Stephen King has probably now grown accustomed to his books being made into films, as we’re probably at double figures by this point. Just looking at his first published novel, Carrie (which has been banned in many schools, for some reason!), there has been a feature film (directed by the one and only Brian De Palma), a musical, a feature film sequel as well as a television movie. But despite this, yet another adaptation was deemed necessary starring the talented Chloe Grace Moretz (From The Amityville Horror, Kick Ass, Let Me In – amongst many others) and Julianne Moore (who I personally remember from The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Hannibal and Psycho – the remake, obviously!).
Unfortunately, there is not yet a trailer for this movie and so perhaps I have written this article a bit too soon, but upon seeing the stills which were recently released I can’t help but feel somewhat uneasy about the whole idea. My fundamental problem is that I just don’t think that it needs to be remade. I’ll be honest, Carrie is not my favourite story (both the book and the original feature film failed to really grip me at all) but I can’t see what more there is to be added to the matter. Although, I suppose maybe this new one might be more up my street and inspire me to like the concept, but I won’t be racing to the cinema on the 5th of April 2013, that’s for sure.
It will be directed by Kimberly Peirce, whose directing debut was the brilliant Boys Don’t Cry, so maybe there is some hope for this remake yet. Although, I recently read online something which I find extremely unusual and amusing – Stephen King initially recommended Lindsay Lohan in the role of Carrie! Maybe I’m being a tad on the judgemental side here, but I really can’t see that being a good idea at all. Despite claims that Lindsay Lohan was, I quote, ‘stoked’ to be mentioned by Stephen King himself, the part was instead offered to Chloe Grace Moretz (which I personally think is a much more suitable choice). She has risen to prominence of late which is of course fantastic news for her, because she’s a great little actress, but I can’t help but feel cautious when young people grow up with so much attention and pressure on them. I feel that they miss out on an essential part of growing up, but then, some people seem to be able to handle it better than others (the name Lindsay Lohan again springs to my mind).
There’s stiff competition to beat, a point which can’t be stressed enough, with the original Carrie film’s domestic gross being $33.8 million which was more than eighteen times its budget – an exceedingly high amount of money ‘in those days’! Also, both Piper Laurie and Sissy Spacek received nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress awards – something which is an absolute rarity within the horror film industry. Putting aside the failed sequel attempt (The Rage: Carrie 2), the ‘franchise’ has been hugely successful and is definitely up there in the ‘greatest horror films ever made’ list. It certainly is big shoes to fill and I hope that this daunting prospect doesn’t intimidate the cast or crew.
So expectations are running high to deliver on this one – will it be yet another remake which falls flat on its face, or will it breathe life into a somewhat dated film? I’m sceptical, but hopeful, and you can’t say fairer than that.
