Carrie (1976)

 "They are all gonna laugh at you!!!"
This is an old movie but a good horror movie for young and old fans. Stephen King is a master mind when it comes to character development and his characters are captured perfectly by the young Sissy Spacek, John Travolta and the many cast of characters in this movie. You can not help but feel sorry for Carrie (Spacek) while you fear her as she struggles with the trails and tribulations of today's teen geek while dealing with a whack out mother/ Bible Thumper (no offense tended to all of us religious folks) at home. After watching this movie, you will have a few choice words for the mother of Carrie in which can not be put in this review. In fact, you feel for Carrie as the real villian of the movie is Mom. The acting is great from all angles to the bullies, the teachers, Carrie, and of course Mom. My favorite line in the movie is "The are all gonna laugh at you!" from the hysterical Mom. A must watch for all horror fans and Stephen King fans alike! February 14, 2008

 Awesome Flick..
I think this was Sissy Spacek's best movie of them all and showing Spacek at her best with interesting telekenetic powers and showing us what it's like for a lot of typical teenagers that get picked on in high school, which assured a lot of us that we're not alone in that department, not to mention "Carrie" had some very cute chicks in it too. I also like the way the PE teacher(Betty Buckley) stood up for Carrie and how she handled all the girls in Carrie's PE class after bullying Carrie with the crappy stunt they pulled on Carrie when she started her period and I especially liked the way the PE Teacher handled Christine Hargenson(Nancy Allen), since Hargenson ended up getting what she deserved from Miss Collins(Betty Buckley), but one of the things that I found baffling in that movie was Norma(P.J. Soles) never took her hat off in the movie, not even at the prom, which made her look kind of corny, so the only time Norma ever took her hat off was during her nude scene in the showers in the girls lockerroom. January 28, 2008

 A horror classic that stands the test of time
Carrie is directed by Brian De Palma. The film stars Sissy Spacek and co-stars Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, William Katt, Betty Buckley, Nancy Allen, P.J. Soles, John Travolta, and Priscilla Pointer. Pino Donaggio composed the musical score. The movie is based on the Stephen King novel.

Carrie is the story of Carrie White, a girl with an all-around miserable life. Her mother is a ruthless, loveless, religious fanatic, and she is constantly tormented and outcast at school. Following a humiliating experience in the school showers, she discovers she is the keeper of mysterious telekinetic powers. Her mother tells her to reject this newfound power, seeing it as that of Satan. But she embraces this newfound gift, seeing it as the chance to get revenge on her tormenters. As her classmates suffer in a week of gym detention for the torment they gave her in the shower, they begin plotting a new, even more humiliating prank. But they aren't aware of the deadly powers the girl now has at her disposal.

This is a classic in every sense of the words. De Palma does a brilliant job bringing this story to the big screen. Every aspect of this film works perfectly - the direction, the cast, and the musical score all work in this movie's favor. It's no surprise it remains a classic. There have been numerous attempts to bring the story of Carrie to life - a sequel, a made-for-TV remake, and even a broadway musical! But Brian De Palma's film is the only one that's truly worth checking out.

The cast is one of Carrie's greatest assets. Sissy Spacek is perfectly cast as the title character. From an innocent girl tormented at home and school alike to the psychotic keeper of deadly powers, her performance kept my eyes glued to the screen. Supporting cast members are equally entertaining, including Piper Laurie as Carrie's heartless, religion-obsessed mother, Nancy Allen as the girl who hates Carrie with a passion, and even a pre-Saturday Night Fever John Travolta, who has a brief-but-memorable role as the boyfriend of Carrie's peer tormentor. Excellent cast, enough said.

De Palma's direction on the film is another aspect that makes it the best version of this story. Right from the beginning, he makes you sympathize with Carrie and hate both her mother and the girls she attends school with - so when Carrie exacts her revenge, you still ultimately take her side and don't feel the least bit of remorse for what she does. His pacing of the film is largely slow, and there are a number of scenes in which you go for several minutes on end without even seeing the title character. And yet, this slow pacing works. Not once does the film feel like it drags. He even succeeds on pulling off one last frightening moment at the end of the film, just when you think things have wrapped themselves up nicely.

