the horror of menstruation

Rating: 7/10 (16 January 2005)

A sheltered teenage girl is viciously taunted by her classmates and abused by her religious fanatic mother. With the onset of menarche, she realizes that she has telekinetic powers. Like many horror films in the 70s, this one moves at a slow pace and culminates in a shocking horrifying extravaganza.
Carrie was a personal favorite of mine when I was a teenager. Watching it as an adult, I look back on it fondly, but it isn't as exceptional as I once thought it was. I suppose I identified with Carrie and saw her as a sort of an icon. Now I am able to see beyond that and pick-up on other themes of the movie that are simultaneously frustrating (considering the film is both written and directed by men) and intriguing. Most significantly, Carrie's special powers are associated with her first menstruation, and "becoming a woman." Her mother treats Carrie's first period as evil--Eve's first sin is also Carrie's sin and she needs to repent for the rest of her life. Carrie ignores this at first, but ultimately believes that her mother (who we find is a "woman scorned") is right, as illustrated by the notorious pigs' blood scene. This is a much more complex theme than I initially realized, and it could be read as either slightly feminist or slightly misogynist, depending on how you interpret it.
On to the performances. It is hard to believe the lead actresses were nominated for Oscars for their roles. Piper Laurie terribly overacts (apparently she thought the film would be a comedy, so this is likely De Palma's fault) and Sissy Spacek's performance makes Carrie seem more "special" than sheltered and abused. The movie does feature some incredible and innovative camera shots that are always fun to watch. I still enjoy Carrie, but not as much as I did when I was a mad-as-hell teenager. My Rating: 7/10