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Carrie
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kimberly Peirce
Screenplay by	Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Lawrence D. Cohen
Produced by	Kevin Misher
Starring	Chloë Grace Moretz Julianne Moore
Cinematography	Steve Yedlin
Edited by	Lee Percy
Music by	Marco Beltrami
Production company	Misher Films
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Screen Gems
Release date	October 18, 2013 (2013-10-18)
Running time	99 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$30 million
Box office	$6,600,000

Carrie is a 2013 American supernatural horror film. It is the third film adaptation of Stephen King's 1974 novel of the same name, though MGM and Screen Gems, who are producing the film, employed a script that is reportedly more faithful to King's original novel. The film stars Chloë Grace Moretz as the titular Carrie White, and Julianne Moore as Carrie's mother, Margaret White. Following the initial announcement of March 15, 2013 as the release date, the film's public launch was later postponed to October 18, 2013.

Plot

Carrie White (Chloë Grace Moretz) is a girl in her last three months of her senior year at Ewen High School. One day, while showering after gym class, Carrie has her very first menstrual period. Knowing nothing of menstruation, she thinks she's bleeding to death. The other girls laugh at Carrie and tease her by throwing tampons and feminine napkins at her. One of the girls, Chris Hargensen (Portia Doubleday), who has long bullied Carrie, records the event on her smartphone. The gym teacher, Rita Desjardin (Judy Greer), comforts Carrie and takes her to the office. Carrie's deeply religious mother, Margaret (Julianne Moore), is called and picks Carrie up from school early. Believing Carrie's period to be a "sin", Margaret locks Carrie into a "prayer closet". As Carrie screams to be let out, she makes a crack on the door. Both Margaret and Carrie are surprised at this, and Carrie realizes she has telekinetic powers.

The next day, Miss Desjardin informs the girls who teased Carrie that they will have detention for the rest of the week with her. When Chris tells her she won't go, Miss Desjardin informs her that anyone who doesn't show up for detention will be suspended for three days and banned from the prom. Chris, feeling that she did nothing wrong, tries to encourage her friends not to appear at detention, and when her friends refuse, Chris vows revenge. When Chris' lawyer father threatens to sue the school unless Chris' suspension is rescinded, Miss Desjardin reveals that someone uploaded a video of the shower incident to YouTube, most likely Chris. Chris' father urges his daughter to hand over her phone to prove her innocence, but Chris storms out of the office.

Carrie researches telekinesis and learns how to harness her abilities. Sue Snell (Gabriella Wilde), one of the popular girls that took part in teasing Carrie in the shower room, feels bad about what she did and tries to find a way to make it up to her. Sue asks her athlete boyfriend Tommy Ross (Ansel Elgort) to take Carrie to the prom and show her a good time. When Tommy asks Carrie, she is at first suspicious, but then accepts Tommy's invitation. Carrie informs her mother that she has been invited to the prom, but Margaret refuses to permit Carrie to attend it. In pleading her mother for permission, Carrie manifests her telekinesis, which Margaret believes come from the Devil. Carrie explains she is not the only one who harbors telekinetic abilities, but Margaret is unmoved, believing that Carrie has been corrupted by sin.

Chris, her boyfriend Billy Nolan (Alex Russell) and several of his friends slip onto a nearby farm, where they kill a pig and drain its blood into a bucket. Chris and Billy then break into the gym and hoist the bucket to the ceiling. On the night of the prom, Margaret tries to prevent Carrie from going to the prom, but Carrie telekinetically locks her mother in the prayer closet. When she arrives at the prom, Carrie seems to enjoy herself. To the surprise of everyone, Carrie and Tommy are named prom queen and king. This is revealed to be the result of Chris' best friend Tina (Zoë Belkin) slipping fake ballots into the ballot box as part of Chris and Billy's plan. Meanwhile, Sue, who is at home, receives a text from Chris taunting her about her plan of revenge on Carrie. Sue drives to the prom, arriving just as Carrie and Tommy are about to be crowned. Miss Desjardin spots Sue and hustles her out, suspecting Sue is planning to humiliate Carrie.

