Stephen King's First Novel Makes It to the Big Screen

Rating: 6/10 (28 August 2007)

Brian De Palma's assured adaptation of Stephen King's first novel does the book justice, but it falls short of a horror classic for me.
Actually, this is one of those movies that maybe really wouldn't even be remembered today if it had not had the luck of casting an actress as good as Sissy Spacek in the title role, who finds things to do with the character that a lesser actress wouldn't have. It's also notable for showcasing John Travolta on the cusp of stardom. And Piper Laurie, who hadn't been seen by movie audiences since her appearance in "The Hustler" fifteen years earlier, pops up as a whacked out religious nutjob who would give Faye Dunaway's Joan Crawford a run for her money as worst movie mom ever.
De Palma uses funky split screens to stage the film's big set piece, the prom in which Carrie lets her telekinetic powers loose on her tormentors. The device looks hopelessly dated today, but yet somehow works well in context and makes the scene more disturbing than it otherwise might have been.
Grade: B