Features the prom to beat all proms.

Rating: 8/10 (10 August 2012)

This striking, memorable adaptation of the Stephen King novel announced the arrival of the author in a major way, and also made stars of director Brian De Palma and his cast. It still stands tall as one of cinema's ultimate "loser strikes back" fables and while it may be fiction its themes are still quite relevant. Sissy Spacek excels as the title character, an awkward teenager treated terribly by her fellow students and having to deal with the overbearing presence of her sanctimonious mother (Piper Laurie), a deeply religious individual. Things seem to be improving for Carrie when a popular jock (William Katt) asks her to the prom, only we know the poor girl's nemesis (Nancy Allen) is orchestrating much of the events for the sake of revenge. What very few people know - and unfortunately have to find out - is that Carrie possesses telekinetic abilities, which she unleashes in fury after being mocked and humiliated for the last time. Carrie is one of those characters one can't help but feel sorry for, and any person who's ever been in a similar situation in high school will know her pain. Spacek and Laurie are both incredible in their Oscar nominated performances; the former completely wins you over with her combination of shyness, naivety, and vulnerability. The latter, making a flamboyant return to acting after 15 years away from the business, is purely theatrical, and gets perhaps the most significant refrain in the entire film in the form of "They're all gonna laugh at you!" Also among the supporting cast are John Travolta, displaying that easy going charisma, Amy Irving (acting opposite her real life mom, Priscilla Pointer), P.J. Soles, Betty Buckley, Sydney Lassick, Stefan Gierasch, Michael Talbott, and Edie McClurg. They're all fun to watch, and De Palma directs with a typical flourish, employing split screen during one critical scene of chaos at the prom. The budget of the film only allowed for a minimum of destruction, yet what makes it onto screen still packs a pretty effective punch; the violence is strong without ever getting too blatantly gory. Some comedy relief is added rather incongruously - the music for the gym detention scenes, the sped up dialogue for the tuxedo shopping sequence - but it doesn't hurt the film at all, and our emotions are manipulated with ease and skill, especially when the haunting music score by the consistently reliable Pino Donaggio is taken into account. The imagery is stunning throughout, including one hell of a creepy little statue, and that now iconic image of Spacek doused in blood. To this date this remains one of the best ever adaptations of a Stephen King work, in this viewer's humble opinion. Followed by a 23 years belated sequel, a made for TV remake, and a pending theatrical remake. Eight out of 10.