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I don't know what it is that draws me to the films of Katt Shea.
Every since she got her throat slashed while sitting on that toilet
in Psycho III, I've followed her career religiously. Perhaps,
like most people, you've never even heard of her, and to be honest
I'm not sure what it is about here work that entrances me so.
Perhaps it is her fondness for lurid melodrama bathed in oversaturated
hi-key lighting? Or maybe her penchant for covert lesbian eroticism
punctuated by sudden bursts of gratuitous violence? Whatever it
is, and even if you don't like it, at least she has a discernible
style, which I suppose is more than you can say for most hack
exploitation filmmakers.
Though starting out as an actress and then as one of Roger Corman's
stable of up-and-coming unknowns, she would move her way up from
relatively crude pics like Stripped To Kill and the camp classic
Streets, to what has become her penultimate moment, the fantastically
trashy Drew Barrymore "comeback" vehicle Poison
Ivy. And now, here comes her biggest-budgeted and most mainstream
film yet, Carrie 2: The Rage. I have to admit, when I first heard
that there would be a sequel, I just groaned. Really, did the
world need yet another teen horror rip-off of a classic, especially
to a film where just about everyone died? Probably not, but to
be honest, the end result is really better than it has a right
to be.
Drafted two weeks into shooting and after the original director
was unceremoniously dumped from the project, Ms. Shea manages
to take such an unpleasant situation and the rather inferior screenplay
and make it all work just by the sheer force of her stylistic
overkill. All the standard Shea iconography is here, of course:
the lost teenage girl falling off the edge of a building to her
death, yet with her hair flowing ever so mournfully in the wind.
The overbearing but ultimately enfeebled authority figures, terribly
acted by has-been "names" such as Amy Irving (in what
is undoubtedly one of the worst performances in years). And, of
course, Ms. Shea's trademark oversaturated yet underlit lighting,
giving everything the weird aura of an MTV music video directed
by a lesbian Zalman King. But, on top of this, Ms. Shea also ably
exploited her newfound financial freedom, throwing black &
white sequences, grainy 16mm film stocks, fast and slow motion,
spinning camera moves and over-the-top sound distortion into the
mix, often in the same scene. Clearly, my beloved Katt really
outdid herself this time.
Of course, is the film any good? I have to admit, though it can't
rival the original in any way, it is actually a good bit of fun.
The performances by the young cast, especially by newcomer Emily
Bergyl in the lead, are impressive. Also registering well are
Jason London as her unlikely jock suitor and the requisite bunch
of thoroughly despicable classmates who make her life a living
hell (literally). Alas, the weak point here is certainly the script
and just the entire concept in general. Like most teen horror
films nowadays, it is one of those remakes/sequels that thinks
it is inherently clever just because it regurgitates the previous
films' setups and throws out in-jokes as if they were Pez dispensers.
Of course, there is the obligatory "link" to the first
film, in one of those laughable and obviously desperate attempts
to somehow briing legitimacy to what is obviously a rehash. Really,
like we don't know they are all just cashing in on the original?
And, all the flashbacks to the first film, even though most of
the characters weren't even alive then, are quite annoying
Still, this is a hoot most of the time, and as is the case with
a Carrie flick, it really lives and dies by its big climax. Though
we know what is going to happen, we really want to see
all the bad teens get their comeuppance, and Carrie 2 delivers
the goods. There were a couple of moments that really did shock
and surprise me, and it is pretty gruesome, too. While fans of
gratuitous violence should be satisfied, some of you diehard Carrie
fans are likely to cry "sacrilege!" before this one
is over.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
MGM has done a nice job with this new DVD, offering both an anamorphic
widescreen and pan & scan transfer on a double-sided disc.
Both images are very nice, with excellent contrast, eye-popping
color and solid black level. Occasionally, though, a bit of grain
and an overall dark look mars the presentation, and there are
some surprisingly bad compression artifacts at times. Though not
reference-quality, it is still very good overall and shouldn't
cause any real complaints.
Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
The 5.1 Dolby Digital surround mix is also very good. The surrounds
are fairly aggressive, though mostly in the big horror sequences
and especially the climax. As befitting a recent soundtrack, fidelity
is very good, dialogue well-recorded and intelligible, and the
low-end is very strong. Oddly, though, the choice of songs for
the soundtrack is a bit odd at times, and occasionally the music
sounds a bit too quite compared to the rest of the mix. There
is also a 5.1 French track provided as well.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
Once again, MGM has taken a marginal horror title and used the
addition of supplements to make it more enticing to consumers.
Like they did with the feature-loaded Disturbing
Behavior, there are some nice extras that give the disc added
value. Ms. Shea provides her first commentary track on this, and
she seems genuinely excited to be doing one. And not to be mean,
but I have to admit her voice was so excessively soft and pleasant
that it quickly bordered on the annoying. Also, by the halfway
mark she seemed to start running out of steam, and by the end
there was far too much dead space for my taste. Still, it is a
nice addition for the disc.
There is also a brief interview segment with Ms. Shea introducing
a few deleted scenes (also with commentary) as well as the alternate
ending. Actually, this "ending" is really just an alternate
take of the existing one with a special effects twist, but I'll
let you check it out for yourself. There are also French and English
subtitles, and the customary MGM booklet with production notes.
A pretty nice lineup of supplements in all.
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop
the disc in your PC?
No ROM extras have been included.
Parting Thoughts
Though not likely to claim a place in the horror movie hall of
fame, Carrie 2: The Rage is a fun little popcorn movie, and it
is always amusing to watch Amy Irving try to act. MGM has provided
a very good disc across the board aside from the compression artifacts,
and for $24.95 is a fair deal. So fans of the film can pick this
up without worry, while if you are just a casual horror buff,
it will make a fun rental. Recommended.
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