The Rage: Carrie 2

 2.5/4

Starring: Emily Bergl, Jason London, Dylan Bruno, Amy Irving, Zachary Ty Bryan

Rated R for Strong Graphic Horror Violence and Gore, Brief Strong Sexuality and Language

"The Rage: Carrie 2" might be the only sequel that renders its predecessor unnecessary.  It's actually a sequel to the inexplicably popular 1976 film, but the further this one distances itself from the original, the better it looks.  In fact, if you ignore the original, it will probably work better.

Rachel Lang (Bergl) is a loner.  It's no wonder; her mother (J. Smith-Cameron) was locked up in an insane asylum when Rachel was a little girl (in-joke: the asylum is named Arkham) and her foster parents are louts.  Her only companions are her Bassett Hound Walt and her classmate Lisa (Mean Suvari in a cameo).  Her life takes a turn when Lisa jumps off the school roof.  Rachel finds out that Lisa gave her virginity to Eric (Bryan), one of the thuggish football players who sleeps with girls on campus as a way of keeping score with his teammates.  Her life is looking up when she falls for Jesse Ryan (London), the captain of the football team.  The fact that he has fallen for a wallflower like Rachel isn't lost on his teammates or the bitchy queen bees (nor is the fact that she could ruin their futures), so they plan revenge.  Meanwhile, Sue Snell (Irving), a survivor of Carrie White's night of carnage, recognizes that Rachel too can cause things to explode with her mind and tries to help her.

One of the things that "The Rage: Carrie 2" does better than the original is that it has a clear and consistent vision.  Brian De Palma couldn't decide how he wanted the audience to feel about Carrie White, so the film was all over the place.  Was it a tragedy?  A horror film?  A revenge fantasy?  De Palma didn't know, so neither did the audience.  That's changed here.  Director Katt Shea has a fully formed vision for this film.  On the one hand, we have a story of escalating revenge between Rachel and the cro-magnon football players (Shea has some fun at their expense, and I think it was intentional).  On the other, we have a sweet love story between the shy Rachel and the kind Jesse, who has found a girl he actually likes.  This being a sequel to "Carrie," neither of these stories end happily ("Romeo and Juliet" is explicitly mentioned).

Unfortunately, "The Rage: Carrie 2" suffers from the same problem as the earlier film: a weak screenplay. I'll give the film credit in that it takes the time to develop the principal characters (something that the original did not).  It isn't anything special, but it gets the job done.  But the dialogue is bland, and Shea's direction is pedestrian.  There's no style or atmosphere to be found here.  It might as well be a TV movie with a body count.

The performances are effective.  No one is crying out for Oscar attention (Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie got nods for the original, albeit undeservedly), but that's not a fair expectation for a movie like this.  Still, Emily Bergl finds the correct note for Rachel.  She's a loner and an outcast, but still worthy of our sympathy.  We care about her, and that's what makes the film work.  Jason London, looking very much like a young Charlie Sheen, is even better as the hunky hero.  While he may have participated in the sex game with his friends, he has seen the light and no longer wants any part of it.  He genuinely likes Rachel, and that makes him endearing.  Bergl and London have chemistry together, which is a bonus.

Through no fault of its own, "The Rage: Carrie 2" is tainted with tragedy.  It was released just a month before the Columbine massacre which, while not the first school shooting, has left a scar on the nation's soul from which it has never fully healed.  It would therefore be understandable, if unfair, to fear that the film would suffer from such association (a feeling I had watching the first film).  Such concerns are unfounded.  For one, Rachel's violence is not indiscriminate; everyone she attacks has humiliated her.  And also Shea is more interested in creating bloody special effects than actually examining school violence.  In fact, the final bloodbath is actually disappointing.  It lacks enough imagination and gore to be truly satisfying.

"The Rage: Carrie 2" is not anything special.  It's bland and a bit dumb.  But for undemanding, bloody revenge...well, there are better options than this.  But I'm not mad that I wasted an eventing.

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