CARRIE (1976)

Since the second remake just hit the theaters, I figured it's time to review the original classic of...



A teenage misfit named Carrie (Sissy Spacek) gets picked on, bullied and teased at school; and at home, she is abused by her religious Mother (Piper Laurie). Feeling bad for Carrie, a student named Sue (Amy Irving) has her boyfriend take Carrie to the prom so she can open up and socialize. However, a bully named Chris (Nancy Allen) has a prank for her at the prom. However, Carrie finds out that she has telekinesis powers and she can use them against her abusive Mother and the bullies.

Our main character Carrie, well, I don't know if this will shock you or anything, but I never saw her as a monster nor do I see this film as much as a horror either. Don't get me wrong, she does become monstrous at the end and the film does have horror elements, however, even with all that stuff going on, I can't help but feel sympathy for her. In the first half of the movie, in almost every scene she's in, she's being bullied, abused and she's so innocent and helpless that you just can't help but feel sorry for her, as well as feeling what she's feeling. Sissy Spacek is incredible, NO, perfect, NOT EVEN CLOSE, she IS Carrie! Her performance doesn't feel exaggerated, it's not over the top, it all feels natural and realistic. When she's sad, you feel her sadness and emotion; when she's happy, you feel her enjoyment and happiness; when she's scary, she's horrifying, while at the same time we're enjoying her revenge, but then feeling guilty about it later, just like the character herself. Carrie is one of those characters where I feel nothing, but sadness and pity and Sissy Spacek is the only one who can ace this role.



The supporting cast and characters are all great! Amy Irving as our second main character (In my opinion) Sue may not show up much, say much, or do much, but she is the films observer and I love how she goes from being a bully to a person who feels sorry for Carrie. Her boyfriend Tommy played by William Katt (Who was close to playing Luke Skywalker) is just as likable as our second main character Sue because while not liking the idea of taking Carrie to the prom at first, he later on becomes a gentleman and I guess a sort of a Prince Charming to Carrie; and the two actually share a great chemistry together. There's also the Gym teacher Miss Collins played by Betty Buckley and not only is she just as lovable or likable as Sue and Tommy, but she also serves as a true Mother figure to Carrie and their relationship is so sweet that it brings a tear to my eye. The bully Chris is so mean and so hateful that you just want to smack her or hope that Carrie will do something evil to her, she's really what I call a real brat. The character I get a lot of fun out of is John Travolta  as Chris's boyfriend Billy. Every time I see him, I get a kick out of him and enjoy every time he's on screen. I even love when we first meet him as he's cruising around (Which by the way reminds me of "American Graffiti"). The best supporting character and second best performance in the film is Piper Laurie as Carrie's crazy religious Mom. Every scene she's in she comes off as unsettling and creepy. In fact, she's more scary than our main lead because she's a lunatic! In fact, whenever she abuses Carrie, she makes our main character so innocent that none of us would suspect that she would be scary.  My question to you is, who is the film's monster?



The scary stuff in the film is all memorable and really sticks to you. However, none of that stuff doesn't happen until the Prom sequence, and to be honest, it's a really scary and cool sequence. The lighting is eerie; the special effects are cool; the deaths are brutal; Carrie's facial expressions are scary; the cinematography and its use of split screens is creative; and the music is dark. Speaking of music, the music score and soundtrack really give the film, it's sadness, fun and horrifying feel to it. It's really a great score! There's also that shock scare in the ending which may look tamed now, but at the time, it was really shocking.

The film can be seen as both a horror and a tragedy, but for me, no matter how many times I watch it, I will always feel the films sadness. As for the remake, well, I don't know how it's going to top the powerful acting, sadness, and horror. Carrie is one of the best film adaptations to a Stephen King story and it is also its first.

RATING 5/5