Carrie
Directed By David Carson
Released: 2002
Starring: Angela Bettis, Patricia Clarkson, Rena Sofer, Kandyse McClure, Emilie de Ravin, and Tobias Mehler

Raised by her insanely religious mother and constantly picked on at school, Carrie White is a shell of a human being. After a humiliating experience in the girls' locker room, some of Carrie's tormentors are punished. One in particular is Chris Hargensen, who is suspended from the prom and vows revenge upon her. Another girl named Sue Snell feels guilty for her participation in their cruelty towards Carrie. She implores her boyfriend to take Carrie to the prom. Chris hears of this and (with the help of her psychotic boyfriend) decides to play the ultimate prank on Carrie. What nobody knows is that Carrie has been developing her telekinetic powers and it wouldn't be in their best interest to f@%k with her. The night of the prom goes smoothly. The end?

Anway, most of you should know the story already. Being that I have always scoffed at made for TV movies and that I am an ex-Stephen King fan (he lost me with Insomnia), I avoided this new version of Carrie as though it were the plague. I also never really cared for Brian De Palma's version of King's book either. However, I am turning into a huge Angela Bettis fan ever since her performance in May, so I felt obligated to check out her performance in this. 

First off, Angela Bettis is perfect for the role of Carrie. Aside from looking the part of a misfit (albeit a little old for a high school student), Bettis never borrows from Sissey Spacek's grand interpretation of the character. Instead, she adds more depth and complexity to a character, which could degenerate into caricature easily. 

Patricia Clarkson (Wendigo) portrays the malignant and terribly damaged Margaret White. By sidestepping Piper Laurie's larger (maybe too large) than life portrayal, Clarkson gives her character a subtlety that makes her more ominous. For me, the scenes between Margaret and Carrie are so much more rewarding now thanks to the performances of two fine actresses.

The big selling point for this movie is the teen angst angle. The rest of the cast is filled with much younger actors and are primarily from the prime time TV stock. Despite the fact that this is a made for TV movie, no one stuck out like a sore thumb or embarrassed themselves. Emilie de Ravin, who played the vindictive Chris Hargensen, was quite impressive. She added some conscience to another character that could be mistakenly portrayed as pure evil. Speaking of evil, Jesse Cadotte plays Billy Nolan, Chris's boyfriend and co-conspirator. A creepy character portrayed by a creepy actor, creepily. His imitation of Jack Nicholson during the acquisition of the pig's blood for their twisted prank is just great.

The prom scene (prior to the fiery and blood-soaked conclusion) is quite disarming in its pleasantness. Everything is so perfect for Carrie at last that it makes the final prank all the more painful to sit through. The prolonging of the prom scene makes the ending so much more powerful than in De Palma's split screen version. 

Now onto the slaughter: The use of CGI in a made for TV horror movie shot on digital video is inevitable and here it is handled well. Considering that Brian De Palma used a split screen to portray the action in Carrie (instead of tighter editing), a little (okay, a lot of) CGI is worlds better. The director truly understood how to make this a finale that no one would soon forget. He chose to film not only Carrie's assault on the prom but also her rage as it spills out into the streets of the town.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this version of Carrie to fans of Stephen King's book and/or those put out by Brian De Palma's version. One thing it is not is a remake of the 1976 film. I think that even fans of the original version should give this one a chance but I suggest bringing an umbrella and rubber boots.