Carrie

Based, of course, on Stephen King’s novel, Carrie follows the meek title character (Angela Bettis) as she enters puberty and subsequently discovers an ability to move things with her mind. It’s immediately clear that Carrie marks a steep downgrade from Brian De Palma’s superb 1976 original film, as the movie, produced for network television, suffers from an almost excessively low-rent feel that’s perpetuated by David Carson’s less-than-cinematic directorial choices. (It’s surprising, certainly, given that Carson is the man behind the lush, visually sumptuous Star Trek: Generations.) Far more problematic, however, is the growing realization that scripter Bryan Fuller is unable (or unwilling) to bring anything new to the table, with the movie, for the most part, playing out as a pale imitator of its vastly superior predecessor – which is a shame, really, given that Fuller’s screenplay represents an accurate picture of the source material’s complete storyline. One would expect, however, that the movie’s climax would compensate for its flaws and ultimately represent its high point, though, as becomes clear, Carson simply isn’t able to inject this stretch with anything even resembling excitement or tension – with the filmmaker’s efforts compounded by Laura Karpman’s distracting and flat-out awful score. The end result is an interminable made-for-television trainwreck that boasts shockingly few positive attributes, with Bettis’ admittedly strong turn as the title character standing as one of the movie’s few non-disastrous elements.

*1/2 out of ****