Review of The Rage: Carrie 2

It's usually not a very good idea to make a belated sequel to a horror film, especially not when the original is generally considered a genre masterpiece and from the hands of writer Stephen King and director Brian DePalma. Yet, the makers of "Carrie 2: The Rage" didn't make complete fools out of themselves, as it is a very entertaining and well-scripted story that appeals to both the fans of the classy original and younger horror lovers. Well, the term "horror" doesn't totally fit this film, because it's only the climax (last 15 minutes or so) which is bloody. The best way to describe "The Rage" pretty much is "American Pie" meets "She's All That" with a gory finale. The story is set in a typically American high school where the students only have sex, football and cheer-leading on their minds. The only difference is that this is the same high school were Carrie White raised a little hell 23 years earlier and now there's a new girl with telekinetic powers arriving... The unpopular Rachel Lang receives a lot of attention from the top-quarterback Jesse Ryan, and thus the rest of the sport and cheerleader team plot to humiliate her in public. They obviously didn't learn much from their school's infamous history. After a quite atmospheric intro and a suicide-sequence which pretty much is the coolest I've ever seen, "The Rage" becomes a little slow and it starts suffering from too many clichés. Still, during these rather dull moments there's the good acting of Emily Bergyl and Jason London to enjoy, as well as some remotely funny teenager sex-jokes. The climax is very much worth anticipating and contains some really graphic killings. The make-up effects are terrifically gruesome and some of the macabre deaths are very ingenious. This sure is a predictable and redundant film, but that doesn't mean it can't be fun.