CARRIE

DIRECTOR: Kimberly Peirce CAST: Chloë Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Judy Greer Ansel Elgort

★★★

Carrie White was a regular girl in almost every way, she had hopes and dreams, but all she wanted was to fit in

CARRIE directed by Kimberley Pierce (Boys Don't Cry) is a faithful remake to the 1976 Brian de Palma film providing a much needed, rejuvenated look to a classic story of revenge.

Chloë Grace Moretz, mostly known for supporting roles in "500 Days Of Summer" and "Kick-Ass" comfortably plays the titular character, with the innocence and vulnerability early on before transitioning into the blood dripping teenager who unleashes a telekinetic terror on her small town during senior prom.

Moretz continues to grow as a young actress but it's Julianne Moore's' performance as Carries mother that propels the film. Having played an unnerving mother earlier in the year in the superb "What Maisie Knew", Julianne Moore injects the perfect amount of creepiness into Margaret White. The film opens with Margaret suffering an agonising labour, crediting the pregnancy as a test from God and claiming her newborn as a cancer.

Margaret allows her devout religious beliefs to compromise her child. This poor girl is going to have a very difficult upbringing. Director Pierce does well to retain the famous scenes from the original, they are well presented with some cleverly placed nods to modern day technology, such as Carries embarrassing shower moment recorded and broadcast via IPhones and YouTube by the school bullies.

The movie flows at a decent pace and our feeling of empathy towards Carrie morphs to one of excitement when she discovers her telekinetic powers, and when Carrie is suspiciously asked to the prom we are delighted for her, even though we all know what's about to unfold.

The "Carrie prom" scene is iconic in cinema history. It has been replicated and parodied on many occasions so it needed to, and was, approached with a certain amount of care and responsibility, albeit with a number of small editing annoyances. Moretz physical acting style, like her character, does a U-turn at the climax of the film, she changes to puppet-like movements as the presence from deep within her takes control. CGI effects adds these scenes with a visual gruesomeness., a protruding car accident being the most memorable. With a solid performance from the supporting cast, Carrie is an adequate and faithful remake, whilst not the most original film of the year, the classic story reminds us who the real villain is.