The Rage: Carrie 2

The Rage: Carrie 2 is a 1999 American supernatural horror film directed by Katt Shea, and starring Emily Bergl, Jason London, Dylan Bruno, and J. Smith-Cameron, with Amy Irving reprising the role of Sue Snell from the first film. Its plot follows the younger half-sister of Carrie White, also suffering with telekinesis, who finds that her best friend's suicide was spurred by a group of popular male classmates who exploited her for sexual gain. The film is a sequel to the 1976 horror film Carrie, based on the 1974 novel of the same name by Stephen King and the second film in the Carrie franchise.

The Rage: Carrie 2
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Katt Shea
Produced by	Paul Monash
Written by	Rafael Moreu
Based on	Carrie by Stephen King
Starring	Emily Bergl Jason London Dylan Bruno J. Smith-Cameron Amy Irving
Music by	Danny B. Harvey
Cinematography	Donald M. Morgan
Edited by	Richard Nord
Production company	United Artists Red Bank Films
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	March 12, 1999 (1999-03-12)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$21 million[1]
Box office	$17.8 million[1]

The film was released on March 12, 1999, and received generally negative reviews from critics. The film was a box office bomb at the time of release, grossing $17 million against a $21 million production budget. The film has developed a cult following; with many fans feeling it was unfavourably compared to original, rather than being taken at its own merit; and some fans even preferring it to the original.

Plot

In 1986, as a child, Rachel Lang is placed in foster care when her mother, Barbara, is diagnosed with schizophrenia after she interprets signs of Rachel's telekinesis as possession by Satan. 13 years later in September 1999, Rachel, an outcast, is living with unsympathetic foster parents and attending high school. After her best friend Lisa commits suicide by leaping from a building at the school, it is uncovered that Eric, a popular football star, rejected her after exploiting her for sex.

A devastated Rachel finds a photo of Lisa and Eric kissing while developing rolls of Lisa's film at a photo lab where she works. Rachel turns the photograph into police, and explains that Lisa had confessed to her that she had recently lost her virginity. Sheriff Kelton, along with the school's guidance counselor, Sue Snell, pursue statutory rape charges against Eric, who is over eighteen. It is uncovered that Eric and his football player peers, including Mark Bing, are engaged in a competition to see who can seduce the most girls by the end of the year.

Late one night while driving home, Jesse, another player on the football team, is flagged down by Rachel after her Basset Hound, Walter, is hit by a car on the road. Jesse, who is not as callous as his peers, takes a genuine interest in Rachel, at the behest of cheerleader Tracy, who is pursuing him. Meanwhile, Eric and Mark have discovered that Rachel implicated them in Lisa's death, and they attempt to scare her into not talking by harassing her at her home, but they become victims of her unusually strong telekinetic powers, which frighten them away.

Meanwhile, Sue gradually begins to suspect Rachel may possess telekinetic powers through their counseling sessions. She tracks down Rachel's institutionalized mother, Barbara, whose schizophrenia has stabilized, and Barbara confesses that Rachel's father was Ralph White, the father of Carrie White. Sue subsequently brings Rachel to the ruins of the former high school, which Carrie destroyed in a telekinetic rage in 1976 after being humiliated at her senior prom. Sue, a peer of Carrie's, survived the incident. When Sue discloses that Carrie is Rachel's half-sister, she dismisses her as a liar.

Later, the statutory rape charges against Eric is covered up by the district attorney because of the political influence of the families of the players. In retaliation against Rachel, Mark sets up a romantic getaway for Rachel and Jesse, which he covertly films unbeknownst to them. Monica, the girlfriend of Mark's friend Brad, then befriends Rachel under false pretenses, inviting her to a party after a football game. Rachel leaves with Monica to the party, while Jesse is forced to ride with Tracy after his car's tires are slashed. Tracy stops at her house first and unsuccessfully attempts to seduce him. Meanwhile, Sue manages to sneak Barbara out of the institution so that she can confess Rachel's father's identity to her.

At the party, Rachel is soon confronted by Mark and Chuck, who reveal their sex game and falsely claim that Rachel was added to Jesse's list of girls he has bedded. They also project the footage of her and Jesse having sex for all of the partygoers to see. This triggers Rachel's telekinesis, and she seals the house closed. She kills most of the partygoers by causing a large glass window to explode, slashing them to death, and also triggers a fire. Meanwhile, Sue and Barbara track Rachel to the party, but Sue is killed by a fire-poker that impales the front door. As Rachel pursues Monica, Eric, and Mark through the house, they arm themselves with weapons. Rachel kills Monica by causing her glasses to implode into her eyes, causing Monica to inadvertently castrate Eric with a harpoon. Mark shoots her with a flare gun and Rachel falls into the swimming pool. When Mark goes over to inspect whether she is dead, Rachel appears out of the water and pulls Mark into the pool. Rachel triggers the sensor to the automatic pool cover, and manages to free herself while Mark drowns.

