CARRIE by DeWyNGaLe Rating: A
The other night, I made one of the biggest mistakes I have made relating to movies ever. I viewed The Rage: Carrie 2, without even seeing the original. My original rating for The Rage: Carrie 2 was an A-, but now after seeing this smart masterpiece, I give it a C+. The plot lines between the two films are very similar, but in Carrie, I felt for the character a lot more. Sissy Spacek plays Carrie, the high school outcast. Throughout the film, she is tortured because she is shy and not with the in crowd. Carrie has a very unique talent. She can move things with her mind. She researches the subject to see what is happening, and she learns she has telekinesis, the power to move things with your mind. Her mother, played by Piper Laurie, is convinced that the devil is in her, but Carrie knows the truth. Some of her tormentors include Sue Snell, played by Amy Irving, Billy Nolan, played by John Travolta, and Chris Hargenson, played by Nancy Allen. They feel no sympathy for Carrie at all. The teachers do not like Carrie either. They also make fun of her. There is one teacher though who does care about Carrie. Her name is Miss Collins, and she is played by Betty Buckley. She punishes those who torment Carrie, but in the end, even Miss Collins turns her back on Carrie.
Tommy Ross, played by William Katt, is one of the most popular boys in the school. He is asked by Sue to ask Carrie to the prom, to make Carrie feel better about herself. He asks, and Carrie declines. He keeps on asking Carrie though, and she finally gives in. Now, Carrie must go through her mother, Margaret, played by Piper Laurie, who thinks of going to the prom as a sin. Her mother thinks of almost everything as a sin. She is a very religious person, and therefore Carrie is not allowed to do much outside the house. When Margaret believes Carrie is acting up, she will put her in the closet and lock her in there. Her mother is just one more person who torments her. After demanding she is going to the prom, Carrie goes.
At the prom, no one can believe that Tommy Ross and Carrie are together. Carrie is actually enjoying herself for once in her life. After winning prom queen, Carrie thinks she has it made. Then, something terrible happens which destroys her night. The in-crowd has setup Carrie in an awful prank to make her feel horrible about herself. Nobody knows that Carrie has the power to shut them up from laughing at her withing seconds. They certainly do after she uses her telekinetic powers to get revenge on everyone at the prom, resulting in many deaths. The prom sequence was very effective and moving. Watching Carrie watch her other classmates die was very difficult. You could tell that she was very mad, but she was also upset with what she was doing to all of her fellow classmates. That night, she killed many innocent people, people who didn't even make fun of her. She did get her long awaited revenge though.
Sissy Spacek was so exquisite as the role of Carrie. She played the part where you felt feelings for Carrie, and almost just wanted to break down and cry when seeing her upset face. It is beyond me why Spacek did not win the Oscar for Best Actress in 1976, considering she gave one of the best performances I have ever witnessed in my movie-going. Piper Laurie, as Carrie's mother, was a very interesting role to watch. She played the part almost perfectly, creating the feel of a strong, religious person very well.
The in-crowd was played almost to perfection by the large cast, and although the characters were extremely repugnant, they were played very proficiently. Amy Irving as Sue Snell perhaps gave the best performance out of the crowd. The entire in-crowd were quite possibly some of the most frustrating characters I have ever come across in a movie. Carrie was such a nice, sweet girl, and they tortured her with all of their might.
The Bottom Line- Without a doubt, Carrie is one of the best horror films of our time.
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JeffG. Boston, MA
Date: 14 October 1999 Summary: Great movie!
Film adaptions of Stephen King books tend to be either really good or really bad. Thankfully, this movie falls into the former category. In fact, this could be the best King novel-turned film ever.
At first, this movie seems to be your typical high school film. We're introduced at once to Carrie (Sissy Spacek) and the hellish life that she lives. Everyone at school picks on her and make her life a living hell. As if that wasn't bad enough, she lives with her mother (Piper Laurie) who's a religious fanatic, thinks everything is a sin and regularly locks Carrie in the closet. You can't help but sympathise for her.
Unknown to everyone, however, Carrie has telekinetic powers. At first, her powers are really underplayed in the film. By the time the prom scene approaches though, they become more and more prominent. Carrie uses them against her mother while waiting for her prom date and then she uses them at the prom in a very destructive manner. The whole prom scene is both scary and sad. Sad because Carrie finally has her moment where it looks like she's finally been accepted only to have it all end in humiliation. And it's scary to see her powers come full circle in such a destructive and deadly manner. The scene where she slowly walks out of the gym as it burns is a really chilling moment.
While this is a scary movie that has earned its place as a horror classic, it's also a really sad movie as well. Carrie's life is miserable from the beginning right to the end. Watching Carrie kill all of her tormenters at the prom is every high school misfit's dream come true. Carrie has her revenge, but at what price?
"Carrie" is a classic horror film every horror fan should watch. It's well-directed with the right amount of atmosphere in just the right places and Spacek and Laurie are simply outstanding in their roles. Recommended!
