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Compared to the first "Carrie", the
second movie was patently more modern, slightly more grisly
and violent, and altogether, it was almost as cleverly dexterous.
Carrie's follower, a grungy, stereotypically "nineties" teen
named Rachel (Emily Bergl) has inherited the same extraordinarily
astounding telekinetic capabilities. Which means that she can
also destroy buildings and, consequently, people, with the sheer
force of her mind. Naturally, such extreme occurrences happen
only about once in a lifetime - usually, at the end of that
life, as happened with Carrie.
Sue Snell (Amy Irving), who is not only the current school counselor
but also a woman partially responsible for the original disaster
with Carrie, now tries to help Rachel. In her opinion, Rachel
should be admitted to some bizarre-powers testing facility and
studied like a lab rat. Who can blame Rachel for refusing Sue's
offer? However, one gets the impression that the unappealing
nature of Sue's proposition isn't the only reason Rachel refuses.
Implied is a deep-seated psychological need to be normal, to
be free of her startling, unasked for, and sometimes frustrating
powers.
Meanwhile, her classmates plan a cruel, similar stunt that was
pulled on Carrie: they set Rachel up to temporarily believe
she is popular, then embarrass her outrageously. This involves
secretly video taping her in bed with her boyfriend Jesse. Later,
they show the tape at a huge party, leading Rachel to believe
that Jesse was only using her and doesn't really love her (he
does). What follows -- stop here if you don't already have a
lucid idea of the end and want to be surprised -- is a fiery
deathtrap inferno much like the first movie (this one, however,
is more elaborately done). As Carrie went down in her blaze,
so does Rachel go down in hers.
The only major flaw of this film is its lack of credibility,
which can be explained by saying that the producers attempted
to make it too much of a modern teen scream film. The characters,
for example, are almost comically ridiculous as someone's misconstrued
idea of "realistic teen characters". Some characters are not
only far from reality but also one-dimensional, serving as something
like living, breathing, stage props. Rachel, Sue, and Jesse,
at least, have some emotional depth.
My last gripe: Why couldn't the producers find an appropriate
place for a tampon-tossing scene (vintage the first "Carrie")
in this film?
All said, "The Rage: Carrie 2" really wasn't a bad movie by
any stretch of the imagination. It was captivating, the guilty
parties got their due at the end, and the acting was for the
most part convincing. I wouldn't be nit-picking it if I didn't
find myself constantly comparing it to the original.
My rating: 3 stars
Rating : R (for strong graphic horror violence and gore, brief strong sexuality and language)
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