It’s not unreasonable to be somewhat concerned about Carrie not living up to the classic it’s remaking. But it does have at least one important aspect on lockdown: It’s rated R.
It gives you an idea of just how important it is to the producers that we know the rating that “Rated R” is actually the title of this new TV spot. The spot itself isn’t bad either, actually, although it’s also not very shy with the spoilers if you haven’t seen the movie:
Carrie researching telekinesis on YouTube is a nice touch. Just don’t read the comments, Ms. White.
Personally, I’ve never seen the PG-13 rating as the kiss of death for a horror movie; some of the best horror movies work not by gore but by implication, and a really good horror movie is built on good acting anyway. Also, the R-rating can be a bit arbitrary; The Conjuring got an R-rating not because of the excessive gore or violence, but because it was “too scary” to be rated PG-13. So basically it was rated R for having a creepy doll in it.
That said, considering one of the key points of the movie is the infamously cringe-inducing “Plug it up” scene, it is hard to see how Carrie couldn’t have gotten an R-rating. Either way, it’s nice to know that, at the very least, it’s got enough bite to not be for kids.