Show her that if she had remained sinless, this curse of blood would never have come on her!

Rating: 9/10 (23 October 2010)

Carrie is directed by Brian De Palma and adapted by Lawrence D. Cohen from the debut novel of the name written by Stephen King. It stars Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Betty Buckley, Amy Irving, William Katt, Nancy Allen & John Travolta. Pino Donaggio scores the music and Mario Tosi is the cinematographer.
Carrie White (Spacek) is the outsider at school, dominated at home by her fanatically religious mother (Laurie), Carrie is unmercifully teased by her class mates when she reacts with terror to her first menstrual period. When Miss Collins (Buckley) the teacher decides to punish the girls for their actions, it sets the wheels in motion for Carrie to unearth telekinetic powers that could spell devastation for anyone close to her.
As pretty much everyone on the DVD documentaries says, nobody involved with making Carrie had any idea it would become the much loved classic that it is. Made for $1.8 million, it made almost $34 million domestically alone. Garnering award nominations, something of a rarity for horror movies, it also stands proud as one of the most influential movies in the horror genre. Be it the wave after wave of High School based horrors that would follow, or the now standard use of the unexpected jolt, Carrie has earned its place on any best of horror list. Not bad considering both De Palma and King don't feel it's necessarily a horror film! But that's for discussion elsewhere me thinks.
De Palma astutely grabs us from the off, after we are quickly introduced to Carrie White on the volleyball court, where she subsequently loses the game for her side, we shift to the locker room and Carrie takes a shower. Cut to slow motion as the girls lark and pamper themselves in various forms of undress. Shot in steam based soft focus by Tosi as Donaggio's score swirls with playful emotion. Then BAM! Having lulled us in to a false sense of security De Palma brings the blood, menstrual blood. It's an attention grabber alright and it's a testament to how great Carrie is that the attention is held right to that jolting finale. Blood, as those who have seen it know, is pivotal to Carrie's structure, from the shower room to prom night, and on to a bit of a family tete a tete. Not a horror film my eye Brian & Stephen.
For those who wish to delve into sub-texts, meanings and motives etc, Carrie's a good film for those of that mind. But again, that's for discussion elsewhere. I just love to view Carrie as a sharp story told exceptionally well, a movie that manages to pull my emotions in a number of directions. Anger, love, sympathy, revulsion and even a wave of guilty triumphalism, it's all there as De Palma crafts what is arguably his masterpiece. Spacek represents one of the best casting decisions of the 70s, the ugly beauty thing is down pat and the vulnerability extraordinary. Laurie brings the real monster of the piece, religion gone berserker; so brilliantly essayed. The young cast shine bright, notably Nancy Allen, while Donaggio's score is to die for: resplendent with Herrmannesque string stabs.
Carrie may look dated now, but its ability to shock and trouble the cranium still exists on revisits. A masterful piece of film making, where even the use of split screens avoids charges of gimmickry. If only more King adaptations to the screen could be like this. 9/10