Stephen King‘s debut novel made him a literary star for a reason. Carrie is a lean, mean story that serves up ample frights while striking a good balance between supernatural horror and real-world issues of bullying and isolation. It’s the kind of plot that would seem to lend itself well to the screen. There have been four movie adaptations of the novel, but only one is great, while the others range from mediocre to atrocious.
With this in mind, this list ranks all of the films and their respective approaches, from the loose 1999 sequel to the modern-day update with Chloë Grace Moretz. Try as they might, all of the subsequent efforts pale in comparison to Brian De Palma‘s 1976 bloody, fiery masterpiece. It remains essential while the other three are decidedly disposable.
4 ‘The Rage: Carrie 2’ (1999)
Directed by Katt Shea
“I always wanted to be one of the shiny, happy people.” This is undoubtedly the worst of the Carrie movies. It started out as a totally unconnected horror movie before being rejiggered into a loose sequel to the 1976 film. Emily Bergl leads the cast as Rachel Lang, a teenager ostracized by her peers and burdened with a traumatic past. She contends with a cruel group of students who humiliate her friend Lisa (Mena Suvari), all while discovering, that she shares Carrie White’s telekinetic abilities.
Despite its ambitions to update the Carrie formula for a late-’90s audience, The Rage: Carrie 2 largely rehashes familiar beats without the depth or nuance that made the original so compelling. Bergl is fine in the part, but the rest of the movie pivots between dull and ridiculous. Finally, director Katt Shea lacks De Palma’s visual flair; where the first was striking and vivid, The Rage seems kind of lifeless.
3 ‘Carrie’ (2002)
Directed by David Carson
“Go to your closet and pray.” The 2002 TV adaptation of Carrie features Angela Bettis in the title role. It changes some of the plot points, as well as the structure, unfolding partly through flashbacks and keeping Carrie’s fate a mystery for a long time. Perhaps this was meant to evoke the epistolary structure of the original novel.
While this approach adds some freshness, the film as a whole is undermined by a shoddy script, a bloated runtime, and terrible special effects. Even the director has admitted that they were “cheap.” The depiction of bullying also received a lot of criticism, with some calling it unrealistic and out of date. The scares are likewise tepid, and the movie never really conjures up a tense or creepy atmosphere. That said, Bettis’s lead performance was widely praised, and she deserves props for doing the most with what little the project gave her to work with.
2 ‘Carrie’ (2013)
Directed by Kimberly Peirce
“If I concentrate hard enough, I can make things move.” The 2013 remake brought the tale into the age of smartphones and social media. The story follows the same arc as the original, though the bullying takes more modern forms, like a viral video. Chloë Grace Moretz steps into the lead role, while Julianne Moore plays her fanatically religious mother, Margaret. Despite the star power, the finished product is middling and, once again, feels unnecessary.
The characters are hollow echoes of their predecessors, with little to distinguish them or make them feel relevant to a new era. Moretz, in particular, isn’t that convincing as an odd, disturbed kid. On the storytelling side, director Kimberly Peirce goes for a safe, unimaginative retread rather than a bold reimagining. All told, this version of Carrie represents a missed opportunity. It could have been a modern classic, but really it’s quite forgettable.
1 ‘Carrie’ (1976)
Directed by Brian De Palma
“They’re all gonna laugh at you!” Standing head and shoulders above the other adaptations is Brian De Palma’s take on Carrie, which is often ranked among the best horror movies of the 1970s. Sissy Spacek leads the cast, joined by the terrific Piper Laurie as her mother (both of them received Oscar nods for their efforts). Their believable performances help to ground the supernatural elements – and heighten the horror.
In terms of the directing, De Palma takes the fundamentals of King’s book and turns them into an operatic exploration of adolescence, bullying, and religious fanaticism. His stylistic skills are very much on display, from the misdirection and ever-ratcheting suspense to the effective use of split-screen. It all builds up to a fiery climax where the blood flows liberally; a worthy payoff for all the buildup. Simply put, it’s a classic. This movie casts a long shadow, and it’s unlikely that any further adaptation will equal it, let alone surpass it.
Carrie
Carrie is a horror film directed by Brian De Palma, based on Stephen King’s novel. It stars Sissy Spacek as Carrie White, a shy high school student who discovers her telekinetic abilities. Tormented by her peers and controlled by her fanatically religious mother, played by Piper Laurie, the film follows Carrie’s emotional and psychological struggles leading to a dramatic climax. Carrie solidified its place in the horror genre for its powerful performances and chilling atmosphere.
