The Obsessive Viewer

Release Date: October 18^th, 2013 

Director: Kimberly Peirce

Writers: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Stephen King (novel)

Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Judy Greer

In honor of Stephen King Week, this week’s Trailer Tuesday is the remake of Carrie.

Shockingly enough, I haven’t watched the original Carrie in a long time. So I don’t remember much of it. I remember liking it, though. As of this writing I am about 20% through reading the book for the first time. I really like the style of it. The partial epistolary storytelling format is something I haven’t seen in a lot of King’s work. It’s pretty great.

As for this trailer, it’s looking really good. Great, even. Horror films catch such flak and are easy to be written off, especially horror remakes. This looks like it will be the rare (and R-rated, thankfully) horror remake that gets it right. The casting of Chloë Grace Moretz is huge to me. Aside from the obvious talent she possesses and the clear truth that she has a very bright future ahead of her, I am absolutely floored that they cast an age-appropriate actress for Carrie. Or maybe I’ve just been watching too much Dawson’s Creek and Friday Night Lights and I’m jaded by 20somethings in teen roles.

I’m a fan of Julianne Moore’s work as well and think she will be great. Time will tell though. I will say that I’m a little put off by the prominent depiction of smart phones in the girls’ shower scene in the trailer. It’s accurate and I’m sure I’m overreacting. But my brain processes it as a “hey, look at how updated this remake is, we have technology!” statement. It reminds me of the Walkman in Psycho (1998) and the webcam in A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010). Hopefully in Carrie it will be more practical.

We still have several months until it’s released. For now, you can check out the most recent (international) trailer below and share your thoughts on it in the comments. And, of course, follow me on Twitter @ObsessiveViewer and like the blog on Facebook.

I’ll be back tomorrow for “Dark Tower Day!” Two posts, two visions for King’s most expansive work. Don’t miss it.