thing I will say is the next time someone gets the bright idea to make a horror classic into a made for T.V movie, someone really should tell that person to think again.
Rating:
Summary: Better story background
Review: I like the King books to television better then the movie versions because you get more story and a clearer picture of what is happening and why. (perfect example...The Shining, I thought the movie inhaled much wind quickly) I also like it for the fact that Tommy Ross was actually good looking in this version! The only thing I liked about the original movie was Piper Laurie, she was just too creepy and way too believable with her part. The more involved story gave better insight to why everything was happening. That's the problem with movies, they have to move fast through the plot so the attention deprived movie watcher won't lose interest and wander out of the theatre. Which means for those of us who don't mind long movies, we lose the attention to detail that would actually make the theater releases more enjoyable. (...)
Rating:
Summary: They're Gonna Laugh At You!
Review: I was very excited to see this on TV when I saw the commercial. I am a HUGE fan of the original, and could honestly see DePalma's Carrie once a day ever day and not be tired of it. Yet I was excited to see an updated version just for kicks.
First off I agree with another writer. This is a Book remake not a remake of the DePalma classic. I never really cared for the way the book was laid out, and had a tough time getting into the story. That made it tough for me to warm up to this version. And the book ending was blah, and teh tv version ending was worse! Oha nd thebath tub scene? Oh PAH-lease! Totally predictable and cliched.
That's why I feel DePalma did more for Carrie and Marraret White's story then even King himself did. The DePalma ending was far superior to the book ending. And the elemnts the movie provided, like the haunting musical themes really help build teh movie. From acting, to style: From score to production value, DePalma has this movie pegged better then King told his stiry. I think King even admitted that DePalma's ending was better thenhis in an interview somewhere. OH and Cissy and Piper were Brilliant! Oscar nods if I am not mistaken? So reguardless of how you look at it, the TV version cannot even compate in the same realm as the DePalma classic. Certain movies just do not need to be remade. Like Psycho, Carrie is one of them. Now I know Moustapha Akkad will one day get the brilliant idea to remake Carpenter's Halloween, but PLEASE SPARE US THE AGONY. Just re-re-re-release a new version of the classic on DVD instead (oh he just did that! 25th anniversary special, GO BUY IT!).
Bottom line is this tv version cannot live up to the original. No way, no how. I will give it one thing though: It was at least interesting to watch, but when ever I wanna go to the Prom, I'll go with the Depalma classic. I will buy this for my collection though. After all I am a scary movie fan. Gotta support the genra, and the way to show your support is through your dollar! CHA-CHING!
Rating:
Summary: good movie
Review: Let's not call this a remake of Brian DePalma's movie. It's a remake of Stephen King's novel. I'm not terribly fond of the DePalma film, and all in all I prefer this version. As another reviewer noted, it is a more faithful adaptation. This ceases to be the case at some point very near the end, though, which was a bit strange, but it doesn't bother me because I understand the point of the changes. Angela Bettis is an outstanding Carrie, and Patricia Clarkson as her mother gives a quiet, scary performance, which is a nice tonic for the entirely-too-over-the-top one Piper Laurie gave in DePalma's film. By no means is this a perfect film, and if you want the best version of the story you should still seek out Stephen King's novel, but it is enjoyable and well-made.
Rating:
Summary: Problematic Remake Of A 1976 Horror Masterpiece
Review: Like a good number of remakes of classic movies, especially in the horror genre, the 2002 NBC-TV remaking of CARRIE is a problematic film. The basic allure of Stephen King's first novel, which touches on religious fanaticism, high school fascism, and telekinesis, is as relevant now as it was in 1976, when Brian DePalma's film was released. Even a good premise, however, can be derailed by mediocre execution, as was the case in the TV remake of THE SHINING or in the 1999 "sequel" THE RAGE: CARRIE 2. Angela Bettis does a good enough job as the tormented Carrie White. Given that she has some pretty big shoes to fill, namely those of Sissy Spacek who had received an Oscar nod for the role in 1976, I think Bettis does better than most. Patricia Clarkson is fair as the unglued Margaret White, although her low-key insanity still might make one pine for Piper Laurie's extremist performance in the first film. But for me, what undid this film were not only the many politically correct cosmetic changes to the identities of her torturing classmates (the Sue Snell character is African-American here), but the fact that the bucket of blood scene is poorly done. When it's poured on Bettis, it just looks like what it is--red syrup. In the original, when the blood hits Spacek, it slams into her like a tidal wave (thanks to DePalma's slow motion), creating such an emotional impact that caused that film to transcend the mere boundaries of horror. The CARRIE remake is thus forever in the shadow of the original, even as Bettis' performance stands on its own. It is an okay film, even for TV; but for a true combination of horror and drama, the 1976 original is still the one to watch.
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