Carrie (2013 film)

Plot Summary

Carrie White is a shy and unpopular student at Ewen High School in Maine who is mercilessly bullied by her classmates. The central trauma occurs in a school shower when Carrie experiences her first menstrual period and, unaware of what is happening, panics, believing she is bleeding to death. Her peers, led by the cruel Chris Hargensen, respond by throwing tampons and pads at her while Chris records the incident on her cell phone and later uploads it to YouTube. The school's gym teacher, Miss Rita Desjardin, comforts Carrie and sends her home to her mother, Margaret White, a deeply religious fanatic who views menstruation as a sin and locks Carrie in a prayer closet as punishment. While confined, Carrie's latent telekinetic abilities begin to manifest, causing a crucifix to bleed and a door to crack. Carrie subsequently researches and learns to control her emerging powers. In an attempt to atone for her role in the shower incident, student Sue Snell convinces her boyfriend, Tommy Ross, to invite Carrie to the senior prom. Carrie accepts and makes her own dress, but must use her telekinesis to overcome her mother's violent attempts to prevent her from attending. At the prom, Chris and her boyfriend Billy Nolan execute a plan to humiliate Carrie by rigging the vote for prom queen so that Carrie and Tommy win. As they are crowned, Chris dumps a bucket of pig's blood on them while a video of Carrie's shower panic plays on screens, sending Carrie into a rage. She uses her telekinetic powers to lock the gym doors, cause a massive fire, and kill numerous students and staff, though she spares Miss Desjardin. Carrie then kills Chris and Billy as they try to flee. Returning home, a devastated Carrie is attacked by her mother, who stabs her, believing she is killing the devil's child. Carrie kills Margaret in self-defence using her powers before causing the house to collapse around her as Sue arrives. Sue is thrown to safety by Carrie, who seemingly perishes in the wreckage. In the theatrical ending, Sue later visits the graves of Carrie and Margaret, and as she leaves, the headstone cracks and a scream is heard, suggesting Carrie may have survived.

Production and Development

The development of a new Carrie adaptation was announced in May 2011 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Screen Gems. The studios committed from the outset to producing an R-rated film, a decision made early in the process. Screenwriter Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, known for adapting Stephen King's The Stand into a comic book, was initially hired to write a screenplay that would be more faithful to King's novel than the 1976 film. The final screenplay, however, shared credit with Lawrence D. Cohen, who wrote the original 1976 adaptation. Director Kimberly Peirce was attached to the project in January 2012, having received the blessing of Brian De Palma, director of the original film. Peirce, a fan of King's novel, was drawn to the material's themes of misfits, power, humiliation, and violence, stating these were all her issues. She and producer Kevin Misher aimed to create a film that was more faithful to the source novel rather than a simple retread of De Palma's version. Key changes included a deeper focus on the mother-daughter relationship as the heart of the film, more character development for Sue Snell and Chris Hargensen, the incorporation of cyberbullying to modernize the story, and giving Carrie more control of her powers as part of a superhero origin narrative. Principal photography occurred in mid-2012, with the production based in the Greater Toronto Area. Specific filming locations included parts of Mississauga and Etobicoke. The film was shot using an Alexa camera. For the climactic prom scene where Carrie unleashes her full power, Peirce and the visual effects team used archival footage of atomic bomb tests from the 1950s and 1960s as a reference to model the energy waves radiating from the character. The original release date was set for March 15, 2013, but was delayed to October 18, 2013, with the studio citing reshoots as the reason.

