Movie Review: Carrie (1976)

Carrie is directed by Brian De Palma and is based off of Stephen King's first novel of the same name. The film stars Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, John Travolta, Nancy Allen, William Katt, Amy Irving, and Betty Buckley. The movie revolves around Carrie White (Spacek) a victim of constant bullying and harassment from her high school classmates. She also happens to be the daughter of a notoriously religious woman (Laurie) who is abusive towards Carrie. Eventually one thing leads to another and we end up in the iconic prom scene, during which the popular kids dump an entire can of pigs blood on Carrie's face. This movie is (as I just mentioned) extremely iconic. Reading Carrie when I was younger actually was one of the driving forces behind my starting to write. I just re-watched Carrie for the first time in a few years and I have to happily report that this is a great movie. Sissy Spacek was built for this role. Rarely have I ever pinpointed an actor or actress and said they're perfect as said character, but Spacek as Carrie White is dynamite. Her presence is timid and intense all at the same time. Piper Laurie as the mother of Carrie was excellently domineering and brought the right amount of insanity into this role. Perhaps my favorite performance is Betty Buckley as the school gym teacher. There's a lot of heart in this movie and not all of that gets discussed. Whenever Buckley and Spacek have time together on screen, this film is sparking with greatness and talent. As I said earlier, the finale to this movie is some of the most disturbing and satisfying conclusions in any horror film ever made. What this story does is put you into a moral dilemma. We sympathize greatly with Carrie yet her final "acts" (no spoilers, but really why have you not seen this?) are so violent and shocking. John Travolta also has the most repulsive character to play which he hits with a crazy and blatantly unlikeable nature. Not to mention Pino Donaggio's score which is scary in scenes, but then can become innocent and fill you up with happiness. It's a brilliant number from him. As I watched Carrie earlier today, I really couldn't place any flaws with the movie. The ending is haunting and that's really what this film does. It's Spacek who delivers a performance that (like a ghost) will follow you and echo in your mind. Carrie has always echoed in my mind ever since I first saw it. It's one of my favorite horror movies and one of the greatest of the genre of all time. Overall, Carrie is fast-paced, with perfect acting, and a satisfyingly grotesque third act and conclusion. Four stars= A+