INSOMNIAC SONG

HORROR

Carrie (1976)

 

Starring: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving

Directed by: Brian De Palma
Rating: R
Running Time: 98 minutes
Synopsis: A young, abused and timid 17-year-old girl discovers she has telekinesis, and gets pushed to the limit on the night of her school's prom by a humiliating prank.
 

Brian De Palma’s take on Stephen King’s breakthrough novel wasn’t the best adaptation of the story. The source material seemed to be skimmed and picked from to choose the parts that they wished to use. This isn’t unusual for films. The casting for the film, while not spot on for the looks of the characters as described in the novel, was surprisingly good. Sissy Spacek was very sympathetic as the abused, neglected titular teen. The other defining role in the film was portrayed by Piper Laurie as Carrie’s insanely religious mother. It’s not Carrie’s telekinetic powers that make this film terrifying. It’s the torment that she receives from her religious zealot mother and her classmates. This is the defining high school horror film of the 1970s. It isn’t scary in the sense that most horror fans know. Instead, it’s heartbreaking and suspenseful.

 

Rating: 4/5

HORROR

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)

 

Starring: Amber Heard Michael Welch, Anson Mount, Whitney Able
Directed by: Jonathan Levine
Rating: R
Run time: 90 minutes

Synopsis: A group of high-schoolers invite Mandy Lane, "a good girl" who becomes the object of everyone's affection after returning from summer break, to a weekend party on a secluded ranch. While the festivities rage on, the number of revelers begins to mysteriously drop one at a time.

 

Originally slated for a 2006 release, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane did rounds at film festivals before finding a distribution source. It wasn’t long after that the distribution firm went under leaving the film shelved for seven years. If it had gotten its original intended release, this might have been a huge hit in 2006. We’ve come a long way since then. Mandy Lane is a formerly unpopular girl who got ‘hot’ before junior year. She’s reserved and sheltered by her family. All the boys want her and the girls seem a bit interested too whether it’s simply for friendship or budding rivalry. The movie is set up like a typical teen horror. They all go away for a drunken, sex-filled weekend only to have terrible things happen. The difference in this film is the cinematography and direction. It’s easily reminiscent of Tobe Hooper’s style and films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). I did guess the twist ending, but it was still well done enough that I wasn’t disappointed when it came.

 

Rating: 3/5

 

HORROR

Carrie (2013)

 

Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Gabriella Wilde
Directed by: Kimberly Peirce
Rating: R
Run time: 100 minutes
Synopsis: A reimagining of the classic horror tale about Carrie White, a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother, who unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom.

 

Oh the useless, endless run of horror remakes. Carrie was a film that didn’t need a remake. The biggest issue for me was the casting. Chloe Grace Moretz is a very pretty girl, but she’s too pretty for the title role. She doesn’t seem like a victim or someone lost to the craziness of their mother. This version of Carrie is even able to argue back that her mother’s interpretation of scripture is wrong. Julianne Moore is a bored, tired Margaret. The insanity that Piper Laurie was able to convey in the original was lost and replaced with shots of self-mutilation. What was there to improve upon unless doing a direct adaptation of the original novel? While the original version of Carrie had its flaws, the remake did nothing to improve on them. Scenes were updated to be more modern such as the shower scene. Chris Hargenson, the main mean girl, films Carrie’s despair on her smartphone to upload to youtube. Was this update really necessary when there are already too many bullies doing similar despicable acts? Sure, they added back in a small detail that had been left out of the previous version (Sue’s pregnancy), but they also conveniently forgot to have her miscarry as she did in the novel. Do you sense the sequel they’re likely planning?

 

Rating: 2/5