Carrie | What to Watch

Chloe Grace Moret prepares for prom while her mum Julianne Moore watches on

(Image credit: Michael Gibson)

A remake of the 1976 classic starring Chloë Grace Moretz. 3/5 stars

Anyone expecting a fresh take on Stephen King's 1974 tale of the bullied teenager who discovers she has telekinetic powers and uses them to turn the tables on her high-school tormentors will be disappointed by this updated version.

Despite its contemporary setting, director Kimberly Peirce's film is an almost scene-for-scene remake of Brian De Palma's celebrated 1976 chiller.

That said, King's story still packs a punch, especially when the persecuted Carrie unleashes her full powers, turning the school prom into a grisly bloodbath.

Chloë Grace Moretz is convincing, though lacks Sissy Spacek's ethereal strangeness in the title role, and Julianne Moore, as her self-harming religious zealot mom (memorably played by Piper Laurie in the original), is scarily manic.

A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.