Chris dumps the bucket of pig's blood onto Carrie and Tommy, drenching them. The bucket falls onto Tommy's head, fracturing his skull. Carrie initially prepares to flee, but as she does, the video that Chris filmed of her in the shower suddenly appears on the large screens above the stage. An enraged Carrie uses her telekinesis to knock everyone to the ground, and after locking all the doors to prevent anyone from from escaping (and preventing Sue from entering), begins sending objects flying throughout the gym, killing people. Miss Desjardin and a few students are able to escape. As the school burns to the ground, Carrie leaves and walks home covered in blood, leaving a trail of fire and mass destruction in her wake. When Chris and Billy drive toward her in an attempt to run her over, Carrie uses her powers to lift Billy's car in the air, smash Billy's head into the steering wheel, and hurl Chris' head through the windshield. She then hurls the car into a gas pump, setting it ablaze.

When Carrie gets home, she runs to the closet where she locked up her mother, not knowing that Margaret broke out while she was at the prom. After Carrie washes off the blood, Margaret finds Carrie and tells her that she and her father believed sexual intercourse was a sin, but one night Carrie's father got drunk and raped Margaret. Margaret admitted that she enjoyed the act, thus Carrie was born. As they kneel to pray, Margaret pulls a knife and stabs Carrie in the shoulder. As Margaret attempts to finish her off, Carrie uses her powers to push her away. Margaret manages to slash Carrie in the arm. Carrie throws Margaret against the wall and crucifies her by pinning her to a wall with household objects, including knives that she propels in Margaret's chest and stomach. Carrie then releases her mother and cradles her as she dies in her arms.

Realizing what she has done, Carrie becomes hysterical and makes stones start to rain from the sky to crush the house, until Sue shows up. A furious Carrie grabs Sue with her powers and asked her why everyone tricked her at the prom. Sue then shows Carrie her mind, proving to her that she had nothing to do with what happened. Carrie tells Sue that her baby is a girl and throws her out of the house before the stones crush it.

During a voice-over of her testimony in court regarding the massacre and devastation, Sue visits Carrie's grave and places a single white rose by the headstone, which is vandalized with the words "Carrie White Burns In Hell". The headstone then cracks.

Cast

• Chloë Grace Moretz as Carrie White
• Julianne Moore as Margaret White
• Judy Greer as Miss Desjardin
• Portia Doubleday as Chris Hargensen
• Gabriella Wilde as Sue Snell
• Ansel Elgort as Tommy Ross
• Alex Russell as Billy Nolan
• Zoë Belkin as Tina Blake
• Samantha Weinstein as Heather
• Karissa Strain as Nicki
• Katie Strain as Lizzy
• Barry Shabaka Henley as Principal Morton
• Demetrius Joyette as George
• Max Topplin as Jackie
• Mouna Traoré as Erika

Production history

In May 2011, representatives from MGM and Screen Gems announced that the two companies were producing a film remake of Carrie. The two studios hired Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa to write a screenplay that delivers "a more faithful adaption" of King's novel—Aguirre-Sacasa previously adapted King’s work The Stand into a comic book in 2008.

Upon hearing of the new adaptation, King remarked, "The real question is why, when the original was so good?" He also suggested Lindsay Lohan for the main role and stated that "it would certainly be fun to cast". Actress Sissy Spacek, who played Carrie in de Palma's adaptation, expressed an opinion on the choice of Lohan for the character of Carrie White, stating that she "was like, 'Oh my God, she's really a beautiful girl' and so I was very flattered that they were casting someone to look like me instead of the real Carrie described in the book. It's gonna be real interesting." In March 2012, the role of Carrie White was offered to Chloë Grace Moretz, who accepted the role.

Kimberly Peirce directed the film, while Moore starred as Margaret White and Gabriella Wilde played Sue Snell. Alex Russell, who appeared in the film Chronicle, and Broadway actor Ansel Elgort, are also members of the main cast, and Judy Greer played the gym teacher Miss Desjardin.

Release

The initial release date was March 15, 2013, but in early January 2013 the release date was moved to October 18, 2013.

Sony held a "First Look" event at the New York Comic Con on October 13, 2013 that allowed attendees to view the film prior to the release date. The event was followed by a panel session with several members of the cast and crew.

Trailers for the film included a phone number that offered promotions to the caller, as well as a recording of a simulated encounter with characters from the film.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 50% "Rotten" rating, based on 94 reviews with the consensus being "It boasts a talented cast, but Kimberly Pierce's 'reimagining' of Brian De Palma's horror classic finds little new in the Stephen King novel, and feels woefully unnecessary." On Metacritic, it scored a 54 out of 100, based on 26 reviews.

