"They're all gonna laugh at you!"

Rating: 9/10 (20 May 2016)

There's one thing I specifically like about certain horror films, and that is those that contain the horror elements, yet have a story that allows you to feel a great deal of emotion for a main or secondary character, depending on the focus of the plot. When Stephen King wrote his first novel, Carrie, it was shocking as well as emotionally heart-stopping. Brian De Palma's film, following soon after, is groundbreaking and intense, and captures the horror of the character's actions as well as the horror of her secluded and alienated school and home life. Sissy Spacek was brought to the project to play the title character, and does a top-notch job. She is the perfect "ugly-duckling" type for the role, and she is able to play out all of the emotion and terror that Carrie experiences throughout the novel. Amy Irving is does a credible job as Sue Snell, and her performance makes us believe that Sue really does feel sorry for what she has done to Carrie. The rest of the ensemble makes the movie believable, and never is there a moment where you will question the authenticity of a performance.
The film is unflinching in its portrayal of female jealousy and sublimated sexual rage. The appearance of Carrie's powers coincides with her first period, i.e. the onset of sexual maturity. The following events are all about sexual attraction and jealousy, following Carrie's emergence as a woman, the dynamics of the other girls at school and their sexual/romantic intrigues, and the White family's bizarre sexual mores. The drama with the girls at school is all about dates and sex and going to the prom. Carrie's sympathetic gym teacher tries to get her to wear makeup and pay more attention to her hair. Meanwhile, Carrie's mother equates her menstruation with acceptance of sin, and later refers to her breasts as "dirty pillows." Once you start to look at it this way, you'll be surprised at the number of incidents and bits of dialogue that relate to this theme, and how carefully focused the entire screenplay is. The other amazing thing is DePalma's direction. The sequence beginning with the announcement of Carrie as Prom Queen is a masterpiece of building tension, notice the music and editing as the sequence gathers speed, culminating with the spilling of the blood. You will also notice that this entire sequence is dialogue-free. It is so tight, audacious and over-the-top that you have to admire it.
Overall rating: 9 out of 10.