PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Poor emotional regulation apparently runs heavily in the White family genes. 25 years after the release of Stephen King’s novel, and 23 years after the award-winning film adaptation of Carrie (1976), we learned that the legacy of the White family had hardly stopped with Carrie (Sissy Spacek, Castle Rock, 2018), herself. The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)took a leap of faith and introduced us to Rachel Lang (Emily Bergl, Chasing Sleep, 2000), Carrie’s long-lost half-sister and fellow telekinetic outcast.
Ralph White, Carrie’s father who had passed on in a tragic construction accident long before Carrie’s own story began, was unfaithful to Margaret White (Piper Laurie, The Faculty, 1998). The affair he had with Barbara Lang (J. Smith-Cameron, True Blood, 2010) produced another daughter – Rachel Lang. Rachel had the same latent telekinetic ability as her older sibling. But with no information regarding her bloodline, she has no idea why she has the abilities she has, or why her real mother is so afraid of her.
Rachel had a different, but no less difficult upbringing as her sister, a child passed from foster family to foster family, treated as a meal ticket and suffering abuse at the hands of her supposed caretakers. But this has given her a knowledge of the world and thicker skin than Carrie.
Though she is an outcast, Rachel has one very positive close friendship with fellow outcast, Lisa (Mena Suvari, Day of the Dead, 2008), and a very special connection with her dog who has been there with her since the night she was taken from her mother. Lisa has just lost her virginity to someone she feels is very special and Rachel is so happy and supportive of her, only wanting the best for her dear friend as she finally finds some happiness and hope. Unfortunately, the boy she has given herself to is a member of a group of popular football players who have turned nailing girls into a game, point system and all. When Lisa learns that she was merely a game piece to the boy she thought loved her, Lisa throws herself from the rooftop of the school and dies.
When Rachel’s careless foster parents leave her dog outside and the pup runs into traffic, Rachel gets the first real taste of her power, forcing the next vehicle to a stop directly in front of her (why she didn’t do that to the one headed toward her dog is a question that will keep us all up at night for the rest of our lives, I suppose). The car she stops is Jessie Ryan’s, and he is a card-carrying member of the sex-crazed jocks that devastated her friend. No one yet knows about the game that has set this tragic tale in motion, and Jessie would give anything to keep it that way since he is beginning to feel disgusted with their actions.
Jessie helps Rachel get her beloved dog to the vet in time to save its life, and a sweet and very genuine romance builds between the two. Rachel feels the same euphoric feeling a girl that has been mistreated by her peers for so long feels when she finally gets her turn in the light. Just like her sister, we have set her up for a disastrous fall from grace.
The Rage: Carrie 2 took an older tale and added the edge and current social issues needed to perfectly introduce a new generation to one of the most beloved tales of horror’s golden age. It can also be classified as a legacy sequel with the return of Amy Irving, reprising her role as Sue Snell. Sue has seen so much tragedy having survived Carrie’s vengeance so many years before. She now strives to help children who have a difficult time in school as a guidance counselor. She takes a particular interest in Rachel when she realizes that not only does Rachel seem to possess the same abilities as Carrie, she also shares a father with her.
Sue’s valiant effort to once again, prevent unconscionable tragedy for her alma mater is futile. When Rachel is set up by the mean girls who are jealous of her genuine romance with Jessie as just another one of his conquests in the game that destroyed her best friend, Rachel gives in to the rage.
The Rage: Carrie 2 is a worthy follow-up to Brian DePalma’s original Carrie (1976), as it has, at its core, a strong message about just how hard it is to not belong or be accepted at such a difficult time as your adolescent years. While it has more to do with hormones and emotional growth than with such fantastic issues as telekinesis, teens are going through a lot of changes and new levels of stress. And boy, do they love to make that as difficult as possible on each other.
It’s very difficult to talk about this film without addressing the elephant in the room. The Rage was pulled from theaters a bit earlier than usual. The tragedy at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado occurred just a few weeks after its release. It likely never would have been released at all if it had been after. I worked in a movie theater just a few towns away from Columbine. I had graduated high school the year before. My friends and I stood in the lobby watching it unfold on the televisions above box office and customer service, exchanging solemn glances and wondering how this could happen.
We were a close-knit group at that theater, and what he didn’t realize at the time was that we were a shining example of a group of teens from many walks of life denying what was expected of us and becoming friends for life. We still make it a point to meet up in good times and bad. Always there for each other. Always just a phone call away no matter how far apart we all moved.
Carrie and The Rage are not tales of vengeance, but of the human connection we all want and deserve. The kindness of those in Carrie and Rachel’s lives who were able to set aside social expectations and reach out a hand in friendship and love are the real heart of those stories.
The Rage: Carrie 2 and Carrie are currently available to stream on MAX.
