Carrie (2013)★★★★☆

I’m surprising even myself by saying this, but I think I like this one just a little bit better than the original. Now don’t get me wrong – I still think the original Carrie is classic horror and shouldn’t be skipped. But this one seemed to flow better. And the payoff seemed…more worth it?

Interestingly, while I was more familiar with some of the actors in this one, Judy Greer is the only one I felt was cast well. Well, that’s not quite true. I think Julianne Moore was excellent as Margaret White, but I didn’t believe her as Chloë Grace Moretz’s mother.

That said, I didn’t really believe Chloë Grace Moretz as Carrie. She’s not vulnerable enough. Sissy Spacek really was Carrie White. I generally think Moretz is a fine actress, and even here it wasn’t her acting talent that was the problem. I just simply didn’t believe her as vulnerable enough to be Carrie White.

I felt this one focused a bit more on character development than the original, which I liked. In fact, it made me want to read the novel, which isn’t a feeling I’ve ever gotten after watching the original. I’m curious to see which of the two are more true to the original work. I also want to find a copy of the made for TV version with Angela Bettis for comparison. I think Angela Bettis would be a great Carrie White.

I appreciated that the opening credits were as understated and nicely done as they were in the original film. I also liked the modernization of the bullying in this one. I thought that the few mentions of streaming video were well placed and made the story a bit more relevant.

This one does suffer from slow pacing at times, but overall it’s a very entertaining watch. I don’t know what I was thinking the first time I tried to watch it. Must not have been in the right mood.