Cast and Characters

The film features an ensemble cast led by Chloë Grace Moretz in the titular role of Carrie White. Moretz was offered the part in March 2012 and accepted, bringing a portrayal that aimed to balance vulnerability with burgeoning power. Julianne Moore plays Margaret White, Carrie's fanatically religious and abusive mother, delivering a performance that emphasizes the character's psychological torment and twisted devotion. Judy Greer appears as Miss Rita Desjardin, the sympathetic gym teacher who tries to protect Carrie and gives the bullying girls an ultimatum of detention or suspension. Portia Doubleday portrays the primary antagonist, Chris Hargensen, a wealthy and relentlessly cruel bully who orchestrates the prom prank and is the only student to refuse detention, resulting in her suspension. Gabriella Wilde plays Sue Snell, a popular girl who regrets her involvement in bullying Carrie and seeks redemption by arranging the prom date. Ansel Elgort, in one of his early film roles, plays Tommy Ross, Sue's boyfriend who kindly takes Carrie to the prom. Alex Russell appears as Billy Nolan, Chris's boyfriend and accomplice in the plot against Carrie. The casting process was completed in May 2012 with the addition of Elgort, Russell, and Greer to the principal roles. Upon the initial announcement of the remake, author Stephen King had suggested Lindsay Lohan for the role of Carrie, and original star Sissy Spacek expressed approval of that potential casting, noting Lohan resembled her more than the book's description of Carrie.

Release and Marketing Strategy

Carrie was initially scheduled for release on March 15, 2013, with a teaser trailer debuting on October 15, 2012. In January 2013, the release was postponed to October 18, 2013, with the studio citing reshoots as the reason for the delay. Some industry observers speculated the move was also influenced by a desire to capitalize on the Halloween season and to create distance from the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, given the film's themes of school violence. The reshoots, as described by star Chloë Grace Moretz, involved adding three extra scenes with Julianne Moore to deepen the mother-daughter dynamic and prolonging certain moments to increase intensity, aiming to make the movie scarier and more intense without cutting content. The film held its world premiere at the Arclight Hollywood in Los Angeles on October 7, 2013. A promotional 'First Look' event was held at New York Comic Con on October 13, 2013, featuring a screening followed by a panel with cast and crew. Marketing campaigns included interactive elements such as a phone number in trailers that offered promotions and simulated encounters with characters from the film. Prior to release, the studio conducted test screenings featuring four different alternate endings to gauge audience preference. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 14, 2014, with special features including an alternative opening, an alternative ending, and nine deleted scenes. Shout! Factory released an Ultra HD Blu-ray of the theatrical cut on March 19, 2024. The Blu-ray's alternative opening shows a young Carrie and a neighbour discussing Margaret's beliefs, culminating in stones raining only on the White house.

Critical and Box Office Reception

Carrie received a mixed critical reception upon its release. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 51% approval rating based on 184 reviews, with an average rating of 5.49/10. The website's critical consensus reads that it has a talented cast but finds little new in the Stephen King novel and feels woefully unnecessary. Metacritic assigned a score of 53 out of 100 based on 34 reviews, indicating 'mixed or average' reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of B− on an A+ to F scale. Critics praised the performances, particularly those of Moretz and Moore, and the modern updates to the story, but many found the film lacking in originality and genuine scares compared to the 1976 classic. The film opened in North American theatres on October 18, 2013, earning $16.1 million in its opening weekend and placing third at the box office behind Gravity and Captain Phillips. Its domestic gross totalled $35.3 million by the end of its theatrical run. Internationally, the film earned $49.5 million, resulting in a worldwide gross of $84.8 million. This placed it as the 85th highest-grossing film of 2013 in the United States. The box office performance was considered modest against its production budget. The film experienced significant weekly drops, falling 62.8 percent to sixth place in its second week with $5.9 million, and another 43.2 percent to ninth place in its third week with $3.4 million.

Critical reception of the film was mixed. Kevin C. Johnson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch gave the film a favourable review, calling the reboot as good a Carrie remake as possible. In contrast, A. A. Dowd of The A.V. Club gave the film a C− rating. Dowd criticized Chloë Grace Moretz's portrayal of Carrie as too adjusted and lamented that the film as a whole was bloodless. These differing opinions highlight the divided response from critics.

