A masterpiece of teen horror!

Rating: 10/10 (6 March 2007)

It's the same in most schools. Girl or boy gets bullied for being different. Shy, strange, unusual, etc. Stephen King wrote a book about such a situation and they turned it into one of the best horror films in recent history.
'Carrie' is one of my favourite films, for many reasons. It's funny, it's sharp, it's scary, and it's tragic, all at the same time. Sissy Spacek gives a stunning performance as the tortured and bullied Carrie White, living with her religious fanatic mother and suffering the trauma of her first period at seventeen years of age. What should be an exciting time for her is one of misery and bitterness because her own mother didn't think to tell her about the female cycle-and when to her horror she finally began it in the school locker rooms, she was subjected to laughter and humiliation from the other girls, who resorted to throwing tampons and sanitary towels at her. However, actions can have consequences, and I've never enjoyed watching a film so much before. I read the book before I saw the film, and I wasn't disappointed. Brian De Palma was faithful to King's story, and cast wonderful actors to play these important parts, and they were all important to the plot, whether big or small. That's what was so wonderful about 'Carrie'.
Spacek fully deserved her Oscar nomination for this performance. She was 27 years old when she played a 17 year old Carrie, and she pulled off the lost and alone little girl to perfection, and completely surpassed herself when Carrie finally snapped at the end. Her pairing with Piper Laurie as Margaret White was dynamic, one of the most interesting screen matches ever, and the two actresses conveyed the volatile mother-daughter relationship perfectly. Carrie didn't understand why her mother thought that everything, including periods, dating and sex was a sin, and thought that maybe by mixing with the other students properly, she could fit in and be treated like everyone else. Even when she realised the extent of her powers, all she wanted to do was not have to use them and be like other people. Her need for normal life and her craving for her mother's affection was heartrending, poignant and brilliantly conveyed by Spacek.
I loved Amy Irving's performance as the remorseful Sue, one of the popular girls who feels so sorry for Carrie and guilty for the locker room incident that she asks her own boyfriend to take Carrie to the prom. Of course, anyone who has seen this movie will know that things don't go quite according to plan at the prom, thanks to the evil plotting of biggest school bully and glamour princess Chris Hargenson (a great performance from Nancy Allen) and her deadbeat boyfriend Billy (hilariously played by John Travolta). I don't want to completely give away the ending if you haven't seen this movie but I can tell you it's shocking, dramatic and incredibly moving.
Naturally, compared to horror films made nowadays Carrie is extremely dated and didn't have the same kind of effects they can use now, but the effects that were used in this film (including the sound effects) were terrifying and realistic, and made you realise that anyone with those kind of powers can be capable of anything when driven to the edge. Fantastic script, wonderful acting, brilliant direction. 'Carrie' is a ten out of ten.