"The Rage: Carrie 2"

by Thom Bennett

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Unfortunately, as the resurgence of teen horror flicks carries on (no pun intended), there is the inevitable tendency of Hollywood to pick at the bones of some of the horror genres classics. This was the case last year when the horrific "Halloween: H2O" hit the screens. This time, the innocent victim is "Carrie", as if she hasn't been through enough already.

Actually, it is not Carrie exactly, but Rachel (Emily Bergl). Rachel is a high school outcast who just doesn't seem to fit in, much like Carrie twenty years before. Like Carrie, she attends Bates High School, though this is a new Bates High, as Carrie completely destroyed the first one. Oh yeah, like Carrie, Rachel has telekinetic powers and a temper, which is certainly a dangerous combination.

However, unlike "Carrie", "The Rage" is not a very good movie. In fact, it is little more than the original film plus a nineties facelift, minus originality. Obviously absent from these proceedings are "Carrie" director Brian De Palma and author Stephen King.

The intermittent flashbacks to scenes from the original movie only add top the feeling of 'why bother?' There is nothing worse than watching a bad movie while being constantly reminded of a great one. A better horror film could be made about movie executives who dig up the corpses of old movies and unleash them on poor, innocent moviegoers.