Carrie/Brian De Palma/November 1976
Prom is a traumatic time for anyone. What do you wear? Who do you take? For Carrie White (Sissy Spacek), however, it’s the culmination of all the horrors she’s been taught to expect from society, and her revenge is brutal.
The image of a blood-soaked Carrie at the prom is an iconic image, but it fails to encompass the film’s depth. Carrie is (surprisingly) mostly without bloodshed, and is very different in tone to the typical horror-film fare. It’s more about a young girl who is bullied by her peers and who is abused emotionally and physically at home, rather than about the murderous telekinetic that everyone associates with the film. The production wouldn’t have the strength it does if not for Spacek. Her fragility is so palpable that we empathise completely with her character. Her acting is utterly believable; in the scenes at the prom, the happiness that radiates from her is so heartwarming we can barely believe it’s the same girl ten minutes later when the carnage begins. Due to her performance, we see Carrie as an avenging angel, rather than the devil her mother purports her to be.
Piper Laurie (as Margeret White) complements Spacek’s brilliant performance by bringing an eerie fanaticism to her character. Her portrayal of the religious extremist is terrifying, more so than Spacek’s bloody prom queen. Her fervour is horribly convincing, and because of this Carrie has more tension in the moments between mother and daughter than in the bloody scenes. It’s reminiscent of Psycho.
Some aspects of the film do seem over-the-top, such as the jolting use of the close-ups on Carrie’s eyes to indicate her psychic powers. However, there are excellently-filmed moments, such as the slow-motion scene before the climactic tipping of the blood-bucket and the dizzying dance moment between Carrie and Tommy (William Katt). The set dressing is fantastic, with Carrie’s house seeming unnatural from the moment we see it. The dilapidated house, with its religious iconography and dreaded prayer cupboard, is a scene of far more terror than the prom hall.
In short, Carrie is not what you expect. We can only hope that it makes people think twice about bullying the shy girl.
Review Length: 365 words
Serious Rating: 7.75/10
Superficial Rating: 3/10. Sissy Spacek all dressed up at the prom is just beautiful, and you can’t deny that William Katt (despite his absolutely awful golden locks of curly hair) is a little bit charming!
DISCLAIMER: I don’t think I ever considered Carrie to be a horror film. And the tagline (in the post title) is just unfair. She doesn’t kill her prom date, the cruel people that dump blood on her and the bucket falling on his head kill him. The fact she torches the gym hall doesn’t really help, but still, I never thought she was really to blame for everything that happened. I’d be that mad if my painstakingly hand-made prom dress got ruined by pig’s blood, too!
FilmFriki 