After the commercial and critical misfire of “The Rage: Carrie 2” (1999), the “Carrie” TV movie (2002) was the next project to see the franchise potential of Stephen King’s debut novel. Again, though, audiences and critics weren’t on board and it didn’t lead to anything else.
The unfinished Carrie diaries
However, the TV movie did air on NBC and it’s readily available via disc and streaming. “Carrie” (2002) should appeal to the theoretical person who hasn’t seen the 1976 film. It should also appeal to a fan of Brian De Palma’s version who is open to different spins on the characters.
Here, actress Angela Bettis (“Girl, Interrupted”) and writer Bryan Fuller (“Hannibal”) make Carrie White intriguingly duo-toned. She’s soft-spoken but also has a spark of pride that might be her pathway to freedom.
“Carrie” (2002)
Director: David Carson
Writers: Bryan Fuller (teleplay), Stephen King (novel)
Stars: Angela Bettis, Patricia Clarkson, Rena Sofer
Bettis’ task is thankless, because no one can compete with Sissy Spacek, but she’s great in a new way. When Carrie walks through the streets of Chamberlain in her blood-soaked dress causing telekinetic destruction, she looks like a legit horror villain.
This Carrie has wit. Fuller is faithful to King and the original film when it fits, but he sneaks funny commentaries into the dialog. When Margaret White (Patricia Clarkson) tells her daughter she can see her “dirty pillows” in the prom dress, Carrie notes that they’re called breasts, every woman has them and (in Fuller’s contribution) they’re quite fashionable.
Meanwhile, Clarkson plays a Margaret who isn’t too far gone. She can’t see past (her interpretations of) Scripture enough to unconditionally love Carrie, but we sense she means well – in her twisted way. (Another great line comes when Carrie openly accuses her mother of making up Biblical passages.)
Drawing from King
At first I thought “Carrie ’02’s” goal was similar to the “Shining” TV miniseries: to faithfully adapt King’s book. It starts with Sue Snell (“Higher Ground’s” Kandyse McClure) giving an interview about the notorious prom events as the police chief (David Keith) tries to piece together what happened. And we’re back at the book’s Ewen High School, located in Chamberlain.
“Carrie ’02” isn’t a snapshot of an era the way “The Rage” is, but it does feature pop-culture references. Instead of “Psycho,” this one references “She’s All That.”
On the other hand, Billy (Jesse Cadotte), talked into the pig-blood prank by girlfriend Chris (“Roswell’s” Emilie de Ravin), is unhinged like in the 1974 book. Chris herself has a surprising streak of decency as she waits a long time before pulling the rope.
As Tina, Katherine Isabelle plays a cartoonish villain, someone who openly mocks Carrie. Another colorful character is class president Norma (Meghan Black), who is relentlessly bubbly about prom.
This Carrie has a chance
Miss Desjardin’s and Sue’s friendships with Carrie are more genuine than ever, while Tommy (Tobias Meher) is on par with the first film’s portrayal.
Bettis portrays Carrie’s destructive turn like a fugue state. She freezes when in a tense situation, something that’s more legit in the real world than telekinesis. I think if one of her allies had been able to snap her out of it, she would’ve stopped the killing spree.
Director David Carson, while not the stylist De Palma is, takes us inside Carrie’s head. After she’s doused with pig blood, she has blurry tunnel vision. This Carrie may have thicker skin than Spacek’s Carrie, but Carson nicely shows the sheer grossness of being covered in blood. Setting aside the TK powers, it’s a legit reaction to emotionally freeze up, walk straight home and sink into a bath before you even process it.
“Carrie ’02” requires some forgiveness for its low budget. The special effects of the rain of rocks (taken from the novel) early in the film are bad, but the post-prank action is good. It includes a taste of Carrie’s walk of destruction through town, also from the book.
Perhaps the best compliment I can give is this: I was drawn into “Carrie ’02” despite having recently read and watched the canonical versions. I would’ve followed it into a series.
However, the lack of a series pick-up meant Fuller was free to do his original projects like “Dead Like Me” and “Wonderfalls.” I’m not crying over “Carrie’s” fate. But this movie deserves more respect than it gets.
On Fridays, RFMC reviews a Stephen King book, adaptation or related work. Click here to visit our Stephen King Zone.