Stephen King is one of the most recognizable writers of our time, and his mastery of the horror genre has spawned several iconic film adaptations of his work including classics like The Shining and Misery. When King wrote Carrie in 1974, this would result in a franchise which has been hugely successful, resulting in continued remakes and several different adaptions of the book in film, tv and theatre. The series is mostly recognisable for its film adaptations; however, it is currently being worked into a tv mini-series, proving the continued impact of the franchise.

Carrie has become a pop culture landmark, and every year we see Carrie Halloween costumes and references to the series throughout the media. Over the years, several film adaptations of Carrie have been created, so let’s look at the film entries, ranked.

4 The Rage: Carrie 2

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The beloved franchise received a revamp in 1999 in the form of a sequel directed by Katt Shea, when The Rage: Carrie 2 was created. The film follows the story of Rachel Lang, who is Carrie White’s half sister who similarly develops powers such as telekinesis. The film failed to achieve the commercial or critical success of its originator and hasn’t stood the test of time or achieved cult classic status like the original. Emily Bergl’s performance as the lead is strong; however, the dialogue makes the film awkward and cliché, unlike the original.

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3 Carrie (2002)

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Trilogy Entertainment

The Carrie franchise received another addition with the 2002 TV movie adaptation Carrie. The film was directed by David Carson and cast Angela Bettis as the title role. 2002’s Carrie, tells the same story of the first adaptation with a different angle, making use of flashbacks to tell different stories, and offers an alternative ending and insights into what happened after the events of the original film. This ultimately served as another poorly received addition to the franchise that many critics viewed as unnecessary. It was critiqued over its poor special effects and underwhelming ending, though Bettis' performance was praised and the movie was better received by audiences than critics.

2 Carrie (2013)

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2013’s remake directed by Kimberly Peirce served as another addiction to the Carrie franchise, and is a remake of the 1976 film, moving the original story into a more modern setting. The film has an alternate ending which took the story in a different direction, but for the most part the story is similar to the original, with the addition of social media and a modern backdrop. Carrie featured Chloe Grace Moretz as Carrie, and Julianne Moore as Carrie’s mother, both of whom delivered strong performances. Carrie was moderately well received, with the special effects being praised, but some audiences, including Stephen King himself felt that a remake was perhaps unnecessary.

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The undisputed most impactful and acclaimed addition to the Carrie franchise was the original film adaptation, directed by Brian De Palma and starring Sissy Spacek as Carrie. Carrie left a huge legacy and stands the test of time as one of the most critically acclaimed horror films of all time. The film represented the beginning of a very successful career for Spacek, a role which she was not originally first pick for. Carrie is one of the most iconic horror films of all time and deserves its place at the top of the list of the Carrie franchise.