“Carrie” (2013) Remake Brings New Blood to Familiar Story

In the remake of the original Brian De Palma film, and based off of the novel by Stephen King, Carrie tells the story of young Carrie White (Chloe Grace Moretz) who goes through life being tormented by classmates and teachers. The only person she feels close to is her religion-obsessed mother Margaret (Julianne Moore). After a cruel joke, one of the popular girls, Sue Snell (Gabriella Wilde) decides to provide an act of kindness to Carrie by allowing her boyfriend to ask her to prom. But along the way, Carrie starts to develop telekinetic abilities that could bring disastrous results if she’s pushed too far.

I believe that to compare this remake with the original and say which is better would be completely wrong and impossible. Both films have very strong aspects of their own that make them both able to stand on their own. But to discuss this version as a remake itself, I would definitely have to say it was VERY well-done. The film really gets into the emotional side of the story, we really get to know Carrie and get a sense of her loneliness. This in part is due to an excellent performance by Chloe Grace Moretz in what I really think is her best performance to date. She portrays the emotions of Carrie with such ease that you really feel for the character and think of her as a real person. But when it switches gears and her evil side appears, Moretz provides a very chilling performance. We are also given Julianne Moore as Carrie’s mother. From the start of the film and until the very end, Moore shows just how unhinged Margaret White is, and she does it perfectly. Her performances leaves the viewer really unsettled with her dead and haunting performance. As for the effects, unfortunately this remake is filled with a lot of CGI. Does it completely ruin the film? No. But it does take away a lot of the effect. The prom scene for example, while much more violent (which I was pleased about), the CGI was really noticeable. But despite this, some of the effects combined with amazing camera shots is very well-done. One example being when two characters are involved in a car crash, the impacts in the crash were very cool (and slightly disturbing) to watch.

So overall, Carrie is a very well-done and perfectly modernized remake that lets us get in touch emotionally with our lead, plenty of bloody moments, and most of all, amazing performances by Moretz and Moore.

–Cody Landman

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Tim’s Horror Tweet Reviews: “Storm of the Century” (1999)

Stephen King has definitely had his share of hits and misses when it comes to film adaptations of his work. In the 90’s during King’s peak, you could expect a brand new made-for-tv miniseries based on one of his books at least once a year. Today our Twitter reviewer Tim Schilling is back with another tweet by tweet review of “Storm of the Century.” The miniseries received mixed reviews from critics but was an audience favorite. The real question…how well does it hold up 15 years later?

Thoughts before the film:
When I saw this movie as a kid, I wanted to hide in my bedroom for the rest of my life.

Thoughts while watching:

DISC ONE
0:02 Just remembered I bought that screenplay book thing they released for this movie, I could totally follow along.
0:07 Born in sin, come on in!
0:12 Haha what! I didn’t know spencer Breslin (or whatever it is) is in this movie.
0:20 I’ve always wanted to live on a little island like this, not many people, one small road of where everything is.
0:30 They need to name this killer guy already so you can understand who I’m talking about and not sound stupid.
0:33 His name’s Andre… Alright.
0:40 This movie reminds me a lot of 30 Days of Night. Anyone else ever got that feeling?
0:48 This movie makes so much more sense now that im older….
0:50 So what Andre is saying, is that this island is full of sluts and potheads!
1:00 I love the exterior shots in this movie, the snow is so menacing!
1:07 Give me what I want, and I’ll go away.
1:18 I hate when Andre’s eyes go all black, it’s so creepy.
1:39 Tell us what you want already so you can go away!
1:43 I think the reason my parents let me watch this when I was younger is cause I wouldn’t understand any of it.
1:49 Oh crap, when Andre was talking to this girl I didnt know it was about an abortion, I thought she got a boob job..
1:58 No old lady you didn’t hear anything, you probably need to go to Walgreens and get new hearing aid batteries.
2:05 Is there a reason why she’s singing the little teapot song or are they doing it just to try to be creepy?
2:11 Oh I get it, the little teapot song is the song of… DEATH!

