Customer Reviews

The Rage: Carrie 2 [VHS]

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

I really liked this movie, I made no attempt to compare it to the original Carrie or the remake. If you put all that aside you have a more modern teenage...highschool revenge story which was done really well. The effects at the end were well done and the cast I thought was well chosen. Don't overthink it...just enjoy...

"The Rage: Carrie 2" serves more like a remake than a sequel to the 1976 original. 23 years after Carrie White killed off most of her senior class when a prank was pulled on her at the prom, a new girl is walking the halls of Bates High School. Her name is Rachel Lang (Emily Bergyl). Little does she know it, but she is the half sister of Carrie (same father, different mother), and she also has telekinetic powers which she uses to her advantage in the end! Luckily, Sue Snell (Amy Irving), one of the few survivors from Carrie's massacre, is a guidance counselor who tries to help Rachel before it's too late. Ok, now for the review. This film is good, it is nowhere near as good as the original, and it is similar, but it does have a few differences while trying to keep up the spirit of it's predecessor. The kids in this are nasty, and although this is bad, I was glad they were killed off, I mean, they deserved it! They didn't care about anyone or anything, as long as their prank humiliated and degraded poor Rachel. Director Katt Shea does well with creating a love story between Rachel and a jock, but she fails to capture the "horror" during the climax. Everything happens too quickly, we see fireplace pokers fly around and hit people and CD's pelting a girl, heads being cut off by flying glass and people being set on fire, but instead of gasping in horror, we laugh. We also get to see some nice scenes of a jock getting something ripped off, although I won't give it away to people who haven't seen the movie. When the rage kicks in though, Shea does manage to display Rachel's sense of shock and disbelief and anger, with fast, up close shots of the main baddies laughing at her, and a distorted picture of the rest of the party laughing hysterically before their demises. Kind of like in the original Carrie, when she thinks they are laughing at her, and she sees distored, blurry circles of her "friends" before letting go of her rage. Anyway, although the two stories are similar, there are differences in tastes, fashions, fads, etc, considering that this film takes place in 1999 while the other takes place in 1976, but this doesn't distract too much from the storyline. The effects and acting are good, and the flashback scenes are really good, put in at just the right moments whenever Rachel has one of her "episodes". One thing, how come no one tore down the old burned out Bates High School????? If you are a die-hard Stephen King fan, rent the original, if you want a different approach to an old story, rent this one.

This movie is awesome. To Hell with all the stupid, imaginationless critics who panned this horror film. TRY This! seriously, it is a good film that has unfortunantly become a lost diamond. Awesome!

Starring Emily Bergl, Amy Irving, Mena Suvari and Jason London.

The Rage 2 can be seen as a sequal to the original 1976 movie Carrie. Of course its not even comparable to the original but its not that bad. Its entertaining to a point. Emily Bergl as Rachel Lang is a lot diffrent than the original Carrie. But its the late 90s now and she still has that misfit aspect about her. Not as bad as Carrie, she seems more of an individual, more sure of herself and confident than Carrie did yet she still seems to be the target of the over sexed jocks and popular people.

Soon after one of the over sexed jocks takes advantage of her best friend Lisa, ''Mena Suvari''- she ends up commiting suicide by jumping off the school. The police end up bringing one of the boys in for questioniong. After this incident Rachel becomes their target and they hatch a plan to humiliate her.. Meanwhile the school counselor, Amy Irving is trying to help Rachel, she sees what is coming because she experienced the incident with Carrie back in the 70's and see's Rachel has the same power as Carrie did.

Theres a lot of things in this movie that tell us more about Carries father, the powers he had, how Rachel is connected with Carrie, etc. We learn a little more about the original character as well as the new one.

The film was good up until the end. I was expecting a lot more. You can call this film a Carrie for the 90's though it cant recapture the terror and magic of the original.

Carrie 2: The Rage is proof positive that Hollywood will make a lame sequel out of anything, even if it means simply repeating the same story as the original. In this case, Carrie 2 is a poor update of the original, with little of the tension of the DePalma classic. The pacing of the story is not bad, but the main character, Rachel, does not bring the sense of forbidding, haunting charm of Spacek and there's nothing in this sequel one doesn't expect to happen. Like the original, the story slowly builds to the big climax at the end, and when it arrives, it arrives with plenty of gore (one scene in particular, involving genitals becoming detached, will certainly make all male viewers cringe). But this movie doesn't have the heart or the emotion that made the original so great, and the characters on the sidelines are so cardboard, it's hard to take anything very seriously. One thing good I can say about the DVD is that it contains excellent features, most notably the directors' voiceover narrative of making the movie scene by scene, and the showing of scenes that were cut from the movie, along with explanations why. They provide interesting insight into the craft and art of film-making, even though this is anything but memorable movie-making.

Yes, it has it's thrills and spills, but the first three-quaters seem so go on forever; this plus the whole supposed "father" idea, ending up in nothing more than just a silly drawn out sub-plot? Please? What should have been an incredibly sexy movie, focussing much more on Carrie's abillities, just seems to totaly miss the point in this "bore-and-snore".

This movie is one of the few movies that's as entertaining as the original. But has the same ideas as the original like party scene which was rigged to inviting her there then everyone dies, so its pretty much like Carrie 1 except for the new generation. I love the part with her tattoo grows and the heart beats-good scene! I found it to be a great horror movie, and a much needed break from the original slasher films-not that I don't like them or anything!

