The Rage: Carrie 2

Year: 1999
Director: Katt Shea
Writer: Rafael Moreu
Genre: Horror: Thriller

If someone ever approached me to make a sequel for a Stephen King book-based movie I'd probably die. Of course, nobody would ever propose such a thing from me but I'm just saying. I can only assume that Katt Shea was impossibly pleased when offered this chance. Probably pretty terrified too.

The movie is interesting because in a way it is a remake. Or, not so much a remake but a re-imagining. Remake or re-imagining though, that would not count as a true "sequel". However, the movie has the title Carrie 2 because it is a sequel. It takes place 20 or so years after Carrie and with a new lead. However, she goes through a lot of the same style of experiences as in the first film.

However, the circumstances are definitely different. The lead is not a terribly meekish and unloved high school student. She may still be somewhat of an outcast, but not nearly to the degree as Carrie was. It's nice to see that this girl can stand on her two feet slinging insults with the rest of the teenage crowd. Because she is not Carrie it helps set a different tone for the movie as well as keep things interesting. You basically know that something has to happen to set off the climactic sequence, but getting there is a lot of fun. Unfortunately I don't think any climax could top the famous pig blood scene of Carrie, but that's okay. I won't hold it against Carrie 2.

Some people may not like this movie because the character is not a Carrie clone. However, I like it exactly for that reason. So, if you're in the mood for a better than average sequel this is a fine choice.

Poison Ivy

Year: 1992
Director: Katt Shea
Writer: Andy Ruben, Katt Shea
Genre: Drama: Femme fatale

Recently, I was browsing around online and found an article interviewing Katt Shea. I'd no idea who she was prior but during the course of that interview I became very interested in her work. Right after finishing the article I widly searched online to discover and secure my own copies of the majority of her films. It seems kind of silly, really, to become the owner of movies that I really knew nothing about simply because an interview I read excited me. Either way, that's what I did. So slowly I am going through some of the films from Katt Shea's career.

Poison Ivy is about a loner rich girl and a trashy but sweet poor girl, basically. The two talk first in the school office and quickly find themselves liking each other. As the story progresses it seems that both of the girls benefit from their new found friendship. As things go on though, we start to see that the sweet poor girl Ivy may be hiding dubious intentions behind her beautifully placid face.

I like that this movie took a look at a relationship between two girls that seemed mostly casual - real. It's sort of the style that male directors will do when creating stories of boyhood adventures... It often feels more nostalgic than real. At first, I was getting that similar nostalgic feeling from Poison Ivy but it quickly grounded itself in a more real world. They weren't complete party animals or anything like that, but they sounded and acted like they were coming of age in the 90s.

The drama gets a little melodramatic, but I think that was the effect Shea was going for. It's not a completely real story. Even with believable and human characters they were all wrapped up in something supremely abnormal. It was pretty cool.

I didn't learn until recently that Poison Ivy was based off a story. Maybe the book was even more melodramatic than the film portrays it. There is also a series of Poison Ivy films that have come out over the years. I intend to watch the rest even if they aren't as nice. That right there should tell you that this was a good enough film for me.