Carrie (1976)

It's neither scary nor suspenseful at all.

It's neither scary nor suspenseful at all. The acting is stiff. The movie is boring. There are only 2 scenes with good special effects. The last one is where the truck was wrapped around a pole. The whole film looks more like a TV show.

So far, my only favorite movie adapted from Stephen King's novel is The Mist (2008) November 29, 2008

Slow dancing with the devil...

Stephen King is known as the `king' of horror, and `Carrie' is the story that made him famous. In fact, it was after the massive reception that `Carrie' received as a mass market paperback novel that King was able to quit his day job; literally. The film adaptation also received major critical buzz and reception, nabbing Oscar nominations for Spacek and co-star Laurie as well as a few other awards (Spacek won the NSFC award for her performance). All the praise and admiration is deserved, definitely, for `Carrie' is one of Kings grandest stories, and Brian De Palma delivers masterfully with his big screen adaptation, capturing the very essence of King with each frightfully delicious frame.

The film, and the novel, tell a story as old as time; that of a young outcast pushed too far by too many people. Kind of like the `pre-columbine' school angst story, this film places young Carrie White in the hot seat. Carrie is a social outcast, shunned by her peers, teased by the other schoolgirls and sheltered by her religious fanatic mother. On top of that Carrie has just recently realized that she can move things with her mind.

After a school teasing goes too far Carrie finds herself being asked to the prom by popular kid Tommy. His girlfriend Sue asked him to escort Carrie to prom since she felt bad about the way the other girls were treating her. Little does Sue or Tommy know but a few of the other kids are planning something tragically dastardly for prom night, but they will soon wish they had not crossed that line.

Brian De Palma truly utilizes his surroundings in order to create a horrific film, one that is chilling and disturbing and utterly mesmerizing. The film sounds like a horror movie, it looks like a horror movie; it nearly smells like a horror movie. Every fixture, every article of clothing, every shriek of the musical score; everything breathes horror into each passing frame. Add to that some brilliantly crafted performances that understand and embellish the whole idea behind the film and you have a superbly orchestrated horror film.

Sissy Spacek is otherworldly as Carrie. I'm reminded of Geena Davis in `The Fly', for Spacek just looks alienesque as Carrie. Her eyes seem to bulge right out of her skull; her skin seems to grab tightly to her bones; her voice seems to barely escape her lips. Spacek captures the supernatural elements of her character masterfully, creating something much richer than a mere tortured youth. She understands that, while her character is supposed to represent the entertain struggles of modern-day adolescence, she is also supposed to also capture something unnatural within her character, and she does that magically. Piper Laurie also manages to come alive in every frame as Carrie's insanely fanatic mother Margaret. A true stab in the heart of religion, King created a character straight out of our nightmares, a mother whose idealistic values are far beyond those a rational parent.

The rest of the supporting players all do their best to elevate the film, Travolta falling behind a tad (but he's rarely impressive). De Palma, Specek and Laurie are truly the most deserving of praise for this film lies on their very sturdy shoulders.

As far as horror movies go, `Carrie' is top notch. De Palma's camera work is astonishtingly good, reaching into every corner and dragging out the chills and surprisingly emotional validity. It is not very often that a film in this genre is able to tackle the subjects of abuse, acceptance, vengeance and religion with such poise and passion. This is a good film; period. The fact that it is a horror film is merely a bonus November 4, 2008

***One of the BEST***HORROR***Films of ALL TIME!

The CARRIE (SPECIAL EDITION) DVD is fantastic. Not only do you get a remastered version of Brian De Palma's masterpiece of horror, "Carrie," but you get some good extras!

The 1976 film was De Palma's adaptation of Stephen King's first novel, Carrie. And was executed perfectly! From casting to the sublime use of split screen to the use of sound to the soundtrack itself, CARRIE is a horror tour de force that keeps audiences in the grip of fear.

If you haven't seen the movie or read the book it's about a shy and timid high school girl who has the power to move objects with her mind. She's picked on by the other girls, and her mother is a religious fanatic who beats her and makes her pray in a closet. Anyway, Carrie is the butt of jokes and one student feels sorry for her and gets Carrie a date to the prom. But a couple of students want to play a nasty trick on her and Carrie unleashes her rage on the entire student body!

