Hit Girl misses the mark in this reboot of Stephen King's Carrie. Chloe Moretz was perfect casting for Kick-Ass's foul-mouthed tween. But here she's too pretty, too normal to be credible as the outcast Carrie White, bullied to the point of telekinetic payback.

Carrie, unwanted daughter of a religiously unhinged mother, is friendless, and knows more about the inside of the under-stairs cupboard than she does of the world. And when, in the unforgiving environment of a swimming pool locker-room, she experiences her first period, she thinks she's dying. Sugar and spice and all things nice are in short supply: her classmates ridicule her, filming her embarrassment for social media.

Riven with shame, one of the girls bids for redemption, urging her hunky boyfriend to take Carrie to the prom. You just know it's going to end badly. Especially if you've read Stephen King's novel or seen Brian De Palma's classic 1976 film version. Because Carrie has telekinetic powers and can move knives, scissors, cars, people and swishy electric cables with her mind alone.

Sissy Spacek played Carrie in the 70s version giving an iconic, haunting portrayal, with the actress' gawky, unusual looks credibly marking her out as a bully-magnet. From the off, you felt for her, whisked back to the cruelty of schooldays when anyone unusual-looking would be in for it. The tragedy was right there in the girl herself – hemmed in, unloved. And the horror-queen transformation was both scary and exhilarating.

Director Kimberly Pierce's ‘re-imagining' – the industry doesn't like the word remake - short-changes both King's novel and De Palma's film. This isn't a horror film at all, it's a sheeny teen movie with all the trimmings: dodgy and over-used special effects and an over-reliance on beauty-parade bods. Whereas De Palma knew the power of a scissors-impalement shock, Pierce (Boys Don't Cry) chucks in too many crashes and bangs in her finale.

But Carrie scores big-time in its depiction of cyber bullying and the power of social media to create real-life horror for vulnerable kids. And that alone – for its intended market – will probably have a bigger resonance than the fates of Julianne Moore (Carrie's mother) or the heroine itself. Suffice to say, if not exactly sweet, the revenge here is still popcorn-chewingly delicious - and in one windscreen moment almost achieves a genuine scare.

A teen movie, then, in all senses. If you're hoping for a horror story of the classic kind - King's or De Palma's - you'll be disappointed. Unconvincingly cast, Carrie struggles from the start. Generously, it's a timely reworking of the ever-true trauma of school-age bullying. Less so, it borrows the prom dress of its book and filmic betters – but the girl inside is gone.