Brian De Palma eliminated and changed a few aspects of Stephen King's novel for his 1976 adaptation of Carrie, so a TV remake adding back in a lot of aspects of King's novel seems like a good idea on paper and I'm sure the script read fairly well, but there's something that doesn't quite work this time around.

This is no fault of Angela Bettis who defies the odds and gives us a Carrie almost as memorable as Sissy Spacek's iconic turn. Bettis is reason enough to give this film a spin. Rena Sofer and Emile De Ravin excel and Carrie's kindly gym teacher and her worst enemy and bring a different, but refreshing energy to their roles. The rest of the cast is a mixed bag without any major standouts. It's the ensemble heaven De Palma put together, but the worst offender is Patricia Clarkson. Clarkson is a wonderful actress, but seems horribly miscast as Carrie's abusive religious fanatic mother. She seems too low energy to ever be truly frightening.

I suppose, due to budget, this Carrie is shot on digital and it sure looks it. The photography is bland, flat, and colorless. The computer effects aren't much better as they range from passable to downright embarrassing.

This Carrie is a mixed bag of tricks and treats and just goes to show you how the right team at the right time can make all the different when adapting a novel, no matter how great the source material.

This TV retelling of Stephen King's classic novel might skew closer to the novel than any other version out there, but it comes with a steep price tag. As far as productions go, it's bizarrely cheap looking for a major network TV production and this really shoots them in the foot when it comes time for the big finale where Carrie is walking around, destroying the town.

On the plus side, Angela Bettis is excellent as the title character and manages to do the impossible by erasing Sissy Spacek's performance from your mind for 2 hours. Patricia Clarkson, a fine actress, is woefully underpowered as Carrie's religious fanatic mother, Margaret. By refusing to ape Piper Laurie's near-comic intensity, her Margaret disappears into the scenery and makes next to no impression which lowers the film's stakes tremendously.

In the made-for-TV movie "Carrie," our young naive outcast (Angela Bettis) is tormented by her fellow high-school students. She learns of her telekinesis and begins using it as a tool for vengeance.

The 2002 version of Stephen King's "Carrie" is a lot better than it could've been. It was already fighting an uphill battle trying to recapture the same tense and gloriously haunting magic the 1976 movie did. Weak performances and cheesy dialogue by many of the actors doesn't help the situation. However, Angela Bettis's incredible performance as the title character virtually redeems any weakness shown by the other cast members. The one thing that hinders this update is the TV-quality production and cinematography. That being said, the special effects are a lot better than they should've been for a TV-movie made in the early 2000s.

Although 2002's "Carrie" is rated TV-14 and includes some questionable content for younger viewers. There's brief nudity, although nothing graphic is shown. The scenes are from the back or a profile of Carrie lying in the fetal position in the shower. There are adult situations, violence and gore, mild profanity, alcohol and smoking, and frightening and intense scenes.

If you give the update a chance, you'll find that it really isn't as bad as history remembers it.