Dir. Brian De Palma (1976)
An outcast girl is tricked into believing that she's the prom queen, with disastrous results.
Carrie is a film that holds a special place in a lot of people's hearts. It was the first Stephen King novel, and subsequently the first film made after his works, serving as an introduction to the horror genre for a ton of people who would eventually grow up to be fans. A coming of age film with far more telekinetic violence than you'd normally expect to see, legendary director Brian De Palma delivers a faithful adaptation of the King classic just two years after the publication of the original novel. Carrie has a bit of something for everyone, a religious/psychological/teen/supernatural horror film with some truly outstanding performances and a dreamlike cinematography that elevates it into something far greater than the sum of its parts.
Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is a young, lonely girl who has no friends in her high school peer group. She gets her period after gym class, leading to a torrent of mockery from her classmates and punishment from her overly religious mother (Piper Laurie). After the girls responsible for making fun of her are punished by their teacher, they design a plot to get back at Carrie by tricking her into believing she has a date with the boy she loves and rigging the homecoming queen contest so that Carrie will be embarrassed in front of the entire school. Unfortunately for them, Carrie has telekinetic powers, and when she's pushed too far, she begins to use them.
Carrie is some truly excellent filmmaking. The film starts with a harrowing scene of a young woman transitioning into adulthood, establishes its cast of characters and the underlying plot of Carrie's conflict with her classmates, and builds to a crescendo of horrifying violence that was almost unheard of at the time in which it was made. It's also got a phenomenal cast: Spacek and Laurie, who we'll get to in a minute, are excellent, but there are also fantastic roles from Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, John Travolta, and P. J. Soles as well. Obviously I'm a much bigger fan of Sole's turns in Halloween, but she's stellar here as well, along with the rest of the cast.
Spacek, however, is leagues above her contemporaries. For a young actress, she delivers a role that is downright historic. Her performance is intense, sympathetic, and horrific, a perfect embodiment of the titular character (and a damn fine translation from King's novel as well). Laurie is terrifying, an unhinged religious zealot whose actions largely bring about the tumultuous finale of the film. Both actresses were nominated for Oscars for this film, something that's practically unheard of in the genre and well deserved honors as well. Two of arguably the best performances in the history of the genre help create a film that has stood the test of time and is just as good of a watch today as it was in the late 70's.
One of the most fascinating things about Carrie is its exploration of the limits of empathy. Carrie is, of course, an extremely sympathetic character. It's not her fault that she was brought up by a psychotically religious mother, and it's not her fault that that upbringing has resulted in her being ostracized from everyone in her school. It's not her fault that her body picked a terrible time to have its first period, and it's not her fault that a sympathetic teacher punished those girls, causing them to take their frustration out on the young girl. Her vengeance, however, is too much. She kills everyone, even those you wouldn't think she'd have an issue with. While I could certainly make the case that Sue and John Travolta deserved what was coming to them, the entire school certainly did not.
Regardless of the appropriateness of Carrie's vengeance, De Palma's adaptation of King's first novel is an altogether fantastic film. It's faithful to the book, and it's a damn fine film besides. The finale of this film is harrowing and flawless, and from the moment Carrie takes the stage to claim her prom queen crown, the film is beyond reproach. The entire film is amazing, but the ending is brilliant. If you have somehow never seen this one, you definitely need to, and it's a great film to help ring in the Halloween holiday season.
Who this movie is for: Classic horror fans, Stephen King devotees, Prom queens
Bottom line: Carrie is a phenomenal film and one of the best Stephen King film adaptations ever made. De Palma's style is on full display, and the performances from Piper Laurie and Sissy Spacek are incredible. It's a great film to watch in October, and it's an absolute must watch for any horror fan. Hell, it's a must watch for any film fan.