An injured Rachel is confronted by Barbara, who initially attempts to comfort her, but proceeds to accuse her of being possessed, and flees. Jesse and Tracy arrive moments later, and Rachel kills Tracy by causing a piece of ceiling to collapse on her. On a balcony, Rachel confronts Jesse about his supposed list, but he denies it. Rachel then notices that the videotape of her and Jesse, still playing in the living room, captured Jesse saying "I love you" while she slept. She immediately realizes that Jesse's feelings for her are genuine. Moments later, an awning collapses on Rachel. Jesse is unable to free her, and she uses her telekinesis to throw him over the balcony onto the pool cover as she burns to death.

One year later in 2000, Jesse, now studying at King's University, shares a dormitory with Rachel's dog Walter. He has a vision of Rachel appearing in his room, and they kiss before she shatters into pieces. He awakens in a panic, realizing the vision was only a nightmare.

Cast

• Emily Bergl as Rachel Lang
  • Kayla Campbell as Young Rachel
• Jason London as Jesse Ryan: a popular jock with whom Rachel falls in love.
• Dylan Bruno as Mark Bing: a football player who owns the mansion where the football game after-party takes place.
• J. Smith-Cameron as Barbara Lang: Rachel's biological mother.
• Amy Irving as Sue Snell: the sole survivor of Carrie's rage in the original film, now a guidance counselor.
• Zachery Ty Bryan as Eric Stark: a jock who seduces and then humiliates Lisa, resulting in her suicide.
• John Doe as Boyd: Rachel's foster father
• Charlotte Ayanna as Tracy Campbell: Jesse Ryan's ex-girlfriend, a popular cheerleader.
• Rachel Blanchard as Monica Jones: Tracy's best friend.
• Justin Urich as Brad Winters: football player and Monica's boyfriend.
• Mena Suvari as Lisa Parker: Rachel's best friend, who commits suicide.
• Elijah Craig as Chuck Potter: football player.
• Eddie Kaye Thomas as Arnold: Rachel's friend.
• Clint Jordan as Sheriff Kelton
• Kate Skinner as Emilyn: Rachel's foster mother
• Gordon Clapp as Mr. Stark: Eric's father
• Steven Ford as Coach Walsh
• Deborah Meschan as Deborah: One of Monica's friends who takes part in setting Rachel up
• Katt Shea as Deputy D.A.
• Robert D.Raiford as The Senior D.A.
• Rhoda Griffis as Mrs. Porter: A Saleswoman
• Sissy Spacek as Carrie White via archival flashbacks: Rachel's deceased half-sister, and the protagonist of the original film. Sissy Spacek turned down an offer to cameo in the film but gave permission to have her scenes used in the form of flashbacks.

Production

Development

Originally titled The Curse, the film was initially scheduled to start production in 1996 with Emily Bergl in the lead, however production stalled for two years.[2] The plot heavily borrows from a real-life 1993 incident in which a group of high school jocks known as the Spur Posse were involved in a sex scandal. The film eventually went into production in 1998 under the title Carrie 2: Say You're Sorry. A few weeks into production, director Robert Mandel quit over creative differences and Katt Shea hurriedly took over the reins with less than a week to prepare to start filming, and two weeks' worth of footage to reshoot.[3]

Casting

Amy Irving reprised the role of Sue Snell, which she originated in the first Carrie, though she was initially wary of taking the role and asked Brian De Palma, director of the original film, for his blessing.[4] Director Shea was told that she would not be able to use footage of Sissy Spacek from the original Carrie, but she edited several scenes into the film and presented the film to Spacek, who granted permission for her likeness to be used.[3]

Release

Box office

The Rage: Carrie 2, was released on March 12, 1999. It opened in second place that weekend but was not successful.[5] It grossed a total of $17,762,705 domestically against a $21 million budget, making the film a box office disappointment.[6]

Home media

The film was released on VHS and DVD on October 12, 1999 and Laserdisc on November 9, 1999.[7] A Blu-ray version of the film was released on April 14, 2015 in a double feature with the 2002 TV version of Carrie from Scream Factory.[8] This edition went out of print on October 8, 2019.[9]

Reception

Critical response

The film received mostly negative reviews upon its release, with many moviegoers and critics criticizing the film's failure to capture the essence of what made the original so creepy, yet believable. Rotten Tomatoes reported the film had a 20% approval rating based on 35 reviews with the consensus: "As disposable as its predecessor is indispensable, The Rage: Carrie 2 mimics the arc of Stephen King's classic story without adding anything of value." On Metacritic it had a rating of 42 on a scale from 0–100 based on 21 reviews indicating mixed or average reviews.

