A terrific De Palma thriller that is still one of the most satisfying Stephen King adaptations.

Rating: Null/10 (20 January 2004)

Brian De Palma is unfairly dismissed by many people as "the Hitchcock guy", something which ignores the variety of his output from the zany rock musical 'Phantom Of The Paradise' to the flamboyant gangster classic 'Scarface'. 'Carrie' has a few Hitchcock touches to be sure (mainly in the score which mimics 'Psycho'), but nowhere near as much as 'Sisters' or 'Dressed To Kill'. In several sequences I was more reminded of Dario Argento, but 'Carrie' has a stronger narrative than most of Argento's work. One thing that struck me on re-watching this (for the umpteenth time) is that like Argento, De Palma is often regarded as a cold director more interested in visuals and fancy shots than acting, but the main thing that makes 'Carrie' work is the terrific performance he managed to coax out of Sissy Spacek. Spacek had already given an impressive turn in 'Badlands' a few years earlier but this role is what really launched her career. It also did a lot of good for Stephen King! I would say that 'Carrie' ties with Kubrick's 'The Shining' and Cronenberg's 'The Dead Zone' as the most satisfying King adaptations to date. While Spacek all but steals the movie Piper Laurie is also very good as Carrie's fanatical Mom, in an over the top performance which for me really works. The cast is full of young actors many unknowns who went on to greater success, like Travolta and Nancy Allen (interestingly enough later teamed up by De Palma in his underrated 'Blow Out'), Amy Irving and P.J. Soles, who appeared in another influential 70s horror classic 'Halloween' not long after this. I also enjoyed seeing the great character actor Sydney Lassick in a supporting role as a sarcastic teacher. Lassick played Charlie Cheswick in 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' and I always get a kick out of seeing him on screen. (Sadly he died last year with little fanfare). De Palma is still one of the most underrated "name" Hollywood directors. His movies have been pretty disappointing for the last ten years or so, but when he was good he was REALLY good, and 'Carrie' is testament to that.