CARRIE Director Kimberly Peirce on Blood, Book, and Characters

Kimberly Peirce is the director behind the remake of Stephen King's classic horror story Carrie, which stars Chloe Moretz and Julianne Moore. In a recent interview with Empire Magazine she talks about the blood, adapting the book, and the visual effects used in the film. One of the things they had to make sure they got right was the iconic pig's blood scene, in which she said,

We've done all these tests. One time the blood drops on Carrie's head and then it goes out to the sides like her head's an umbrella. So you don't really get any on her. We've done other tests where it goes boom and it's too fast, and some where it goes on her shoulders, which is no good. We went from one gallon to five, and then we had to test the viscosity, how thick or thin, and we found that we need to cascade, it has to move from the back to the front. A million things can go wrong...

I really hope they got some poor PA to dump blood on all day for these screen blood tests, because that would be hilarious. That's the person I want to interview! I'm a huge fan of the original 1976 Brian DePalma film, it was creepy as hell and they did the best they could with what they had to work with in the 70s. Special effects makes doing things a lot easier these days for filmmakers, and Peirce took advantage of it saying,

The opportunities with VFX are amazing. Every year they get better and better. What it means is that with less and less money we can stage these elements we need. Doing much of this stuff practically would take production time that I don't have. It's a fantasy to do this stuff. It's fun as a filmmaker to play with bigger and bigger tools, but the key is to be grounded in the story. I hope you find yourself as madly in love with these characters as I am...

She goes on to talk about the characters saying,

I've gone back to the book and fleshed out some of the characters. But the real appeal is Carrie. She's so innocent and naive. I fell in love with her all over again.

I'm normally not the biggest fan of remakes, but this is a great book, and I like the actors that have been cast in it. I think it could end up turning out to be a pretty decent horror film. At least that's what I'm hoping for! The movie comes out on October 18th, 2013.

Synopsis:

The quiet suburb of Chamberlain, Maine is home to the deeply religious and conservative Margaret White and her daughter Carrie. Carrie is a sweet but meek outcast whom Margaret has sheltered from society. Gym teacher Miss Desjardin tries in vain to protect Carrie from local mean girls led by the popular and haughty Chris Hargenson, but only Chris’ best friend, Sue Snell, regrets their actions. In an effort to make amends, Sue asks her boyfriend, high school heartthrob Tommy Ross, to take Carrie to prom. Pushed to the limit by her peers at the dance, Carrie unleashes telekinetic havoc.