Envisaged as a remake of Brian De Palma 's 1976 film , Fuller aimed to " give it ... a little more of an epic feel " rather than the fairy tale-feeling Fuller ascribed to the original . He also thought his version could add " a little more depth " with " some scope to the characters and the situation that you did n't have in the original " . The writer said Bettis ' portrayal of the role was meant to give Carrie a " more edgy " characterization instead of the " victim " feeling he believed Sissy Spacek gave to her in De Palma 's film . In his words : Fuller sought to update the film 's 1970s setting to a contemporary one , aware that high-school violence , in particular , has changed since then . Because Fuller felt the Columbine High School massacre was still on people 's recent memory , he was careful in addressing the film 's " teenage vigilante " theme
Columbine High School massacre
Columbine High School massacre
Carrie (2002 film)