A truly, deeply, cynical film. A classic for millenia.

Rating: 9/10 (7 July 2015)

Carrie is a classic horror film that will be remembered for millenia. It is a moving coming-of-age drama-or thriller-or horror. In any case it is about a shy, sweet girl played by Sissy Spacek who inhabits in a cruel world. Her mother is a religious zealot who abuses her whenever she thinks Carrie committed a sin and her high school peers shun her. Many viewers will find the film not scary at all but it is not meant to make your guts jump out. No, it's a metaphorical tale of growing up and a deeply cynical one too which you will find at the end of the film.
I will not spoil anything but I will just say how the film starts and it starts off in the girl's locker room. The camera pans along the misty room and we see the girls gossiping, chattering and dressing up. The camera finally focused on to Carrie who was showering. This scene is very sensitive, sensual, emotive only made possible by the synergy of music and cinemotgraphy establishing Carrie as a sweet and innocent girl whom we should sympathize. As she showers, blood flows down down her feet and shocked as she had never had period, or known, menstruation before. It is a premonition of things to come. It is the cinematography (the lighting and lenses) and the music which are the key elements that made Carrie such an effective film that it is thanks to Brian De Palma's direction. In particular, the music is used to build up and accumulate the tension especially before and during the infamous prom scene. I, being a film buff, I could see Brian De Palma took pages from film making textbooks by emulating German Expressionist movies for lighting to create horror and Citizen Kane and 2001: A Sace Oddysey for using music as an alternative to tell the story.
The cast in the movie is excellent and they all have great played their roles really well. Of course the star of the show is Sissy Spacek and she balanced her role well by not being a typical vulnerable, damsel-in- distress and yet you will feel truly sympathetic towards her. As one reviewer said, she did not need to cry for you to feel sorry for her. The mother, played by Piper Laurie is a class A religious lunatic whom you would feel absolute contempt for abusing her own daughter. Similarly, Carrie's peers abuses her and you would feel so angry that you would want to take a dig at their faces with your fist. Now, if the above emotions are what most people felt, it means the cast have been really good with their role. As a matter of fact Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie were nominated for their roles.
Before concluding the review, I would like to offer some analysis of the movie to tie the review with my summary. The film Carrie is indeed a coming-of-age story but not your standard one. It is not even a standard horror film which may put off some people expecting jump scares and monsters. No it is far more mature and smart. It is a deeply, deeply, deeply metaphorical tale of cynicism and the world. Carrie is growing up and she is not prepared for the real world. She is your typical teenager (not considering the telekinesis) torn apart by pressure from the twisted idealism of her mother who do not teach her properly about the world and from the cruelty of her school colleagues. Only her gym teacher Miss Collins and Sue Snell showed genuine care.
Overall, the I love Carrie and it has universal themes and message very relatable to all of us who went through the troubling teenage years and to those still in their teens. I don't see any bad points other than it is not a conventional horror which some people complained. Nevertheless, Carrie is a memorable and a classic horror film.