DISC TWO
0:02 I know this is a miniseries and all, but a lot of this stuff is very repetitive.
0:21 Wait, so people actually watch those tv channels where people just preach to you?
0:35 The scariest part of this movie is when Andre is calling Ralphie or whatever over to the closet.
0:36 I guess it wasn’t as scary as I remember…. I was a wimp when I was younger apparently.
0:40 Okay. We get it. Give him what he wants and he’ll go away.
0:46 There’s something about you that pisses me off!
0:57 Pippa’s got some sass!
1:07 I’d never wanna live on an island with these people, they’re all so messed up!
1:13 This demon guy is the worst, telling everyones’ deepest secret in front of the whole town.
1:16 I have a feeling Stephen King has read Dante’s Inferno quite a few times.
1:30 I lied about wanting to live on a small island like this, these people are fucked up.
1:52 I don’t blame mike for leaving Molly and the island, I wouldn’t stay there with those messed up people either.
2:01 Oh man that ending…

Final Verdict:
#StormOfTheCentury is still one of my favorite Stephen King films. I LOVE the story, even though it got repetitive after a while. The last half hour of it is the best, it’s so sad, creepy, and satisfying at the same time.

To follow Tim on twitter: https://twitter.com/schillingt
To follow Slasher Studios on twitter: https://twitter.com/slasherstudios

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Tim’s Horror Tweet Reviews: “Carrie” (1976)

I’m about to unveil a huge confession of mine that not many people know about me…I don’t like Brian DePalma’s “Carrie.” I think many of the performances are over-the-top, the direction is overdone and the characters are too obnoxious to really care about. I know that I am in the minority here but I thought I should let that all out there before we start in on a brand new tweet by tweet review from our resident Twitter horror critic Tim Schilling. Most horror fans consider the film to be a classic. Let’s find out what Tim thinks of it.

Thoughts before the film:
I’ve seen this movie a few times, but never all at once. I always saw it in parts because it got me mad at how plain mean it is. ‪#Carrie‬

Thoughts while watching:
0:06 I just feel so bad for Carrie, all the time.
0:07 I read the book Carrie, but don’t remember much. Is this movie a fairly good adaption?
0:12 People like mrs. White annoy the crap outta me. Don’t preach to me.
0:16 Does the doll of Jesus in the closest freak anyone else out or am I the only one?
0:17 Thanks for locking me up in the closest mama.
0:26 This has some great music.
0:28 I wish the gym teacher slapped that bitch harder.
0:32 John travolta is pretty goofy looking.
0:35 How can she be talking while she’s goin down there!?
0:45 Prom? *cue thunder*
0:46 Everything is a sin to this bitch.
0:49 Notice how in older movies you can sneak into a school no problem,but now if you go near one at night the swat team is called.
0:53 “I can see your dirty pillows” they’re boobies mama.
1:07 I just wanna have prom again pls.
1:17 I honestly feel so bad for Carrie. This is why this movie makes me mad.
1:21 I’m glad your car flipped over and blew up.
1:30 Getting stabbed to death is turning this crazy woman on.
1:33 Creepy Jesus doll is creepy.
1:35 She’s a senior in high school, how is she gonna forget that all of her friends were killed at prom?

Overall:
I guess as a film, ‪#Carrie‬ was good, but the whole story just upsets me in general. Why are people so fucked up. I’m upset after just watching it haha, but I thought it was made very well!

To follow Tim on twitter: https://twitter.com/schillingt
To follow Slasher Studios on twitter: https://twitter.com/slasherstudios

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Slasher Studios Horror Webcast: “Creepshow”

On this week’s webcast of Slasher Studios, Kevin Sommerfield and Steve Goltz will be reviewing the Creepshow trilogy in all its gory glory. Which stories work best? Which stories didn’t work at all? Which installment did we like the best? Join us Sunday night at 10PM central to find out all the details! Click on the link below to listen in live or to catch one of our previous episodes.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/slasherstudios/2012/04/30/slasher-studios-horror-webcast-creepshow

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