148 of 1001 Movies: Carrie (1976)

After reading the book, and before the next movie comes out, I figured it would be a good idea to check out the movie, Carrie. I think I got my hopes up just a tad as far as what to expect from the horror though, which is a tad disappointing. Sissy Spacek brings her A game though, and some of the scene are eerie, but the lack of character development and some of the weaker actors take away from what could have been a much more terrifying experience. Also, I really was wanting the town destroyed! What happened to that?

Summary: Carrie has always been the oddball at school. Her mother can be mostly blamed for that though, since her overbearing zealot ways are quite terrifying and oppressive to the growth and maturity of her daughter. When she gets her period though after gym one day things get really awkward as she freaks out not knowing what is happening, and the other girls take that advantage to tease her. With puberty though comes more power as Carrie finds. One girl wants to make it up to Carrie though, and she gets an invite to prom, but sadly for Carrie trouble follows her, and her power is about to explode at an all time high.


Acting: Sissy Spacek is the lead as Carrie, and I think anyone who plays Carrie is just going to have a difficult time following suit. Spacek in whatever roles she plays has something about her that allures you, but also makes you uneasy a bit.  One role that is over hyped for attention is John Travolta as Billy. He really doesn't have a huge part, and if the movie maybe had ran longer maybe they could have tied in his character more. William Katt actually does a good job with Tommy though in quickly establishing his reluctant but changing feelings toward Carrie though. There are some people in the movie though who highly detract from the acting, and scary vibe of the movie including Piper Laurie as the mother, Margaret. She tries to be eerie, and in return it comes off not scary.

Filming: There are some spooky moments, and places where tension is built well. Of course, there are some slips as as well from Brian De Palma like when he does a voice over moment from Margaret to convey the frantic voices in Carrie's head. It comes off a little bit more comical than it should. I think one thing about Carrie though is that it has a hard time fitting in with early horror movies. Most horror movies seem to not take themselves seriously, and that is what made them better than most modern horror movies, but Carrie seems to never decide how seriously it will take itself.

Plot:  It's a very sad story at the core of a girl who wants to fit in somewhere. She really wants her mom's love, but the zealot attitude she has makes her mom incapable of ever being sane enough to love her daughter. She also wants a boyfriend, and real high school friends. Her oddities though will be difficult to breakthrough and get someone to understand though. In all honesty, it's just a hopeless situation, further complicated by the out of control powers she has.

Carrie has some good thrills and the special effects aren't too bad. With some bad side actors though it does take away from the horror. There definitely is nothing to be scared about when approaching the movie. For readers of the book you'll be disappointed about some major changes that really did add to the horror. While the arrangement of things did place things well for a grander ending, it needed some more time to build up to what was really horrifying about Carrie in the first place, but instead the director spends too much time trying to get pity for her. Also, one last thing the girl shower scenes at the beginning are just ridiculous!

Rating 6 of 10.