Pino Donaggio contributes Carrie's musicals score. The best way to describe his score is as being mostly classical. It fits a number of scenes nicely, and always reflects the scene at hand. To make things all the more interesting, during moments when Carrie uses her powers, he uses Psycho-esque violin riffs. Whatever he does musically for this film, it works.

There have been at least two releases of Carrie on DVD in America, and you want to make sure you get the newer release. Both releases of the film feature artwork of a blood-drenched Carrie standing in front of a fire, but the older issue has the film's title in small black letters, whereas the more recent issue has it in large, white letters with a red border, and clearly states "SPECIAL EDITION" at the top. The old version's only extra is a trailer and an included booklet, but the new edition features a ton of new featurettes, including two documentaries with De Palma, and even a look at the broadway musical! The special edition is the obvious choice, so make sure you get that version.

Even three decades later, Carrie remains one of the finest, most effective horror films out there. If you're a fan of the genre, don't pass Carrie by.

Thumbs up

January 2, 2008

 "They're All Going to Laugh At You!"
Based on Stephen King's first novel, "Carrie" delivers on all levels. De Palma assembled a stellar cast to create the simple story of a small town high school girl blessed (and cursed) with telekentic powers. We immediately sense that Carrie is a sheltered, naive girl by the famous opening scene. Released in 1976, the opening scene also reminds viewers that girl's groom themselves quite differently today than they did 30 years ago.

While Spacek is terrific as the troubled teen, it's Piper Laurie who gives the biggest chills as her fanatical mother. "Dirty Pillows!" she bellows. Mama was apparently dumped by her husband, and has turned to the Bible to assuage her misery. The only problem is, she tries to take her daughter along for the ride. If Mama can't have any fun, neither can her sinful daughter. Of course, Carrie just wants to be accepted by her peers. She's not pretty, and is unbearably shy, so it's no surprise that she's shocked to be asked to the prom by "the most popular boy in school," Tommy Ross (played by William Katt--The Greatest American Hero).

What happens at the prom (back when prom's were held in gymnasiums and not banquet halls), is the stuff of legend. Like Carrie, you'll never forget the prank, and we can only cheer on the little psycho as she systematically exacts her revenge. John Travolta (fresh from his stint as one of the sweathogs on "Welcome Back Kotter"), makes a cameo in his first theatrical feature. Amy Irving plays the guilty teen who tries to help Carrie, and ultimately provides viewers with a shocking ending that really grabs you. "Carrie" will no doubt continue to thrill a new generation. Of course, they've already tried to remake this for television, once again trying to improve upon the wheel for a bit of pocket change. Skip the television remake, especially if you want to hear the echoing words of Carrie's mother in your head, "They're all going to laugh at you!" January 1, 2008

 still chilling after 30 years
This movie came out 30 or so years ago but it is still just as chilling in many ways. Consider Carrie's tragic life, the mean girl bullies at her high school, her rude English teacher, her religious fanatic of a mother. This would be enough to destroy anyone. Carrie, however, possesses telekinetic powers which eventually enable her to wreak the ultimate revenge on those who tormented and humiliated her. She even ends up killing her own mother and causing their house to collapse on them, killing both.
Sissy Spacek has always been an outstanding actress, and this is only one example of how good she is. You have to feel for Carrie; she has so much against her. Piper Laurie is over-the-top-wonderful as Margaret White, who finds no joy in her religion but plenty of ways to condemn others, even her own daughter, whom she refers to as a witch because of her powers. PJ Soles, Nancy Allen, and John Travolta are deliciously nasty as those who wish harm towards Carrie; while Amy Irving plays a teen who feel bad about picking on Carrie and tries to make it up to her. William Katt sweetly plays Tommy, a kindly boy who agrees to take Carrie to the ill-fated prom at Sue's request. Betty Buckley is unforgettable, too, as gym teacher Miss Collins, who tries to help Carrie with her self-image but ends up killed along with everyone else when Carrie goes into a trance during her final rage.





October 29, 2007

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