Kevin C. Johnson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch gave the film a favorable review with a rating of 88/100 saying, "Long before the blood starts spilling, it’s clear the new team has mostly nailed it. The reboot is as good a Carrie remake as possible, though it’s not truly a scary movie; the film takes its time living up to its R rating." Mick LaSalle of The San Francisco Chronicle also gave the film a favorable review with a rating of 75/100: "In a way, the new Carrie is almost too easy to enjoy. Everything discordant and all the nagging weirdness and strange feelings surrounding the original have been smoothed down, and what we're left with is a well-made, highly satisfying and not particularly deep high school revenge movie." Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film a positive review, with a rating of 63/100, stating: "The acting's strong; in addition to Moretz and Moore, Judy Greer is a welcome presence in the Betty Buckley role of the sympathetic gym instructor. But something's missing from this well-made venture. What's there is more than respectable, while staying this side of surprising." Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News gave it a mixed review, giving it only three out of five stars, saying: "With the exception of some appearances by social media, 'Carrie' doesn’t try to hip up King’s basic, often slow story. And while De Palma’s version is fondly recalled as a high-blood-mark of the 1970s, this new take seems to linger a bit more on the bugaboos of overparenting and bullying while underplaying Mama’s fanaticism. Peirce only glancingly lets her heroine have a mild discovery-of-powers moment that feels 'X-Men'-ish."

References

1. "CARRIE (15)". Columbia Pictures. British Board of Film Classification. October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
2. ^ "Carrie (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
3. Kit, Borys (May 19, 2011). "MGM, Screen Gems Team for 'Carrie' Remake". The Hollywood Reporter.
4. Labrecque, Jeff (May 20, 2011). "Stephen King sounds off on new 'Carrie' remake -- EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly.
5. "LiLo in 'Carrie' remake? Sissy Spacek can see it". CNN. July 12, 2011.
6. Fleming, Mike (March 27, 2012). "MGM Formally Offers Lead Remake Of Stephen King's 'Carrie' To Chloe Moretz". Deadline Hollywood.
7. "Chloe Grace Moretz celebrates 16th birthday with star-studded bash". WMAR-TV-ABC News.
8. Fleming, Mike (January 4, 2012). "MGM/Screen Gems Eye Kimberly Peirce to Direct Remake of Stephen King's 'Carrie'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
9. "Julianne Moore And Gabriella Wilde Board Carrie Remake". CinemaBlend.com. May 14, 2012.
10. Ge, Linda (May 15, 2012). "'Chronicle' star Alex Russell and Broadway actor Ansel Elgort join "Carrie" remake opposite Chloe Moretz". Up and Comers.
11. Rich, Katey (May 25, 2012). "UPDATE: Judy Greer HAS NOT Signed On To The Carrie Remake As The Gym Teacher". CinemaBlend.com.
12. Sitterson, Aubrey (April 13, 2012). "'Carrie' remake gets Spring 2013 release date". IFC. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
13. "'Carrie' Has Been Shifted All The Way To October". Bloody Disgusting. January 2, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
14. Staskiewicz, Keith (January 3, 2013). "'Carrie' remake gets pushed back to October". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
15. "Sony to Debut First Looks at Carrie and Evil Dead at NYCC". comingsoon.net. CraveOnline Media, LLC, an Evolve Media, LLC company. 19. Retrieved 18 April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
16. Barton, Steve (October 15, 2012). "Carrie called. Messages left. Listen now." Dread Central. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
17. "Carrie (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
18. "Carrie". Metacritic. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
19. Johnson, Kevin C. (October 17, 2013). "'Carrie' remake is a bloody good time". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
20. Mick LaSalle (October 17, 2013). "'Carrie' review: less searing than the original". Fandango. Retrieved October 19, 2013. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
21. Phillips, Michael (October 17, 2013). "'Carrie' remake is a bloody good time". Fandango. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
22. Joe Neumaier (October 17, 2013). "'Carrie': movie review". Daily News. Retrieved October 19, 2013.

External links

• Official website
• Carrie at IMDb
• Carrie at Box Office Mojo
• Carrie at Rotten Tomatoes
• Carrie at Metacritic
• Official Facebook page

• 2013 films
• 2013 horror films
• American films
• American teen horror films
• English-language films
• Films about revenge
• Films based on works by Stephen King
• Films shot in Toronto
• Horror film remakes
• Supernatural horror films
• Screen Gems films
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films