Classic

Rating: Null/10 (25 June 2008)

Carrie (1976)
**** (out of 4)
Stephen King's bestseller turns into one of the best horror films of the decade even though the horror elements don't show up until the final ten minutes. The film tells the story of a shy and abused teenager, Carrie White (Sissy Spacek), who gets invited to the prom by a popular guy (William Katt) but this here might just be another mean joke. Horror fans usually love this movie but I think the film is a lot more than just your typical horror movie. Director DePalma does a masterful job at handling everything that happens in this movie because for the majority of the running time it's a character study of an abused girl who wants to break free from her shell and live a normal life, which isn't possible do to her crazy mother (Piper Laurie) and the abuse from her classmats. When the prom scene finally comes up DePalma delivers one of the most beautiful sequences of the era when Carrie and Tommy Ross are dancing on the floor. The way the camera swirls around them, the faster and faster pace, you know something bad is going to happen but while this scene lasts it's very well handled. All of the religious elements that are floating through the film are quite eerie and unsettling and the stuff with Laurie are at times hard to watch because of the abuse thrown at Carrie. Another strong aspect here are all of the performances, which are great and we get a lot of memorable characters. Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, P.J. Soles, John Travolta and Katt are all wonderful and the film really wouldn't have been as great had any of these actors had false notes in their performances. As I mentioned earlier, Laurie is downright creepy in her role but the entire film belongs to Spacek. We've all know people like Carrie White and the way Spacek captures her shyness and the body gestures she uses is right on the mark. Do to how many changes Carrie goes through, this was a very demanding role on Spacek but she never misses a beat. The teenage drama stuff all works perfectly and that's why the ending, when it turns into a horror film, is so disturbing. We see the pain going through Carrie and we want her to find happiness and when she finally does there's a certain peace that comes over the viewer. This leads to the wonderful dance sequence at the prom but then the joke is played and all hell breaks loose. The way DePalma handles all of this and makes it work so well just shows what an amazing talent he is.