Both of these films have swept across the horror genre and been wildly popular. The original film starring Sissy Spacek changed how horror was seen for a long time, so is the remake starring Chloe Grace Moretz worth watching? Or is it just another failed remake?
PLOT
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The plot rarely varied from movie to movie, but when there was variety it was important and changed the main idea of the movie. The original Carrie movie starts in the locker room when Carrie was bullied, however, the remake began with Margaret White giving birth to what she believed to be the devil child, and then went to the locker room scene. The new Carrie started with a bang and was scary as soon as it started, while the original started by making you feel bad for Carrie as she was bullied. This scene moved on to the introduction of telekinesis in Carrie. In the original movie, she discovers her telekinesis when she breaks a mirror. This shows her hatred for herself and how she has had to live her life. The remake has her discover her powers in the principal’s office, where she is angry at how the principal mispronounced her name. Though the office explosion was scarier, showing Carrie’s weaknesses and insecurity made the plot more interesting in the original. Another major plot change was Carrie's mother. In the remake she was self harming and self mutilating, which added more to the horror factor as it was alarming when she hurt herself, but it didn't go well with the radical Christian she was supposed to be. The remake also took out a bunch of interesting scenes from the original which left the original movie with having a better plot.
ONE POINT TO CARRIE (1976)
THEME
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The theme of the Carrie movies are you can only put so much pressure until one breaks. This theme was shown well in each movie; however it was slightly better in the original movie. Carrie is a lonely girl with no one to turn to. Her mother is cruel (and self harming in the remake), the girls at school make fun of her and she can’t fit in. An excellent scene of this theme in the original was when Carrie was onstage at prom covered in blood. The voices in her head of people laughing at her and making fun of her ground her down and she hurt those who had hurt her. Another excellent moment was when Carrie broke her mirror in her bedroom. Carrie was so hurt and broken that instead of using her powers properly, she tried to shield her from herself. The remake also did a good job with this theme. Chris (the popular girl at the school) was especially cruel in the remake, by filming Carrie’s first period and putting it online, then putting it on a large screen at the prom. Carrie saw her pain in front of her and heard it when the others laughed, so she snapped and got revenge. T The amount of bullying in these movies and the pressure of a radically Christian mother caused Carrie to break , which shows that when cruelty builds it will break someone. Though the remake did try, the original movie's traumatic scenes relating to the bullying related to the audience more and Carrie's anxiety was much more believable.
ONE POINT TO CARRIE (1976)
SOUND
The sound in each film added to the horror and the emotional trauma that was communicated to the viewers. As Carrie and Tommy walked in in the original, a song about the Devil was playing, foreshadowing a traumatic event in the future. There was also a song with a line that sang “how could you love someone like me”, which showed Carrie’s doubts about Tommy’. . After Carrie had been drenched in pig’s blood she was standing on stage and though it was actually silent, she thought she could hear insults. All the previous bullying and rudeness came rushing to her head and starting playing over and over until she broke. Though the sound in the remake was not as strong or relevant, there was a strong moment when Carrie continuously thought she heard people laughing at her, when they were not. This incident happened both when Tommy asked her to the prom, and after she was drenched in pig’s blood. The remake tried to live up to the original, but the sound of the 1976 movie couldn't be beat.
ONE POINT TO CARRIE (1976)
Lighting
In the original movie, the bungalow that Carrie lived in was always very dark. The lights were often lamps in corners that were dimmed which set the scene for an evil house. However, in the original there was also a scene where lighting made it less scary when Carrie attacks, the lighting was red, which was unrealistic and took away from the scene. The lighting in the remake also was important. When Carrie asks to go the prom, lightning flashes against Margaret White’s face, making her seem terrifying. Also, in the dance the light started out bright, showing how happy Carrie was, but by the end of the dance the lighting was very dark, as Carrie’s mood darkened. The lighting techniques used in the 2013 movie were clearly superior and were a main aspect that made the movie scary.
ONE POINT TO CARRIE (2013)
SET
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The sets of the two movies were very alike. The house that Carrie lived in for both movies was a small bungalow, with creaking wood floors that did not seem structurally sound. It had a winding staircase and an attic room where Carrie slept. These bungalows added to the creepy feeling the viewer got while watching the movie.
ONE POINT TO CARRIE (1976) AND CARRIE (2013)
COSTUMES
The costumes were not very important to the overall theme, but they did add to the interest of the viewer. In the original and the remake Carrie was stuck wearing very modest and ugly clothing, while the other girls wore more revealing and stylish clothes. This visually showed the difference between Carrie and her peers. The dress at the end of the remake was much nicer, and Maragaret's clothing showed more disarray in the remake, making the character sin the remake more interesting to look at.
ONE POINT TO CARRIE (2013)
PROPS
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The main prop in these movies was the Jesus statue. The statue of Jesus that had glowing eyes and sat in the dreaded closet was something that terrified Carrie in both movies. The original Carrie had a slightly scarier Jesus and Carrie imagined that she saw it bleeding which terrified her. In the end of both movies this statue was the shape in which she stabbed her mother with knives, showing her despair about being locked away for far too long. The prop in the original was scarier, so it deserves the win.
ONE POINT TO CARRIE (1976)
ACTING
The main character in these movies is Carrie White, played by Sissy Spacek in the original and Chloe Grace Moretz in the remake. Spacek was an excellent Carrie as her appearance was perfect with large eyes and looks that didn't quite fit in with the other girls cast for the movie. Spacek’s acting was perfect for the character. Throughout the movie she kept her head down, and tried to fit in with everyone else. Spacek’s voice also gradually got louder and stronger throughout the movie, and you could see clearly that the character was gaining confidence. A very strong scene for Spacek was the first scene where Carrie gets her first period and doesn't know what it is. Spacek freaked out and screamed, and the audience could see the raw terror in her eyes. Spacek also had few weak moments. The casting of the new movie seemed less exact, and though Moretz was a good Carrie, she didn’t fit the alienated Carrie as much as Spacek. She was too pretty to have been alienated in real life, so it wasn't believable. The strong point in this movie was also when she was in the shower and got her period. She became very upset and Moretz’s blood curdling screams added to the horror. A weak moment for Moretz was the scene in which she told her mother that she was going to the prom no matter what she said. Moretz’s face was too still and uncaring, making her seem too unfeeling. Though Moretz tried to fit the role, the original yet again comes out on top with better acting.
ONE POINT TO CARRIE (1976)
RESULTS
After tallying up the points from each category, Carrie (1976) wins with five points and Carrie (2013) doesn't live up to the high expectations left for it with only three points. Though the set of each movie was similar, the acting, props,sound, theme and plot of the original movie made it clearly superior to the attempt in 2013 to remake it.