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Lee-112 CA
Date: 19 September 1999 Summary: Never gets old
I love this movie so much. This is one of the few movies i've seen that never gets old. Great performances by all the cast. Especially by Piper Laurie, and Sissy Spacek. Betty Buckley is wonderful as always, and it's funny to see a young John Travolta in the mix.
Even though this film isn't scary, it's actually kind of sad, it still remains to be one of my favorite horror films. If you haven't seen this, then you should go out and rent it. It's a great film, with great actors, and one of the few movies that measure up to the books by Stephen King.
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Xanderus Toronto, Canada
Date: 17 September 1999 Summary: Simply a masterpiece!
One of the best movies I have ever seen! From the breathtaking pan across the girl's locker room to the infamous prom scene, this movie does not make one mistake. Skillfully crafted together by Brian DePalma, this movie catches you from the very beginning and never lets go, not even after the film has ended.
Everything works amazingly well together in this movie, the script, the directing, and the acting. Every single actor portrayed astonishly realistic characters, from Sissy Spacek to P.J. Soles, and Piper Laurie to Nancy Allen. Only a few times in cinematic history do so many amazing actors give their best to create the life-like feel of this movie. Though Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight were good in "Network", their performances did not deserve the Oscars as much as Sissy Spacek as the tortured teen, and Piper Laurie as the psychotic religious fanatic.
As you can see from above, this movie is astonishing, and requires MULTIPLE VIEWINGS, I'm talking at LEAST 10 times, so go and buy this movie right now and you will not be disappointed.
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troy-32 Chicago, Illinois
Date: 11 September 1999 Summary: Probably all-time favorite movie!
To me, "Carrie" is the most watchable movie of all-time. You can't take your eyes off it, it's so striking. Every aspect of the movie could not have worked out better. Brian DePalma found the perfect story to service his artistic inclinations, and the movie got more than it could have wished for in Sissy Spacek's exquisite performance. I don't know who deserves the most credit for this film, but I'm going to go with Sissy for a couple of reasons. First, she takes the film out of its horror realm and makes it something special. It is precisely because what you catch from her is almost presented on the side that you are so moved. The pathos is never overbearing; like the main character, it's rather humble - and all the more touching because of it. Second, Ms. Spacek is uncannily expressive. She displays everything in this movie without ever bringing unnecessary attention to herself. She moves you with her sadness and her predicament, of course, but what's also exciting to me is how much imagination Spacek uses when she's expressing different things... her sense of helplessness in gym class, her panic in the shower, her pleading with her mother, her first reaction to Tommy's initial invitation to the prom and her sad resolve when Miss Collins talks to her later... Ms. Spacek is never obviously sentimental, which could have been so easy to do. You can tell because Spacek is willing to have a really good time at the prom by letting her character be beautiful and feminine and then become ghoulish in her fed up-ness with all of the crap she's had to endure. Watch when the screen splits, and Carrie rolls her eyes to the side as if to see what's been going on that she's missing. Terrifying image. And all throughout the movie, DePalma wants us to have an incredible time, because he's obviously having an incredible time. So often movies are conceived of in terms of a genre, but I don't think "Carrie" is a straight horror film. It is suspenseful in that you can't wait to find out what's going to happen next, a quality that really takes off in Carrie's slow-motion walk to her humiliation, and there is, of course, that last great shocker. But, "Carrie" is also very, very funny. Maybe this comes from the director's need to be cruel to the people who inhabit Carrie's cruel world. Many characters in this movie are poised to be laughed at: they're certainly the funniest when they're the most vulnerable, and you laugh in spite of what's happening. The movie never corners you because it's so unconcerned with anything too specific, and you might actually laugh when something awful maybe happening at the same time. Of course, DePalma is very bold and stylish artistically which gives all of these wonderful elements a big shot. To me, this is another indication that, in "Carrie," everything came so easily to everyone involved precisely because it looks to have been an exciting, fun production: it doesn't look the least bit laborious, and it's that liberating sense at work that makes it art - when you're freewheeling. It's not just that "Carrie" does so many things, it's that the movie does all of these things with no strain. "Carrie" is a dazzling movie.
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Spalid Auckland
Date: 4 September 1999 Summary: scariest movie ever
I saw this on television in the early hours of the morning with the lights off. This is the scariest horror film i've ever seen, nothing tops it. Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie are both excellent. I could not sleep all night after watching this movie. If you want a good scare see this! this is what horror is all about.
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Jim Douglas (dougla57@pilot.msu.edu) Lansing, Michigan
Date: 28 August 1999 Summary: A masterpiece
First of all, for those of you that for some reason deny this as a horror movie, you are fools. It is a drama, yes. However, a movie doesn't have to have beginning-to-end violence to be considered a horror movie.
