Where is Carrie White now?

Rating: 10/10 (26 December 2006)

Carrie White (Oscar-nominated Sissy Spacek) is about the shiest, mousiest girl ever portrayed on film.
I'm a guy, and never have I really felt such sympathies for a nerd-girl, especially one who seemed genuine. Hence, "Carrie" looks and feels less a horror movie and more a teen-drama. Style filmmaker Brian De Palma directs "Carrie," an adaptation of the Stephen King novel (King's first work to be adapted into a movie), and thus one of the scariest movies of the genre.
As Carrie White, Spacek seems a natural. Our feelings for her are genuine, especially since as the film opens, she has her first period while in the girl's locker room and panics at the sight of her own blood. Because her mother (Piper Laurie) has burdened her down with a whole bunch of religious nonsense, Carrie just has no idea about how to react to a natural bodily function.
The incident also brings about something else in Carrie: she realizes that she has psychic powers, which she then uses against her tormentors, including her mother and classmates Chris (Nancy Allen) and Norma (P.J. Soles), and Chris's boyfriend Billy (John Travolta). It all boils down to a blood-drenched, special effects-laden climax at the school prom.
There are others who care for Carrie: a fellow classmate named Sue (Amy Irving), her friend Tommy Ross (golden boy William Katt), and a sympathetic gym teacher (Betty Buckley). But the constant torment of her enemies leaves Carrie no choice but to do the unthinkable on a night where everybody is supposed to be happy.
"Carrie" was made before the slasher madness of "Halloween" (1978), its sequels, and the many knock-offs. So in this sense, "Carrie" seems to be a stand-alone picture. As stated earlier, the bloodbath at the end is so unexpected in a movie that was building up into a touching teen story. Such effects-laden sequences come as a surprise and are indeed frightening to watch.
Spacek is wonderful, generating the emotional depth required for her character. Since she just celebrated her 57th birthday yesterday, why not give "Carrie" another chance in some other media format to mark its 30th anniversary? I've read that Stephen King doesn't particularly care for the movie adaptation of his first hit; I find it hard to believe he's truly upset with the finished product. But "Carrie" is a true classic of the genre, one of the first of the best.
10/10