A poignant "horror" movie.

Rating: Null/10 (30 January 2011)

Rating: **** out of 4.
Brian De Palma's career took of with the success of this adaptation of Stephen King's first novel (who also boosted King's own success) about a teenage girl with telekinetic powers, using it to enslave her high school bullies during the most unforgettably horrifying prom night in history. CARRIE was a box-office hit and became an famous entry in the horror genre. But surprisingly when I saw CARRIE for the first time, I enjoyed it for more than being JUST a horror movie. Have you ever seen a horror movie that is touching and heartwarming? Or a horror movie where the supposed monster or horror is depicted as a sympathetic outcast? Or a horror movie that, before descending into a bloodbath, is staged as a romance? CARRIE has it all. It's a horror movie as well as a send-up of one. De Palma knows that the movie isn't really much about Carrie's telekinetic abilities, but about Carrie herself.
An icon of every high school outcast ever since, Carrie (played perfectly by Sissy Spacek) is depicted less as the violent monster she would eventually be and is depicted like anyone else who is bullied by popular kids in school and tormented by an oppressive parent. In that way, De Palma and Spacek is able to make us sympathize for Carrie as a nice girl who is pushed too far, making her now famous Greek tragedy-inspired finale all the more affecting. Piper Laurie is superb in an Oscar-nominated role (rare for a horror movie at the time) as Carrie's tormenting mother Margaret, who believes that her innocent girl is proof of her sinfulness. Laurie is both disturbing and devilishly campy, making her character one of the most memorable in the whole genre. Nancy Allen plays the notorious Chris Hargensen, a representation of the "Most Popular Girl" in high school, while Amy Irving plays the opposite in the role of Sue, a character who feels guilty for treating Carrie like dirt. William Katt plays her sweetheart who asks Carrie to the prom as an informal apology from Sue to Carrie. Betty Buckley provides the nice teacher role (a much nicer character here than in the book) who takes young Carrie under her wing. Oh, and watch out for John Travolta as Chris' nothing-but-trouble boyfriend.
I hate it when some audiences from our generation look back on CARRIE is a campy, scare-free "horror" movie. Why, look for some cheap "gotcha" moments that aren't there? CARRIE is more than just the now-usual treatment of horror movies; it's a mature and affecting tragedy of sorts. How many horror movies these days are portrayed with sympathy and warmth that CARRIE had in its smaller moments? In the end, the movie is something that may not be scary, but its rather poignant and sad. In fact, I think some of the horror elements of the film are portrayed as intentionally campy, but that's just me.
CARRIE is also a visual tour-de-force, with some memorable use of color and other visual techniques to drive the story. De Palma's trademark split-screen makes an appearance here during the famous "Prom Night" sequence. The film also has some underlying satire on high school life, during the 70's and even today. In fact, watching CARRIE today gives a few insights that probably wasn't a big deal back in the 70's.
CARRIE is a masterpiece in the genre, and one of the most touching, funny, most tragic, and one of the most memorable horror movies ever.