More of a Good Drama Than of A Horror/Thriller

Rating: 7/10 (24 March 2005)

When I first saw "Carrie", I expected to watch a different type of film. By having read the plot outline and some reviews, I had prepared myself to watch a thriller. Yet, I discovered that "Carrie", although it contains typical horror/thriller elements (such as frightening scenes, at least for the '70s standards), is actually is a drama; a good drama, in fact.
The story revolves around an introvert and shy girl, Carrie (Spacek), who faces the sarcasm and teasing of her schoolmates. Moreover, the poor girl cannot even find peace at home, as she has a tyrannic mother (Laurie) who is obsessed with religion at the border of madness. When Carrie gets invited at the school prom by a charming boy, things for the first time seem to be going well for her. Yet, everything gets spoiled, as the arch-brat of the school, Chris (Allen), decides to play a very dirty and humiliating trick to her. Carrie, who has telekinetic powers, but who until this point has not actually used them on purpose, goes berserk, and things start to really go wild from here...
Brian de Palma does a good job in focusing on the hardships that poor Carrie endures, and how these affect her personality. I found the first scene (where Carrie has her period and gets ridiculed by the other girls) especially disturbing, as it shows vividly how her environment treats her in the most inhuman and mean way. As a matter of fact, I believe that the point of the film has been to primarily portray the multiple psychological traumas that Carrie faces, rather than focus on her telekinetic abilities or her revenge. And this is actually the strongest point of the film: One cannot help but be deeply touched by the outstanding performance of Sissy Spacek, whom we watch going through her cruel ordeal.
The other performances range from good (Buckley) to average (Allen, Travolta, Irving). Finally, Piper Laurie is very good as the evil mother.
All in all, 7/10.