Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Carrie/The Rage: Carrie 2 Blu-ray

Collapse
X
Collapse
  •  
    mandymanslaughter
    Junior Member

  • Carrie/The Rage: Carrie 2 Blu-ray



    Released by: Shout Factory
    Released on: April 14th, 2015
    Directors: Katt Shea, David Carson
    Cast: Amy Irving, Anglea Bettis, Emily Bergl, Patricia Clarkson, Jason London, Kandyse McClure, Rena Sofer
    Year: 1999/2002
    Purchase From Amazon

    The Movies:

    The 2002 made for television remake of Carrie and the earlier "sequel" to the original Brian DePalma filmed are teamed up in this Shout Factory release on Blu-ray. The two are aptly paired and make for a fun viewing party together.

    Carrie (2002):

    The original Carrie is an unforgettable representation of Stephen King's first novel, which he infamously threw into the trash before his wife rescued it. This remake does a decent job of paying homage to both legacy-building pieces. Directed by David Carson, the film tells the story of Carrie White (Angela Bettis) who is mercilessly tormented, at school for being different and at home by her crazy religious mother (Patricia Clarkson). We see pretty quickly just how vicious the girls at school can be when Carrie gets her first period, a fact of life her mom did not prepare her for. Thinking she is dying, she curls up on the floor of the showers after gym class, surrounded by the other girls shouting and teasing her. They carry on the torture when they fill her locker with tampons, writing "Plug it up" in red on the door. But Carrie is more different than anyone had in mind, and the girls' quests for repentance and revenge land everyone in a heap of trouble as the pranks continue. The only one who seems to truly have her back is her gym teacher Ms. Desjarden (Rena Sofer), who launches into battle against the mean girls and against the politics of school administration.

    Bettis does a great of filling the role precedented by Sissy Spacek, giving a convincing performance as the strange girl who can't even begin fitting in. Sue Snell (Kandyse McClure) is not quite as sympathetic and believable as played in the original DePalma adaptation, but still translates effectively. In a lot of ways, however, the film stays truer to the King novel than the 1976 classic. Patricia Clarkson plays the role of psychotic super smotherer without the over the top comical quality of the DePalma that has spurred parody after parody. The ending is much more flushed out and leaves out the abrupt shock value of the older ending.

    Comparing this film to the 1976 film falls very short, however, when taking into account that this version was made for TV, a fact which is glaringly obvious in a number of ways. First, the content is very mild with nothing approaching rated R material. Also the commercial transitions are built into the film and creates awkward stops and mild repetition at times. Lastly it is painfully longer than need be to extend it over several nights in its original broadcast. All that in mind, the presentation of the story works pretty week in the teleplay format and works on a lot of levels as its own movie now (plus: no commercials!)

    The Rage: Carrie 2:

    Faring less well on this release is the loose sequel to the DePalma adaptation, predating the remake by three years. Directed by Katt Shea, the film is an attempt to modernize the story while still tying it to the 1976 film with flashbacks and minor plot twists. At the least it is super entertaining and a great piece to fit in with the nostalgia trend.

    In the film, we again enter the high school world with Rachel Lang (Emily Bergl), an outcast in her own right. Unlike Carrie White, Rachel at least has one friend in Lisa (Mena Suvari). Don't be too excited about an actress you've heard of, however, as her role in the film is limited to the first 15 minutes. From her exit we learn of the vicious games going on behind the scenes of the school via the popular jocks, and of the disturbing point system applied to hookups.

    Reprising her role as the "savior" Sue Snell, Amy Irving returns as a school counselor who takes a special interest in Rachel. Rachel, who is in foster care after her mom is institutionalized when she is very young, seems relatively well rounded despite all the challenges in her life, even finding time to find love with Jesse (Jason London). Yet everything isn't quite as it seems with Jesse's friends, all part of the football scene and very aware of the damage they're causing people. Rachel isn't as innocent as they all assume, possessing powers that only Sue Snell seems to be onto, much to their demise.

    The film does a nice job of creating a believable space where the jocks rule and the rest of the school become their pawns. However it seems to go pretty heavy into the football work unnecessarily, dragging the plot down with scenes that could easily be in "She's All That". In fact the whole film exists on the outskirts of the horror genre, with negligible nods to the original Carrie story and little else until the end. Bergl's performance works well enough, but we're not convinced she merits the same scrutiny as Carrie White. The story gets a bit pointless and directionless at times, and there are a few head scratching moments of why?

    That being said, you can't fault The Rage: Carrie 2 too much. It is simply what it wants to be: a silly nod to the horror classic while commentating on and participating with the high school films of the 90s.

    Audio/Video/Extras:

    Carrie and The Rage: Carrie 2 are presented in AVC encoded 1080p HD 1.78:1 and 1.85:1 widescreen on separate Blu-ray discs. Carrie translates decent enough for a made for TV movie, but there is nothing special about the picture quality. There's some minor damage that pops up, surprisingly enough, but nothing too distracting. But the high definition release definitely ramps up the colors and the detail that would have been void from its original release on the small screen. There isn't too much differentiation between outdoor and indoor scenes, and no real vividness to the colors, although a lot of that stems from stylistic choices to start. The Rage: Carrie 2 looks better seeing as it was shot on film for being seen on the big screen. Detail is good and there are very few noticeable flaws. Colors are strong and there is a good reproduction of both outdoor scenes and indoor scenes. Neither film has much to complain about as far as noise reduction issues.

