Movie review: Mother steals the show in 'Carrie' remake
Review • Little in the film can rival Moore's fierce performance.

Awash in blood and tears, a woman howls in unspeakable anguish as she gives birth in the harrowing opening moments of "Carrie." She is ashen and alone, her face gnarled with fear. Believing the child to be the devil's spawn, she grabs a pair of scissors to stab the infant to death. Only the baby's soft mewling, the pureness of her gaze, spares her from the knife.

Director Kimberly Peirce summons up the bracing thematic subtext of her stylish remake in that deeply disturbing scene. It's masterful filmmaking that recalls the visual economy of her debut film, "Boys Don't Cry," and her gift for psychological nuance.

This is a tale about the cycle of birth and death, the fierce bond between mother and child and the destiny of biology. Far from a mindless monster flick about a kid with supernatural powers, this movie mines the horror of real life, from dysfunctional families to cyber bullies.





For all its cheesy '70s vibe, De Palma's movie far better captured the primal, almost "Lord of the Flies" nature of the high-school experience, the sheer terror of being a social outcast. That's what really gave the "Carrie" myth such staying power in pop culture. At its core, "Carrie" captured something painful and true about adolescence.

It doesn't help matters that Moretz has an undeniable spunkiness, a quality showcased in "Kick-Ass," so it's hard to shake the feeling that she could hold her own with or without telekinesis. She always seems more in control of her sorcery and far more formidable than the fragile and delicate Sissy Spacek.




Stylish remake that mines the horror of real life, from dysfunctional families to cyber bullies.

Where • Theaters everywhere

When • Opens Friday

Rating • R (for bloody violence, disturbing images, language and some sexual content)

Running time • 1 hour, 39 minutes