Roger Ebert gave the film 2 out of 4 stars stating "The original Carrie worked because it was a skillful teenage drama grafted onto a horror ending. Also, of course, because De Palma and his star, Sissy Spacek, made the story convincing. The Rage: Carrie 2 is more like a shadow".[10] Anita Gates of The New York Times characterized it as "typical B-movie making. The actors are attractive and do credible jobs, and in the tradition of the original film, there's one really good scare at the end."[11] Dennis Harvey of Variety panned the film, noting that it "uses the original as a blueprint, but leaves out all the wit, sympathy and bravado."[12]

Ty Burr of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a more favorable B-minus rating, praising Bergl's performance and summarizing that the film is "better than it deserves to be."[13] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times championed the film as a "well-directed sequel" that "accepts the telekinetic gimmick as an obligatory plot device [to] rage against high school machismo."[14]

Despite its negative reception from critics; the film has a strong fan base that enjoyed it for its modern approach to the story, focus on characterisation and being more of a tragic love story than an outright slasher horror.

Soundtrack

The Rage: Carrie 2
Soundtrack album by Various artists
Released	March 23, 1999 (1999-03-23)
Length	55:14
Label	Edel Records
Carrie soundtracks chronology
Carrie (1976) The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999) Carrie (2002)

The accompanying soundtrack album was released on March 23, 1999 by Edel Records.[15]

Track listing

No.	Title	Performer(s)	Length
1.	"Crazy Little Voices" (Theme from The Rage: Carrie 2)	Ra	4:38
2.	"Quick, Painless and Easy"	Ivy	4:12
3.	"Resurrection"	Fear Factory	6:31
4.	"Year of Summer"	Paradise Lost	4:15
5.	"Low Down"	Mary Watt	4:17
6.	"Looking Down the Barrel"	Five Times Down	3:35
7.	"Die with Me"	Type O Negative	7:13
8.	"Keep Sleeping"	16Volt	3:14
9.	"Dark Love"	Kate Shrock	3:59
10.	"Laughter Lines"	Sack	4:20
11.	"The Slower I Go"	L.A.X.	2:47
12.	"Sleep"	Trailer Park Pam	2:26
13.	"Spark Somebody Up"	Buddha Monk	3:47
Total length:			55:14

References

1. "The Rage:Carrie 2". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
2. Creepshows: The Illustrated Stephen King Movie Guide by Stephen Jones, p.124
3. "The Rage: Carrie 2" audio commentary. United Artists, 2002.
4. The Rage: Carrie 2 Production Notes
5. "Weekend Box Office March 12-14, 1999". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
6. "The Rage: Carrie 2". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
7. "The Rage: Carrie 2 Blu-ray release". iHorror. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
8. "Carrie / The Rage: Carrie 2 Blu-ray Details". Dread Central. February 25, 2015.
9. "The Rage: Carrie 2 [Double Feature]". Scream Factory. Archived from the original on November 18, 2019.
10. Ebert, Roger (March 12, 1999). "The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)". Chicago Sun-Times.
11. Gates, Anita (March 12, 1999). "'The Rage: Carrie 2': Uninspired Update, Unintentional Laughs". The New York Times. New York City, New York. Archived from the original on November 18, 2019.
12. Harvey, Dennis (March 14, 1999). "The Rage: Carrie 2". Variety. Archived from the original on November 18, 2019.
13. Burr, Ty (March 19, 1999). "The Rage: Carrie 2". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019.
14. Thomas, Kevin (March 12, 1999). "Well-Directed Sequel to 'Carrie' Rages Against High School Machismo". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. D8 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "The Rage: Carrie 2". 12 March 1999 – via Amazon.

External links

• The Rage: Carrie 2 on IMDb
• The Rage: Carrie 2 at AllMovie
• The Rage: Carrie 2 at Rotten Tomatoes