Intense Film That Mirrors The Novel

Rating: 8/10 (22 October 2001)

This is the work that made Stephen King a household name, however, when I read that he had thrown out the manuscript unfinished in disgust I was not surprised. I love King's work for more reasons than I can list here but I always felt that "Carrie" was like a hiccup (something coming out of nowhere that isn't usually what he later dealt with; or had dealt with in his short stories previously) in his chain of tales which, ironically launched his career rather than having occurred in the middle. The film directed by De Palma is well adapted and directed. While it is not scary I would say it is extremely tense. The conflict between Carrie and her domineering religious zealot of a mother are truly brought to life well. I thought it was interesting and truly a rare adaption which lives up to the material it is based on. It isn't perfectly done but there are many, many, many worse horror/supernatural films out there.