This is a great sequel to the classic "Carrie"."The Rage" is just as good because unlike so many other sequels it wasn't thrown together, or half baked. I thought it was well thought out especially with the movies having almost a 30 year gap. I thought it was clever that they made Rachel, Carrie's half sister because that gave her a basis. It would have been stupid if they just came out with a sequel that wasn't at least connected in some kind of way to the first one. A lot of other movies have done just that, make a sequel with a with a completely different person and a completely different subject but, I believe "The Rage" wasn't at all like that.

I thought Carrie 2 was terrible! The acting was bad, it had a bad cast, it had a horrible plot, and it was just like the first one! When I heard about this sequel I really wanted to see it but now that I saw it I thought it was pretty stupid. The first one is the best because I thought Sissy Spacek played a great Carrie. I thought Emily Bergil had the worst part of playing Rachel. This was a weird sequel and for those of you who hadn't seen it yet, DON'T! Stay far away from this movie it's not good!

I wasn't expecting much from Katt Shea's 1999 "Carrie" sequel "The Rage: Carrie 2." Most sequels pale in comparison to the original film. Take for instance "Friday the 13th Part III" or "V;" both films are worth catching for various reasons, but their goofy elements make them essentially throw-away flicks. This is not the case with "The Rage." "The Rage" is a serious high school drama that includes the sub-theme of telekinesis and ends in utter, tragic horror.

The basic plot is the same as Stephen King's original, albeit with a stronger person as the title character. Hence, "The Rage" could be viewed as a modern remake as much as a sequel. In fact, it's not even necessary to see the original to appreciate it.

THE PLOT: A social outcast in high school slowly becomes aware that she has telekinetic abilities. These powers are ultimately unleashed with lethal fury when the popular kids pull a meanspirited prank on her.

WHAT WORKS: First of all, I'm glad "The Rage" doesn't have the creepy Pharisaical mother like in the original. This is one aspect that I couldn't stand about "Carrie." It (sort of) gave the impression that anyone who takes the teachings of Christianity seriously will become a warped, hideous, deathly, abusive killjoy like Carrie's mother. Actually, although there are indeed modern-day Pharisees in Christendom, nothing could be further from the truth. Authentic Christianity gives true liberty, life and joy, not the opposite (see, for example, John 8:31-32, John 10:10 and 1 Peter 1:8). Don't take me wrong here, I'm not preachin' too you.

Emily Bergl well plays Carrie's half-sister Rachel. She's an outcast like Carrie but she's stronger, more confident and doesn't have a dream to fit in with the popular kids. One of the film's themes is: Does love really exist? Rachel says she doesn't believe in love. Her mother's in a mental institution. She's a foster child and her foster parents clearly only have her for the extra money, not because they love her.

Any teenager or adult can readily relate to the situations or issues addressed in the film:

- The common cliques: the "popular" crowd, oversexed jocks, snooty cheerleaders, rich kids and their parents, nerds, outcasts, etc.
- Pre-mature sexual experience and the resulting emotional turmoil.
- Suicide.
- First love, true love.
- Being attracted to or dating someone outside your social stratum.
- Football, players, fandom and hardcore coaching antics.
- Friendship, rivalry, fights.
- Partying.

"The Rage" successfully brings to life all these joys and horrors of the high school experience.

One interesting aspect of the film is the character of Jesse, played by Jason London. The story shows that Jesse truly loves Rachel. What is it about Rachel that attracts him? It's certainly not that she's conventionally beautiful like his ex-girlfriend, although she's definitely not ugly either. Perhaps Jesse sees the superficiality and conformity of the spoiled "popular kids" clique and is naturally attracted to someone more humble, loving and genuine, like Rachel. Also observe that Jesse isn't a conformist, even though he's technically part of the popular kids clique: Because of his love for a social outcast he fearlessly stands up to the most popular (arrogant) jock; everyone on the team gets his head shaved except Jesse, etc.

It's interesting to note that, although Rachel is portrayed as a misfit that likes Marilyn Manson (see the poster on her bedroom wall), she's definitely not a rebellious, disrespectful teenager. Note that she never "answers back" her loveless foster 'father.' Note that she works, isn't promiscuous and isn't a party monger.

Another positive is that "The Rage" is clearly respectful of the film it stems from and its fans. It even brings back the lone survivor of the original, Sue Snell (Amy Irving), 23 years later, as a school counselor who had spent time in a mental institution to recover from the original tragedy. Tie-ins are a must for true sequels.

Also, during the closing credits you'll hear the song "Crazy Little Voices" by the Egyptian band Ra. The DVD is worth owning just for this outstanding song. Ra play a unique, eccentric style of metal, sort of along the lines of System of a Down. The song is not available on their proper albums, but it is available on the "The Rage" soundtrack cd or you can hear it on youtube.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: I personally feel Jesse and Rachel make love too prematurely (I think on their third date). However, this can be overlooked on the grounds that their sexual union is linked to the end-plot and that real-time has to be condensed into an hour and 45 minute film.

"The Rage" doesn't include the horrific pig's blood of the original (how could one possibly ever forget that horrifying image of Carrie?), nor does it include the death-of-a-dream angle. But I'm glad it doesn't. This is properly ANOTHER take on the same basic story. There should be differences and nuances.

FINAL ANALYSIS: As usual there are people who hate "The Rage" simply because it's a sequel/remake. I encourage you to be openminded and allow yourself to enjoy a different take on the same basic plot. (Some people see so many films it's almost like they're unable to enjoy a good picture any more). Both films have their strengths. In some ways "The Rage" is better than "Carrie."

"Carrie 2" was a pleasant surprise for me. It's definitely not a weak or campy sequal/remake; rather it's a strong late-90s update. It effectively showcases the joys and horrors of the high school years.

The film was shot in Dallas & Charlotte, North Carolina.