Unsurprising but sensational thriller

Rating: 7/10 (17 April 2016)

Even if you have never read Stephen King's book or seen any of the sequels / remakes, "Carrie" holds few surprises. Basically, if you've seen the 3-minute trailer, you've seen most of the film. Even if you don't see the trailer, the movie itself telegraphs early on approximately what is going to happen. But the movie is still worth seeing, primarily for three reasons: Brian De Palma's direction (he is a genius with the camera), and the performances of Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie (Amy Irving is also terrific in one of her earliest roles): Spacek should have won the Oscar for her extraordinary, sensitive, chameleonic, scary interpretation, and Laurie makes one of the most terrifying villains in movie history - maybe because she is so single-minded and devoted to her "cause". There are some inexplicably poor scenes (those with John Travolta and Nancy Allen - a far cry from their work in De Palma's later "Blow Out"), but the prom climax is worth the wait, the confrontation between Carrie and her mother is unnerving, and the shock ending is effective. *** out of 4.