Jan 25 2009
“Carrie” (1976) ****
Preview
Starring: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, William Katt, Betty Buckley, Nancy Allen, P.J. Soles, John Travolta, Priscilla Pointer, Sydney Lassick, Stefan Gierasch, Harry Gold, Noelle North, Michael Talbott, Doug Cox, Cindy Daly, Deirdre Berthrong, Anson Downes, Rory Stephens, Edie McClurg.
Directed By: Brian De Palma.
Stats:
*Budget: $1.8 Million.
*Domestic Gross: $33 Million.
*Based on the novel by Stephen King.
The Catch:
A shy High School outcast learns of her telekinetic powers during great moments of emotional stress caused by humiliation from her peers, teachers, and psychotic mother.
Characters:
*Carrie White (Sissy Spacek): The center of it all, the shy girl with telekinetic powers.
*Margaret White (Piper Laurie): Carrie’s psychotic mother, a delusional religious fanatic who likes to lock her daughter in the closet to pray.
*Sue Snell (Amy Irving): One of Carrie’s main villains. Girlfriend to Tommy Ross.
*Tommy Ross (William Katt): Sue’s boyfriend. He’s also part of the plan to humiliate Carrie at the prom. His role is to play the good guy to her and ask her out to the prom.
*Miss Collins (Betty Buckley): The gym teacher who seems to be the only one who cares for Carrie.
*Chris Hargensen (Nancy Allen): One of Carrie’s main villains (and extremely hot I might add), devises the plan to destroy Carrie in front of everybody at the prom.
*Norma Watson (P.J. Soles): Chris’s best friend.
*Billy Nolan (John Travolta): Chris’s boyfriend. Can you say “Saturday Night Fever”?
Story:
Carrie White is a shy outcast who is slowly beginning to discover her telekinetic powers while being victimized in endless humiliating situations plotted by peers, teachers, and the psychological torture she has to endure from her religion-crazed mother.
After having her first period in during showering in gym class, Carrie pleads to her peers for help (unaware that menstruation is a normal process) who make fun of her instead. Miss Collins, the gym teacher, breaks up the commotion. Shortly after, Carrie lets out a burst of her telekinetic power by shattering a light in the shower room.
With Carrie’s enemies now facing athletic detention and being banned from the prom, they decide to settle the score with Carrie by culminating their biggest and most cruel prank yet.
Review:
“Carrie” is the ultimate high school bully treatment for a horror flick, beginning with one of the most surrealistic and embarrassing situations for any young girl who’s usually harassed at school - Carrie is in gym class and starts having her period. Unaware that what she’s experiencing is normal (her mother is a religious nut job, go figure), she begs her classmates for help who humiliate her mercilessly instead - setting the themes and atmosphere for the rest of the film.
“Carrie” marks the first big screen Stephen King adaptation, featuring a handful of recognizable stars from John Travolta, Nancy Allen, Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, and among others. The suspense and build up is well paced as the bullies culminate their final humiliation for Carrie toward the end of the film - which unfortunately backfires for them, making for a spectacular horrifying sequence in the film’s climatic prom scene.
Running at 98 minutes, the film does feel a lot shorter than that and has quite a fast pace. Nevertheless, “Carrie” deserves to be up there with “The Omen” and “The Exorcist” in the similar genre of classic demonic possession films.
Rating: ****
