Great old film

Rating: Null/10 (12 May 2015)

I finally found a copy of Carrie on DVD and watched it the other night after not seeing it for many years. I first saw it in the original theatrical release in 1976. I loved it then and loved it when I saw it again after at least 20 years. It has a great build up. From Carrie being teased to her wacko mother and the entire ending at the prom. From a surreal night of fantasy for Carrie to the absolute horror of the ending. What's great about this movie is the actors were believable as teenagers even though most were several years past high school age. If you watch later interviews with cast members it's amazing to hear from them how little they knew about the actual movie they were making. Piper Laurie, as the wacko mother, read the script and thought they were making a dark comedy, and so played the part over the top - at the delight of the director. Nancy Allen stated she thought her and John Travolta were the comedic foils in the movie and didn't realize they were the sinister bad guys until she saw the entire movie. Sissy Spacek, then an unknown, was perfectly cast in the lead role as the troubled and bullied and very naive Carrie White. The very ending is also classic in the scene where Sue Snell arrives at the charred lot where Carrie's house once stood to place flowers at a 'for sale' sign in the shape of a cross. I still remember the audience screaming and my girlfriend nearly ripping my arm of the socket when the arm reached out from the earth. Great film.