I remember seeing the movie poster everywhere during the 70s, when I was a kid, and being absolutely horrified at the image of actress Sissy Spacek covered in blood. The stark whiteness of her skin and the red blood made a contrast that spooked the hell out of me. And she's the perfect actress to play the role. If ever there was perfect casting this was it. And so was Nancy Allen, as the popular mean girl in school; Amy Irving, as the sympathetic student; William Katt, as Irving's boyfriend and Carrie's date. Piper Laurie was brilliant as Carrie's demented mother and John Travolta was cute as Allen's bad-boy boyfriend.

Anyway, the DVD comes with an insert booklet that provides trivia info on the filming, casting and behind-the-scenes of "Carrie." Also, the DVD has:

***ACTING CARRIE--Documentary with Spacek, Irving, Allen, Katt and Buckley among others (43-minutes)

***VISUALIZING CARRIE--Documentary with Brian De Palma explaining the film and special effects of "Carrie" with footage and still from the filming (40-minutes)

***CARRIE THE MUSICAL--Featurette about the musical (yes a musical!) based on the movie with Betty Buckley (6-minutes)

***PHOTO GALLERY--Pics from the film (6-minutes)

***STEPHEN KING & THE EVOLUTION OF CARRIE--Text that you can read on the screen about the creation of "Carrie" from idea to book to movie

***ORIGINAL TRAILER

And the DVD menu design is great too! I LOVE this movie. Not only does it work as a scary film, but it's like an onion that has many layers to it. The more you watch it the more you start uncovering things that you missed the first time around. BRILLIANT! I would love to see this on the BIG screen! October 6, 2008

One of the genre's best!

Steven King's novel depicting the trials of a bullied girl blossoming into womanhood while being victimized by a deranged mother is a masterpiece.

At school, the misfit Carrie White is friendless. Her feminine beauty is invisible to her classmates, who view only her inability to meet the standards of adolescent society. At home, the harassment tears her soul apart. Her mother is a deluded, man-hating and sexually repressed sociopath who unleashes her repressed sexuality by sadistically inflicting punishment on her blossoming daughter in the name of "Jesus."

When Carrie, ignorant of the facts of life, experiences the onset of her period at school, the scene is set for the perfect storm in horror movie history. Carrie believes that she is dying. Her classmates, like the pack of animals that they are, sense blood and go on the attack. At home, it becomes yet another means for the sadist to humiliate her prey. The school is ultimately clueless as to how to address the issue, thereby providing the perfect battlefield for the Armageddon to come.

Carrie is emotionally powerful horror film, an outstanding metaphor for the trauma of adolescent change, and no other film matches it's perfection. September 23, 2008

Another Hard-Core Classic!!!

This movie is very creepy. A teenaged girl named Carrie White is always being picked on and made fun by the sexy teenaged girls. (Her psycho God-crazed mom doesn't help.) The girls even threw towels at her while she was crying and having her period. When the gym teacher; Miss Collins sees this happening, she forbids them to go to the prom. Sue Snell, who was throwing towels felt bad and told her boyfriend, Tommy Ross to take Carrie to the prom. Chris Hargensen, one of the girls who hates Carrie plans a terrible revenge that involves pig's blood and asks her boyfriend Billy Nolan to help her. Prom night; Carrie and Tommy are having a wonderful time and (for some reason) win prom King and Queen. After they celebrate, the blood is dropped on Carrie, and the bucket drops on Tommy's head and kills him. Soon, everybody laughs. What Chris and Billy didn't know was that Carrie had telekinesis and uses her powers to kill just about everyone in the gym. Later, Carrie's mom tries to kill her, but Carrie kills her mom and their house falls in and kills Carrie also. The very end with Sue putting the flowers on Carrie's grave and a bloody hand pops up is awesome. Hell, the whole movie is awesome. I would love to take Carrie to the prom. If you love horror, revenge, and proms, you'll love CARRIE!!! September 9, 2008

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