Carrie was both the book and movie that established Stephen King as a force in horror. The book was different from what had been on the shelf previously. While there had been teenage horror tales before, but Carrie had the teenagers being the monsters on the page or screen. Think of all the horror movies up to that point and a vast majority had adults coming after the kids. Even if the teens were evil, there was a grown up either manipulating them or causing them to turn into mutant monsters. King had the cool teenagers be the trouble and not the school’s juvenile delinquents. Even the supernatural figure at the core of the story is a teenager. We probably wouldn’t know about Carrie’s special power if she didn’t have to deal with nightmarish high school classmates. The original film was packed with future stars in high school including Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner’s Daughter), Amy Irving (Yentl), Nancy Allen (Robo Cop), John Travolta (Pulp Fiction) and P.J. Soles (Stripes). it became a sensation back in 1976. The original Carrie has already been released on 4K UHD from Scream Factory. Now the label has upgraded the 2013 remake of Carrie to 4K UHD. The new edition enhances the story with the things a modern outcast student with telekinetic powers would have to deal with from nasty classmates.
Margaret White (Boogie Nights‘ Julianne Moore) is all by herself in bed in the middle of labor. She’s not calling for medical help as she grunts and screams. When the baby appears, she grabs a giant pair of scissors. She’s ready to stab the newborn to death. But changes her mind after looking at her baby’s face. We meet the mother and child years later when Carrie White (Kick-Ass‘ Chloë Grace Moretz) has turned into a serious outcast at her high school. Her fellow classmates have grown to hate this raggamuffin kid over the years. Things get nasty in the girl shower room when she freaks out from bleeding unexpectedly. She is told that this is natural, but they don’t quite comfort her at this moment. Chris Hargensen (Youth In Revolt‘s Portia Doubleday) videotapes the shower incident on her phone and posts it online. Other girls pelt her with hygiene products. Finally the gym teacher (Archer‘s Judy Greer) arrives to help the traumatized Carrie get cleaned up. When she gets home, Carrie’s mom gets nasty since she views what happened as a sin. She’s a holy roller. Carrie get shoved into the Prayer Closet. While in the space, Carrie discovers she can move objects. What’s really happening to the girl beside the arrival of womanhood? The nasty girls from the shower room get dragged into the office of the principal (Collateral‘s Barry Shabaka Henley). The stubborn Chris gets suspended so she will be missing the big senior prom. She’s not happy. Carrie finds herself invited to the prom by the dreamy Tommy (Tokyo Vice‘s Ansel Elgort). Chris gets her boyfriend Billy (S.W.A.T.‘s Alex Russell) to help her plot revenge against Carrie. She’s going to make this a prom to remember. Little does she know what Carrie is capable of doing if pushed.
Director Kimberly Peirce does update elements of Stephen King’s book. The kids have smartphones now. They are humiliating Carrie by posting video at YouTube. She isn’t pushing the action back to the ’70s. This is how a high school girl would have been bullied a decade ago. She also has done a few little changes to create a slighting different tone between Carrie and her tormentors. There’s nothing too radical on the screen. This is all about getting to the infamous prom. Peirce was able to upgrade the special effects from when DePalma had to figure out how to show her telekinetic powers with pre-Star Wars technology. Peirce appears to have a healthy mix of physical and CGI special effects. The biggest effect is the relationship on screen between Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore. There’s a twisted mother-daughter bond that goes beyond the initial scissors moment. The 2013 version of Carrie gives a modern take while sticking to original tale of why cool kids shouldn’t pick on an outcast.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The 4K UHD presentation is in Dolby Vision. The Blu-ray looks great in 1080p. The Audio is 5.1 Surround DTS-HD MA There’s also a 2.0 Stereo DTS-HD MA if you wanted to not have the sensation of Carrie swirling things around you. The movie is subtitled in English.
Commentary Track with director Kimberly Peirce. She explains the opening scene used a real baby, but they had a limited window. Julianne Moore made it happen. She gets into how she turned Chloë Grace Moretz into a social misfit. She’s not shy or awkward in real life.
The Devil’s Hand: Designing Carrie (22:53) has production designer Carol Spier discuss creating the world of Stephen King while being a fan of the author. She goes with a Norman Rockwell vibe for the locations and sets. She didn’t rewatch the Brian De Palma film, but reread the book a few times while working up the designs.
They’re All Going To Laugh At You: Adapting Carrie (32:44) get Joseph Maddrey, author of Adapting Stephen King: Volume 1, Carrie, ‘Salem’s Lot and The Shining from Novel to Screenplay to discuss how King’s first published book became a major hit in theaters. He gets into how King’s original ending was influenced by We The Brain from Planet Arous. His editor had him rethink the finale. He gets into Lawrence D. Cohen’s script for the version that came out in 1976. Cohen gets co-writer credit on this update of the script because of his previous work. He seems to skip over the 2002 TV movie version that was written by Bryan Fuller. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has gone on to make more high school TV shows including Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Alternate Ending (2:30) has the graveyard scene. This time the hand doesn’t come up from the ground. There’s a commentary track from director Kimberly Pierce explaining this version.
Deleted/Alternate Scenes (10:51) has extra moments including a young Carrie seeing a neighbor lady sunbathing next door. There’s a bit more of Chris and Tina making out and the wild ride with Billy behind the wheel. Plus we get a touch more prom footage. Peirce has a commentary track to explain why the scenes didn’t work.
Creating Carrie (20:52) takes us behind the scenes. Kimberly Peirce talks about how she was a fan of the movie and friends with Brian De Palma. She read the book and wanted to make a different version of the movie. They get into the casting of Chloë Grace Moretz and other young actors.
The Power of Telekinesis (3:47) has cast and crew talking about things flying around the room.
Tina On Fire Stunt Double Dailies (2:07) shows how the prom dress really did catch fire. They used a gel on the stunt woman. This wasn’t CGI.
Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise (2:20) has them create a fake wall in a real coffeeshop. They tested the special effect with unsuspecting real customers in the shop. #FlexLikeCarrie still active?
Theatrical Trailer (2:30) has us reminded about that one family with a big secret in your neighborhood.
Scream Factory Presents Carrie (2013): Collector’s Edition. Directed by Kimberly Peirce. Screenplay by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa & Lawrence D. Cohen. Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Judy Greer, Gabriella Wilde, Portia Doubleday, Alex Russell, Ansel Elgort, Barry Shabaka Henley, Zoë Belkin, Karissa Strain, Katie Strain & Samantha Weinstein. Running Time: 100 minutes. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: March 19, 2024.
