Carrie (1976)

Rating = 4/5 Graves

Film Information

Director​: Brian De Palma

Producers​: Paul Monash

Writer​:  Stephen King – Novel

Date Released​: November 3, 1976

 

Cast​:

Sissy Spacek as Carrie White

Piper Laurie as Margaret White

Amy Irving as Sue Snell

William Katt as Tommy Ross

John Travolta as Billy Nolan

Nancy Allen as Chris Hargensen

Betty Buckly as Miss Collins

 

***May contain some spoilers***

Synopsis

The movie centers around Carrie’s difficult life and how she navigates it leading up to the high school prom. Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is a shy, socially awkward but beautiful 16-year-old who faces extreme forms of emotional and mental abuse by her classmates and mother. Her mother Margaret White (Amy Irving) is a hyper religious woman who constantly speaks in biblical phrases and forces Carrie to devote everything to God with her. Behind closed doors, Margaret is physically and emotionally abusive to Carrie out of resentment due to Carrie being a byproduct of a former lover who left them. Much like her mother, Carrie’s classmates constantly taunt and make fun of her, especially Chris Hargensen (Nancy Allen) who seems to be the lead in making Carrie’s life difficult. Little do they know that Carrie has telekinetic abilities, which they all see in horrifying ways towards the end.

Gore Factor

For any gore-lover out there, Carrie (1976) might not be the first pick of the day. If anything, the movie is low suspense and mostly centered around the plot where there’s really no room for gore until the very end and a bit at the beginning when Carries menstruates for the first time. Although Carrie does go on a killing rampage at one point, there really is not much blood and guts from any of the characters even when we see knives and objects flying into them. A bucket of pig’s blood is all Palma really gives the audience. Nevertheless, the singular bloody and iconic scene is definitely worth the wait.

The Grave Review

Carrie (1976), based on the 1947 Stephen King novel, is one of the few horror movies of its time to depict teen angst, religion, high school bullying, obsessive parenting and the supernatural all in one. It was also Stephen King’s first big-screen adaptation, which truly was a great product of its time and remains as such. The grainy filter, cheesy special effects, and above all, the acting, is what truly sets this film aside as a classic horror flick.

Carrie (1976) is one of the many films that had set the premise of story-like/tug of the heart string movies where you have the sweet, innocent underdog whose life is made a living hell by her surroundings but in the end, somehow gets her short rise in the most tragic sense. What also made this film highly rated by critics and the public alike was the plot twist at the end of the movie. Many horror movies, especially in the late 70s, focused on a happy, relieving ending whereas Carries did not make that the priority of the film. Audiences love a shock and this movie has its audience left with jaws dropped. Another thing that hints as to why people love this movie is that the score nods towards the movie Psycho by using the same instrumentation. Carrie’s school, Bates High School, is another nod towards the film. For all those who love the classics, Carrie should be on the must-watch list.

Grave Reviews gives Carrie (1976) 4 out of 5 Graves.

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