    Both films are presented in DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio mixes, subtitles and language in English only. The 5.1 mixes on both films are sufficient with no noticeable issue to discern. Music is panned well throughout the mix in both presentations, and levels are also well balanced throughout. Dialogue has no troubles with clarity. All in all, there is not much in the way of dynamics to get picky about anything—the audio mix supports the films in their respective purposes.

    As far as extras, Carrie only has a director's commentary, which is interesting enough with some insights on the filmmaking process and working with Angela Bettis, and a trailer. The Rage: Carrie 2 offers a similar spread with the addition of an alternate ending and deleted scenes, both narrated by director Katt Shea. The alternate ending is very silly and over the top, and hearing Shea defend it is amusing on its own. Not at all amusing are the deleted scenes, which add little to the story and are in a raw state with no editing. Shea again defends the scenes as being so good on their own that she had trouble getting rid of them. However, there should be no trouble for anyone else to rid themselves of the burden of watching all 8 painful minutes of this feature.

    Bottom Line:

    Carrie and The Rage: Carrie 2 on Blu-ray is a fun release, and it's worth checking out. Sure, both films aren't doing anything revolutionary storywise or for the art of filmmaking, but they are both entertaining and presented well in their respective limitations. If you're a hardcore fan of the DePalma version, with an open mind you can still get a kick out of these films as well. To boot, the films (especially the sequel) provide a sense of nostalgia that adds to the amusement. I vote worth checking out.

    Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!





















      Posting comments is disabled.

    Latest Articles

    Collapse

    • Hot Spur (Severin Films) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Severin Films
      Released on: April 30th, 2024.
      Director: Lee Frost
      Cast: Joseph Mascolo, Virginia Goodman, John Alderman
      Year: 1969
      Purchase From Amazon

      Hot Spur – Movie Review:

      Director Lee Frost and Producer Bob Cresse's film, Hot Spur, opens in Texas in 1869 with a scene where a pair of cowboys wanders into a bar where they call over a pretty Mexican waitress and coerce her into dancing for them. She obliges, but
      ...
      03-22-2024, 11:53 AM
    • Death Squad (Mondo Macabro) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Mondo Macabro
      Released on: April 9th, 2024.
      Director: Max Pecas
      Cast: Thierry de Carbonnières, Jean-Marc Maurel, Denis Karvil, Lillemour Jonsson
      Year: 1985
      Purchase From Amazon

      Death Squad – Movie Review:

      Also known as Brigade Of Death, French sleaze auteur Max Pecas’ 1985 film, Death Squad, opens with a night time scene outside of Paris in the Bois de Boulogne Forest where cars pass by a small gang of transsexual
      ...
      03-22-2024, 11:46 AM
    • Roommates (Quality X) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Quality X
      Released on: February 28th, 2024.
      Director: Chuck Vincent
      Cast: Samantha Fox, Vernoica Hart, Kelly Nichols, Jerry Butler, Jamie Gillis
      Year: 1982
      Purchase From Amazon

      Roommates – Movie Review:

      Directed by Chuck Vincent and released in 1982, Roommates opens with a scene where a young woman named Joan Harmon (Veronica Hart) gets a hotel room with an older man named Ken (Don Peterson, credited as Phil Smith),
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:10 PM
    • Night Of The Blood Monster (Blue Underground) UHD/Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Blue Underground
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Jess Franco
      Cast: Christopher Lee, Maria Rohm, Dennis Price
      Year: 1970
      Purchase From Amazon

      Night Of The Blood Monster – Movie Review:

      Directed by Jess Franco, The Bloody Judge (or, Night Of The Blood Monster, as it is going by on this new release from Blue Underground) isn't quite the salacious exercise in Eurotrash you might expect it to be, and while it
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:07 PM
    • Phase IV (Vinegar Syndrome) UHD/Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Saul Bass
      Cast: Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick, Alan Gifford, Robert Henderson, Helen Horton
      Year: 1974
      Purchase From Amazon

      Phase IV – Movie Review:

      Saul Bass’ 1974 sci-fi/thriller Phase IV is an interesting blend of nature run amuck stereotypes and Natural Geographic style nature footage mixed into one delicious cocktail of suspense and
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:02 PM
    • The Bounty Hunter Trilogy (Radiance Films) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Radiance Films
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Shigehiro Ozawa, Eiichi Kudo
      Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Minoru Ôki, Arashi Kanjuro, Bin Amatsu, Chiezo Kataoka
      Year: 1969-1972
      Purchase From Amazon

      The Bounty Hunter Trilogy – Movie Review:

      Radiance Films gathers together the three films in Toie Studios’ Bounty Hunter Trilogy, starring the inimitable Tomisaburo Wakayama. Here’s how the three movies in this
      ...
      03-13-2024, 11:30 AM
    Working...
    X