Stephen King's Carrie Movies

So, I was trying to see if there were any threads about the film adaptations of Stephen King's horror novel Carrie but I didn't see any, so I decided to create a thread where we can talk about all of the film adaptations of Carrie here!

Carrie (1976)

This is the first film made for the Carrie novel and it stars a young Sissy Spacek as the titular character.

The Rage: Carrie 2

This is the sequel to the original 1976 version of Carrie and features Amy Irving, who played Sue in the original film, reprising her role.

Carrie (2002)

This is the 2002 made for TV remake of the original movie and it stars Angela Bettis as the main character and it's noted as being much closer to the original book.

Carrie (2013)

This is the 2013 remake of the original movie and it stars Chloe Grace Moretz as the titular character.

I saw the 2002 one. I mostly remember it for featuring a pre-Lost Emile De Ravin.

The 2002 version was my introduction to the Carrie series. I remembered watching this version in high school and I remembered being a bit creeped out by it at the time. I didn't even watch the original 1976 version until just recently.

I've somehow never seen any of Carrie movies

The only Carrie movie I haven't seen yet is the Rage: Carrie 2. I didn't even know that movie existed until recently.

I love all of the movies.

Cool! I really need to watch the sequel sometime.

Only seen the 1976 original and the 2013 one. I remember at the time I thought the 2013 one was better—sue me, I was 22 haha, but that could've obviously changed since I last saw either one in I think January of 2014. Seen them each twice though.

With the 2013 one, I liked how they didn't make evil an inherent thing among the characters, specifically with how much more they showed Margaret lost in her own insanity not being something in her control and Chris having learn the weight of her actions as she went and then consequences that they wrought too. Also, Carrie embracing the destruction of her powers during the prom scene rather than just totally snapping as well. Choices like that make it a little more unique.

The raw intensity of the 1976 one though being what it is? Hard to not see why so many think it's untouchable.

Edited by futuremoviewriter on Nov 2nd 2023 at 8:20:52 AM

I honestly like the original 1976 version better than the 2013 version. The 2013 version felt like a straight up slasher film rather than a deep film about a girl who is bullied and then takes her revenge out on her bullies and I liked Sissy Spacek's portrayal of Carrie better than Chloe Grace Moretz's. Also, how can you top Carrie's hand popping out of the grave at the end of the movie? However, I will admit that the 1976 version can be a bit too campy, especially with Margaret White's character and the film did felt a bit too fast paced. The 2013 version actually did felt a bit more threatening in its tone than the original 1976 version.

Edited by Rabbitearsblog on Nov 2nd 2023 at 12:57:57 PM

At the least, the prepping for the prom scene felt less out of place in the 2013 one than the one in the 1976 one did.

The 2013 version is so close to a Shot-for-Shot Remake of the 1976 version that it becomes an interesting subject matter when discussing minor changes and choices and how it impacts the final product. It replicates beats as specific as Ms. Desjardin having the bloody handprint on her skirt. The biggest changes is the modern presence of smartphones, youtube and talk of cyberbullying.

Spacek's take on Carrie was severely emotionally and mentally stunted, she doesn't seem like she's all there and the prom rampage is this unblinking stare as everyone dies. Moretz is a more straightforward Shrinking Violet who is more self-aware than believed, while the prom rampage has her selectively killing and sparing people making her feel more in control.

Psycho 1998 is far more of a shot-by-shot of Psycho 1960 than Carrie 2013 is of Carrie 1976.

They said they were gonna be closer to the book with Carrie 2013 and based on what I read about the book, that clearly wasn't the case. For one thing, she didn't crush Margaret's heart to kill her and for another, killing Chris and Billy in the car was pretty much the movie's climax. I'm sure the list goes on as well as to how it's more similar to Carrie 1976 than it is the book.

I'd also heard Kimberly Pierce is a very experimental filmmaker not afraid to go to dark places and it seemed like maybe Sony/Screen Gems pulled her back. The film does seem like a soft R when that probably shouldn't be the case.

Crazy to think that version's 10 now as well…

The 2013 movie was supposed to be closer to the book, but the studio hacked a lot of that stuff like the framing device out in editing.

Hey even King himself thinks the 76 version is better than his own book. That's hard to top.

I love the 76 film, but I have never really agreed with King that it was better than the book. Mainly because there is some choices that kind of ruin some characters in the 76 version for me, mainly Tommy. I can't stand the 76 Tommy for some odd reason that I can't really pinpoint despite loving the other versions from the book, 2002, and 2013 versions. Again I still love the 76 version and it is still the best film version.

I think 2002 had the best version of Sue and her dynamic with Carrie in the films personally.

Edited by Bullman on Nov 2nd 2023 at 6:26:16 AM

The 2013 film having Sue in the climax at the house was a nice touch since I'd read about Carrie dying in her arms in the book.

I loved how Sue was much more sympathetic towards Carrie in the 2002 version and I actually wished that the other versions of Carrie showed this side of their relationship.

Well I know the 2002 one invoked Spared by the Adaptation in the hope that they could make a show off of it, so there you go.

Unfortunately, that didn't go through.

I think I heard the 2013 movie almost did it too by the way.

I think the 2013 movie is really frickin' great ... with the caveat that I don't know how well it plays if you're not already familiar with the story and the characters - it starts the plot moving fast before establishing who all the characters are, and it takes a bit to get a good feel for them.

Carrie actively sparing Miss Desjardin in that one when she condemned Miss Collins with everyone else in the other one was also an effective touch, so since it made her actions more personal toward those who did wrong her. I also thought the bigger trigger seeing Tommy get killed—rather than the blood, the video or thinking anyone was laughing (though they still have the "they laughed at me" line for some odd reason)—was an effective touch too. As I said, instead of totally snapping, her just unleashing her powers through hysterical rage allowed for emphasis to be on the specific targets and streamline the scene better too—though her just outright losing her shit in the other one definitely works too.