Recommended

Rating: 6/10 (27 October 2017)

'CARRIE' - 1976
Directed by Brian De Palma{The Wedding Party; Singers}
Starring Sissy Spacek{Prime Cut; Badlands}, Piper Laurie{The Hustler; Son of Ali Baba} and Nancy Allen{The Last Detail; Forced Entry}
Plot Overview: Carrie(Sissy Spacek{ is a young girl, in highschool, who is bullied for being different and every night must go home to her abusive, religious mother. After Carrie receives her first period, in the middle of school, her bullying becomes more frequent, all the way until she is about to burst.
Before I watched this movie, I made sure to read King's novel. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. So I went into this movie rather excited about the possibilities. And after watching it; it was fine. Yeah. It was alright. I liked some changes, disliked others. I wouldn't gloat about it being a masterpiece but I certainly wouldn't dismiss it as awful. It's a fine movie. That's the best way I can sum it up.
What are the movie's main positives? Sissy Spacek as Carrie was a phenomenal performance. In a disturbing way, I bought into her being a depressed, troubled, poor, tortured soul, and constantly felt sorry for her in all the barbaric abuse she had to put up with. It was a performance that could have certainly won an Oscar; it was that good.
Another excellent performance would be Piper Laurie as Carrie's mum. THIS was a genuinely terrifying performance. I don't like religious nut jobs at the best of times so one of them having complete power and control and dominion over me is scary enough. Add Laurie's twisted and demonic performance as the literal embodiment of Satan, and you've got a fantastic, chilling and memorable performance that could also have EASILY won the Oscar.
Most of the remainder of the acting(except one person) was pretty good. Nancy Allen was great as the sadistic and cruel Chris. Amy Irving succeeded in her limited screen time at portraying the remorseful and sorrowful Sue. William Katt was also good as the cheerful and helpful Tommy Ross. With the exception of one person, no one did a genuinely poor performance in this movie, for me at least.
Another massive praise I can give the movie is the remarkably unsettling way it is shot and edited together. De Palma's remarkable skills made moments in this movie chill me to the bone. I was constantly uneasy and on the edge of my seat, and De Palma masterfully drums up atmosphere and suspense until we reach the climax. Pino Donaggio's excellent score also helps in this brilliant creation of suspense and makes the movie constantly put me on edge.
I love the original Stephen King story and therefore the aspects that do carry over are excellent and horrifying to behold. They do, however, make quite a number of changes. One of these changes, I absolutely loved. I won't spoil it but it was a genuinely creepy and horrifying moment of the film. It legitimately sent goosebumps and shivers down my spine. That is the only change I liked however, which I will now elaborate on.
Obviously books cannot be translated to film word for word, and things either need to be altered, removed or condensed to make it a pleasant viewing experience. But the sheer amount of the third act that they condensed down made it annoying to watch. I was looking forward to seeing certain scenes and moments but they either cut it out COMPLETELY or edited it drastically. One of them was a specific way in which something happens to a major character. They COMPLETELY change how this happens to them and I really, really disliked that. The movie would have been fine at 2 hours, if they let the third act flourish like it was supposed to.
And now for that actor who I mentioned before. John 'The Madman' Travolta. I have no issues with this man. Is he mentally unstable? Yes! Does this benefit his roles? Of course! Is he at least a fun actor? Definitely! I don't have issues with the man as an actor but there was something about him in this movie that I just REALLY did not like. He just wasn't that good in the movie. The character he plays was a very interesting one in the novel. I was pleased with how much of the character remained but not with how they portrayed him. I just think that Travolta was the wrong guy to cast in this role. He doesn't fit the role, in my honest opinion.
Overall, I do like this movie. It maintains chunks of the original story, each of which is a delight to see on screen. It contains a steady series of excellent performances, and it features a very uneasy atmosphere. But I detest how much they altered the third act. I feel a little bad for marking it down so much but I really think it shouldn't have been changed. The climax of King's novel was fantastic, this is just lazy and uninteresting. But as a whole I do recommend this movie. I'll rate this movie 6 'Disturbing Shower Scenes' out of 10!