by JACOB MCKEE
Columnist

There are two things that Hollywood is running rampant with these days: remakes and horror flicks. This weekend, a film came out that combined both of those categories: “Carrie,” a modern reimagining of the terrifying Stephen King novel.

This new version is similar to its predecessors, which include a television film, a musical, and the classic Sissy Spacek movie, but is also interestingly unfamiliar.

The new version, starring up and coming young actress Chloe Grace Moretz in the title role, brings Carrie White to the digital age.

No longer does the insecure young girl just have to worry about her relentless classmates or her dangerously righteous mother. Now, YouTube and cyberbullying rank among her enemies.

Carrie might not be able to fight back against YouTube in quite the same way as she fights back against bully Chris Harginson, and that only adds to the horror.

In this new time, Carrie’s fight is a fight that many young teenagers face every day, and alluding to the dangers of cyberbullying helps the film feel incredibly timely.

So, in addition to a really cool scary movie, “Carrie” provides us with a nice anti-bullying message. That might seem like a bit much to ask of a movie, but luckily it is backed up by a bunch of powerhouse performances by the young leads.

Chloe Grace Moretz brings an interesting fragility to the role of Carrie, and while people might not look back on this film as one of Moretz’s best early roles, it should definitely cement her in our brains as a member of a talented new crop of actors ready to take over Hollywood.

The real credit for some of the movie’s scariest moments, however, should go to Julianne Moore, who plays Carrie’s staunchly religious mother.

Moore is one of Hollywood’s most underrated actresses; she keeps turning in great performance after great performance, and this is no exception. Her Margaret White is terrifying like few things I’ve seen before.

The rest of the cast, except for an unfortunate weak link in Judy Greer as Miss Desjardin, supports Moretz’s and Moore’s performances nicely, complimented by some pretty good, if at times slightly forced, directing.

But these tiny weak points don’t stop the movie from being an absolute thrill ride. I loved it from beginning to bitter end… and I’m really glad that my prom didn’t end up like Carrie’s.