Alternate Endings and Deleted Scenes

The home media release of Carrie included significant alternate and deleted scenes not seen in the theatrical version. The alternative opening scene features a young Carrie interacting with a teenage neighbour, with Margaret interpreting the neighbour's sunbathing as sinful, leading to a sudden rain of stones only on the White household. The most discussed alternate material is the ending. The theatrical cut concludes with Sue at the gravesite and a suggestion that Carrie may still be alive. The alternate ending, preferred by director Kimberly Peirce and star Chloë Grace Moretz but rejected by the studio, shows Sue going into labour after visiting the grave. In the hospital, a bloody hand, implied to be Carrie's, grabs Sue's arm, before Sue wakes up in her bedroom, realizing it was a nightmare. Critics argued this ending would have provided a scarier finale and a clearer homage to the conclusion of Brian De Palma's 1976 film. The Blu-ray release featured this ending among its special features. Reports of further excised material not included on the Blu-ray led some fans to petition Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for a director's cut of the film. The original teaser trailer also hinted at a more faithful adaptation of King's novel, including voiceovers reminiscent of the book's White Commission framing device and imagery of a destroyed, burning town. Two weeks before the film's release, test screenings presented viewers with four different alternate endings to select their favourite.

Themes and Modernization

Carrie (2013) arrived in a cultural moment where issues of bullying, particularly cyberbullying, were at the forefront of public discourse. The film deliberately updated the source material to reflect this, changing the infamous shower scene from a purely in-person humiliation to an incident recorded and shared on YouTube, amplifying Carrie's trauma through digital means. This modernization aimed to resonate with contemporary audiences for whom online harassment is a recognized social crisis, a point highlighted by MGM executive Jonathan Glickman who cited bullying as a national crisis as a reason for the remake. Director Kimberly Peirce also framed the narrative as a superhero origin story, focusing on Carrie's discovery and exploration of her telekinetic powers as a metaphor for finding personal agency in the face of oppression. Peirce stated she wanted to look at when Carrie got her powers and give her a chance to explore them, making it clear she doesn’t have mastery yet but then gains and loses control. The core of the film remains the intense and destructive mother-daughter relationship between Carrie and Margaret White, exploring themes of religious extremism, abuse, and the search for identity outside of parental control. The production's connection to Canada, through its filming in the Greater Toronto Area, also situates the film within the common practice of Hollywood productions utilizing Canadian locations and talent, contributing to the local film industry during its shoot in 2012. Other cited reasons for the remake included advances in special effects since the 1976 original, which allowed for a new visual interpretation of Carrie's telekinetic outbursts.

Filming in Canada: Locations and Impact

Principal photography for Carrie took place entirely in the Greater Toronto Area during mid-2012, making use of several Ontario municipalities to stand in for the fictional Maine setting. The production brought economic activity to the region and utilized local crew and infrastructure, a standard practice for many American studio films seeking cost efficiencies and skilled labour pools. Specific locations used included areas within the cities of Mississauga and Etobicoke, though the exact addresses or landmarks used for key sets like Ewen High School or the White house were not publicly detailed in the production notes. While the film does not overtly reference Canada within its narrative, the suburban and urban landscapes of these Toronto suburbs provided the backdrop for the story. The choice to film in Canada places this iteration of Carrie within a long list of Hollywood films shot in Ontario. The production schedule in mid-2012 coincided with the casting of key supporting actors in May of that year, suggesting a tightly coordinated pre-production and shooting timeline based in the Canadian location. This filming period contributed to the local economy and is a point of interest for tracking the flow of international productions into Canadian centres like Toronto.

• Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Primary production base and filming region for the entire film.
• Mississauga, Ontario, Specific municipal locations used for various exterior and interior scenes.
• Etobicoke, Ontario, Specific municipal locations used for various exterior and interior scenes.
• Mid-2012, The period during which principal photography was conducted on location.
• Alexa camera, The digital camera system used to shoot the film during the Toronto production.

