Halloween weekend calls for a scary movie night. With Halloween just around the corner, there are a number of classic horror films that can make for a stomach-turning, heart-racing, thrilling movie night.

Kimberly Peirce’s remake of “Carrie” has that classic thriller feel, with a modern touch. Peirce’s “reimagining,” brings relevance to the high-school horror classic.

“Carrie” is the story of the telekinetic, misfit Carrie White, who faces torment and bullying by her schoolmates and the zeal of her religiously oppressive mother, Margret.

In this adaptation of the Stephen King novel, Peirce allows the audience to reimagine the characters. Two standout performances come from Julianne Moore and Chloe Grace Moretz, who do justice to the original Oscar-nominated actresses of the 1976 version of “Carrie.” Moore plays Margret, while Moretz takes on the role of Carrie.

Although Peirce’s adaptation downplays many of the first films ghoulish trends, it also adds one for its own.

The movie opens with a bloody birth of Carrie, a hard-to-watch performance by Moore. Margret, a religious fanatic, takes the baby as a curse from God, and frequently refers to the child as a “cancer.” Moments after the birth, she presents scissors and faces the struggle of deciding on whether or not to spare the child’s life, due to her religious motives.

“I haven’t seen very many movies with Julianne Moore, but I was impressed by her commitment to this character. Her intensity was rather shocking which greatly enhanced the movie,” senior Camille Moore commented, after seeing the film.

Sissy Spacek leaves Moretz big shoes to fill. Spacek was the original, actress to play Carrie White. Moretz takes over the role of Carrie in a way that the audience doesn’t forget the original, but allows Moretz to stand in a separate light. After the cold and chilling performance of Moretz in the locker room, Carrie not only becomes aware of what it means to be a woman but also of her telekinesis in an empowering way.

This mother-daughter relationship is nothing simple. In this adaptation more of Margret’s history is present, leaving the audience sympathizing with both Margret as well as Carrie.

The only bothersome aspect of the film is though it’s the 21st century; writers and directors are still portraying high school students as stereotypes. This doesn’t pull from the storyline, but it is distracting and tacky.

That being said, the use of cellphones was a distinctive and clever modernization of the film as it played a huge part in the torment that Carrie faced by her bullies. Although “Carrie” is a remake, it holds its own due to the strong acting of Moore and Moretz.

In addition, Peirce’s “reimagines” this classic horror with vision and efficiency with attention on bullying in the heart of this decade and social media.

Special Lovincey / Columnist

Special Lovincey can be reached at [email protected].