The Rage: Carrie 2
The horror genre can be the most brilliant. The films come into our lives and spark our terror, gripping us in fear throughout the night. If they are really really excellent, that will continue throughout the day. That is what horror can and should be. But the horror genre is also the most pathetic, possibly seconded by action. It’s the most abused by studios who want to keep legendary spirits, ghouls and murderers alive by feasting on the story with an abundance of sequels, reboots and prequels. The skeleton of a once beloved tale is picked apart like vultures and we get these over-blown movies that make no sense to the original cannon and just add special effects and try to make it relate to modern teenagers.
So with this in mind, I cannot even explain why I enjoyed The Rage: Carrie 2 so much.
The sequel is the 1999 film by director Katt Shea, who, shamefully, now works as a teacher. The film revolves around Rachel, a fostered child whose mother was sent to an insane asylum after trying to exercise her. As Rachel struggles throughout school, an outsider whose best friend just committed suicide, it turns out that she has a power that is raging out of her control. Unfortunately, as those around her heat up their ploys, they are about to become victims to her mind.
Why is it Bad?
The Rage: Carrie 2 took a Brian De Palma and Stephen King premise and made a mockery of it. The entire film is a pointless waste of mental energy it’ll take just to watch it. It’s a poor imitation of the glorious predecessor that took all that was good and reshaped it to be an oversexed trollop of a film. It came with everything people hates about reboots; a need for more blood and shocks (despite the original haven’t bucket loads) and missed the point entirely about the isolation of Carrie and how that burned inside her. The thin connections to the original were shoddy attempt to attract an audience.
Why is it Good?
Well, Emily Bergl makes a really great heroine. With her acting, you cannot help but enjoy Rachel’s plight as she struggles to control her infliction opposite her social status. The build-up of the hysterical enemies that perpetuate the sickening abuse of women, their sexualities and how it ranks them in the hierarchy of school and life is so good that when Rachel is in her full swing, seeing the decapitated heads via flinging CDs is a hoot. Never have you ever wanted to see people eyes pop out and the climatic party scene is devilishly enjoyable over the top nonsense.
As a spotty pre-pubescent teen, there was something so stellar about films that had woman with power in it. No, I mean literally magical gifts. As I stared at the pencils in hopes that I could zoom it across the room, I supposed The Rage spoke to me when I was young. That being said, looking back at all its mistakes and ploys, it doesn’t work. Though good for an evening of shitty horror and commentary, The Rage is a misdirected film that will ruin you if you are a fan of Carrie.