Notable Critical Reviews and Responses

The critical response to Carrie was divided, with several notable publications offering detailed critiques. Kevin C. Johnson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch gave a favourable review, stating the reboot was as good a Carrie remake as possible, though not truly a scary movie. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle also reviewed it favourably, calling it a well-made, highly satisfying high school revenge movie where the original's discordant weirdness had been smoothed down. Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune wrote that the acting was strong, with Judy Greer a welcome presence, but felt something was missing from the well-made venture. Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News awarded three out of five stars, noting the film lingered on overparenting and bullying while underplaying Margaret's fanaticism, and that Carrie's discovery of powers felt X-Men-ish. Matt Zoller Seitz on RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars, praising the portrayal of Carrie and Margaret's relationship and the sympathy evoked, though he criticized the exaggerated evil of Chris Hargensen, ultimately calling the film a tragedy rather than horror. In a negative review, A. A. Dowd of The A.V. Club gave a C−, criticizing Moretz's Carrie as too adjusted and lamenting the film as bloodless. Wesley Morris in Grantland noted director Kimberly Peirce seemed caught between challenging the material and not alienating the studio or audience, sensing her desire to open the film up further. These reviews collectively highlight the film's reception as competent but largely inessential, with praise reserved for its performers and modern context.

Questions about Carrie (2013 film)

Where was the 2013 Carrie movie filmed?

The 2013 Carrie film was shot entirely in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Principal photography occurred in mid-2012, with specific locations in the municipalities of Mississauga and Etobicoke. The production utilized these Canadian suburbs to represent the fictional town in Maine where the story is set. This is a common practice for Hollywood productions, contributing to the local film industry during its production period.

Who played Carrie White in the 2013 remake?

Chloë Grace Moretz portrayed the titular character, Carrie White, in the 2013 film. Moretz was offered the role in March 2012 and accepted, bringing a performance that aimed to capture the character's shyness, trauma, and burgeoning power. Her casting was a central part of the film's modern reinterpretation. Interestingly, upon the remake's announcement, author Stephen King had suggested Lindsay Lohan for the role, and original star Sissy Spacek expressed approval of that idea.

How does the 2013 Carrie ending differ from the original?

The theatrical ending of the 2013 Carrie shows Sue Snell visiting the graves of Carrie and her mother, with the headstone cracking and a scream heard, implying Carrie's survival. This differs from the 1976 film's famous jump-scare ending. An alternate ending, included on the Blu-ray and preferred by the director, shows Sue having a nightmare about giving birth while being grabbed by Carrie's bloody hand, before waking up. This ending was overruled by the studio despite being considered a scarier finale and a direct reference to De Palma's film.

Was the 2013 Carrie movie a box office success?

Carrie (2013) had a modest box office performance. It grossed $16.1 million in its opening weekend in North America, finishing third. Its final worldwide gross was $84.8 million, comprising $35.3 million domestically and $49.5 million internationally. It was the 85th highest-grossing film of 2013 in the United States.

What modern updates were made to the story in the 2013 version?

The 2013 adaptation introduced several modern updates to Stephen King's story. Most notably, the shower room humiliation is recorded on a cell phone by Chris Hargensen and uploaded to YouTube, incorporating cyberbullying. The film also placed a greater emphasis on the mother-daughter relationship as the emotional core and approached Carrie's telekinetic awakening more deliberately as a superhero-origin story. Director Kimberly Peirce sought to give Carrie more agency in exploring her powers, using atomic bomb test footage as a visual reference for her final outburst.

What was Stephen King's reaction to the 2013 remake?

Upon hearing of the new adaptation in May 2011, Stephen King questioned why it was being made when the original was so good. He suggested it would be fun to cast, proposing Lindsay Lohan for the main role of Carrie White. His comment reflected a common skepticism about the necessity of the remake, a sentiment echoed by many critics upon the film's release. The studios, however, proceeded with the project, citing advances in special effects and the contemporary relevance of bullying as a national crisis.

Sources and further reading

• Carrie (2013 film) (Wikipedia)
• Carrie (2013) directed by Kimberly Peirce, Letterboxd (letterboxd.com)
• Carrie (2013) (primevideo.com)

Checked by the Yadude Books desk. Last updated 2026-10-23.