The original cannot be beaten. Period (no pun intended, lol).
As for the remake, it's just a watered down version of the original. It's not as intense, or as real. Plus I don't like the actress they picked for Carrie. Come on, she actually looks like she should be one of the bullies instead. I know, the reason bullies pick on you isn't always about looks (hey, I know, I got bullied before I got fat, just because I was weird, when I got fat they just had another reason), but this just isn't believable. To me. I'm not saying Carrie should be ugly at all, but this is what makes the '76 version so perfect. Sissy was actually very beautiful, but she just isn't the type to be in the "in-crowd", looks-wise.
However, there is one big difference between the two versions (I can't remember what they did in the 2002 version) that I do like. In the remake Carrie is very much aware of her powers, and she deliberately uses them to get them back. In the original, she barely knew how to handle it, and she just lost control at that point. The reason why I like this new approach, is that it gives her the dignity she deserves. There's none of that in the original, all you can do is feel incredibly sad for her.
But I really like the prom scene better for visual effects and their conveyance of Carrie's perverse supernatural power, and I like better how the Snell character pays for her evil selfishness.
Please excuse me for bumping up an old(er) post like this, but I fail to see how she was selfish, let alone evil. Not saying you are wrong, quite on the contrary. I haven't read the book yet, so I was just wondering if I missed an essential detail. Because to me, Sue seemed to be the only character (apart from the gym teacher) who genuinely cared about Carrie, eventually. Okay, she probably also did it to ease her own conscience, but I honestly don't believe that's all.