Daily Horror Scavenger Hunt 4 - October 2018

Day 30: A movie based on a Stephen King book that has the ending letters “RIE” in the title. (Hint, it is a one word title)

Having just re-watched the original Carrie back in August, and with it still fresh in my memory, I'm having a hard time processing what I think of this one. It's another remake/adaptation that doesn't really bring anything new to the table. It feels very unnecessary. You'd think that in 2013, and with modern effects, they'd at least go all out with Carrie's vengeance, dialing up the carnage considerably. Unfortunately, it all feels rather tame and uninspired.

While I'm not a big fan of remaking classic films that still hold up perfectly fine on their own, I feel like adaptations of novels are a bit different. I actually like seeing different takes on books that I've read, and I often wish there was more of them. No film adaptation will ever fully capture my own unique interpretation of a novel, and so I delight in seeing other creative visions birthed from the same text. That doesn't mean I'll necessarily like all of them though.

As for this, I don't really hate it, and I feel like some people are overly critical of it simply because it's a remake. However, I don't exactly love it either. It's a rather pedestrian adaptation that doesn't really innovate. There's no real creative spark here. You may as well just watch the original. That said, I did enjoy seeing ultra-bitch get her face jammed in the windshield. I just wish there were more moments like that.

Now, I do want to say that the story itself, regardless of which adaptation you are watching, feels more relevant than ever in a post school shooting era. Be careful who you bully. They may not have telekinetic powers, but they may have guns. The outcome is pretty much the same.