Secondly, there is a lot of complaining about this movie being boring. Those are probably the same people that liked Armageddon, and there is no way that those people can possibly be pleased.
If you haven't seen this movie, go out and rent it right now. It is that good. It don't believe I have ever cared so much about the characters and story. (Spoiler ahead) When Carrie receives the award at the dance and is standing under the bucket of lamb's blood, I noticed that my heart was actually beating faster. I am sometimes disappointed with my distance from movies - I didn't think Blair Witch Project was scary - but I my heart was actually pounding, a personal first.
I thought the most powerful and telling scene is when Carrie gets locked in the closet for the first time, after telling her mother about her first period. When she was on her knees crying because she didn't understand her period and her cold, heartless mother stood over her denouncing her, I thought that was as great an instance of acting and character development as any other in movie history.
Stephen King should be credited for his wonderful story. I personally think that King is overrated as a writer, (The superior quality of a few of his works are nullified by the large body of crap that he pens) but he wins with this one, and Brian De Palma, well, what can you say? His visual style (reminiscent of Hitchock, yes, but is Hitchcock the only one that can ever use certain filming techniques?) is elegant and suspenseful, and I am sure that very few, if any, others could have made a movie this good. (Kubrick comes to mind.)
In short, do what you can to own this movie.
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til-5 Brockton, MA
Date: 21 August 1999 Summary: If more Stephen King films were made this way, the world would be a better place
It's hard to figure out who's more disturbing in this movie. Carrie or her mother. If there was ever a doorway to Hell, it would begin with the front door to Carrie White's house. The one thing this movie taught me about horror movies is to never assume a movie is over until you see the actual credits scrolling across the screen. Also worth the watch for a Vinny Barbarino era John Travolta performance. Probably one of the top five King movies ever made.
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sez sarahharries@hotmail.com australia
Date: 20 August 1999 Summary: the best movie ever made
carrie was the best movie i have ever watched,i thought it was crap up until the end....when wow....well...let me just say.... if you havent seen it,your missing out... ive watched thousands of horror movied in my time and carrie was the scariest....
i loved it....i almost had a heart attack...
:) if anybody loves the movie just as i do...feel free to e-mail me - one word....WOW..:)
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Barnaby Marriott (barnabymarriott@yahoo.com) Brighton, England
Date: 2 August 1999 Summary: MUCH better than the novel!
Carrie is a masterpiece of 1970s horror cinema. The Oscar nominated performances from Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie are flawless, and Brian De Palma never directed a better movie. A real eye opener, too - not many mainstream films had included scenes involving menstruation (Spacek in the shower) or oral sex (Nancy Allen and John Travolta in the parked car). With the exception of hairstyles and clothing, this one has not dated badly either.
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anonymous New Brunswick, NJ
Date: 29 July 1999 Summary: horror? or social commentary...
The fact that Carrie has been pegged as a horror film is typical of numerous instances of Stephen King novels turned films. And, like many of those films, Carrie is not strictly a member of the horror genre. Although it does have many elements that one might associate with the typical seventies/eighties horror flicks, Carrie does much more. The fact that Carrie herself has telekinetic powers is almost irrelevant, except as a method by which one can disassociate the instances from "real life." The real purpose of Carrie is to illustrate the far-reaching effects that child abuse can have on a society in general. Far be it merely an issue that affects the child's life alone (although one might hesitate to describe this as "merely"), the perhaps exaggerated documentation of the events surrounding Carrie's prom are horrific because they are distinct possibilities when a given parent raises their child in an atmosphere such as existed in the White household. Extreme instances of religious overtones aside, the fact that Carrie's mother referred to her (essentially) as a mistake in the end is the final cause of the destruction of so many lives. Also, DePalma saw it fit to criticize most severely the mild abuse of peers, as well as the isolated humiliatory incidents. On the whole, Carrie is a horror picture because it is not that far from our own high schools and towns. Excellent usage of King's novel, despite his misgivings about its less-than-dogmatic interpretation.
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ary luiz dalazen jr. (ajr@fortalnet.com.br) Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
Date: 5 August 1999 Summary: An important horror film
A girl endowed with psychic powers suffers in her authoritarian and manipulator mother's hands. Equally humiliated and mistreated in the school, the girl's fury explodes during the prom party, and using her special capacity she leads off a massacre.Cruel and violent film directed with mastery by experienced Brian De Palma.As he demonstrated later on with "The Fury" (a thriller with Carrie Snodgress and Kirk Douglas) and "The Untouchables", De Palma doesn't open concessions and in "Carrie" he narrates with a touching eye the story of a girl who suffers for her difference in a direct and painful way.But it is in the most shocking part, in which the hate, resentment and the girl's pain come to the surface, that he is consecrated as the most probable Hitchcock's successor : abusing of quick cuts, slow motion and division of the screen in two or more plans, he demonstrates that he has the domain over the language of the violence,in one of the most distressing and unforgettable sequences of cinema history.
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