"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

Rating: 8/10 (8 February 2014)

Brian De Palma's adaptation of Stephen King's first novel is one of the director's best films, if not THE best. The story, which everyone reading this probably already knows, is about a teenage girl named Carrie White who is tormented at school by bullies and at home by her religious nut mother. Carrie has telekinetic powers which are unleashed after a horrible prom night prank. Both Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie deservedly received Oscar nominations. Neither won but that was the year of Network so that's not surprising. They both give memorable performances that are highlights of their respective careers. Nancy Allen and John Travolta are both excellent villains. Pino Donaggio's score deserves praise. Enough good things can't be said about De Palma's stylish direction. De Palma digs into his bag of tricks -- long tracking shots, split-screen, slow motion, etc. Most of the techniques that are associated with the director from his more popular films. I'm not a big fan of the man but as a director he entertains me, more often than not. Definitely a great film. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and check it out. But please watch it before you watch any of the remakes, sequels, or variations that have been made over the years. There's nothing worse than when a great film is diminished to a newer audience because they saw the pale imitators that came after before they saw the original.