Directed by:
Brian De PalmaScreenplay:
Lawrence D. CohenCinematography:
Mario TosiComposer:
Pino DonaggioCast:
Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, William Katt, Nancy Allen, John Travolta, P. J. Soles, Priscilla Pointer, Betty Buckley, Sydney Lassick (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Carrie, a shy teenager with a fiercely religious and oppressive mother, struggles to come to terms with her emerging sexuality and extraordinary telekinetic powers. Just as she's beginning to enjoy a sudden change in her life, a cruel practical joke drives her to a monstrous act of revenge and destruction. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (10)
After many (and I mean many) years, I returned to this film, and I hate to admit it but I noticed some goofs that I hadn’t noticed before. Despite that, it is a film whose creators (as one of the few) did not butcher King's novel. Anyway, Sissy Spacek was brilliant and it's a shame that Piper Laurie didn't get more screen time, I think it would add to the atmosphere. 4-
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DePalma is a demon and his shot composition should be considered a national treasure. In some shots (like the opening prom) he goes from almost a panorama to a medium close-up of a character the shot ends up following, which must be a real art, considering almost everything in that shot is in motion. Sissy Spacek is ingenious, and it's by working together with the director that they are able to create in record time a solid relationship between the main character and the audience such that it’s a wonder they don’t clap along with the audience as Carrie and Tommy become the queen and king of the evening. Not to mention that we all know how it's going to turn out anyway. Otherwise, the De Palma-esque tension here isn't even based on when things break and Carrie wipes out the school, it's based on Carrie losing all illusions and going from feeling absolutely happy to the very bottom, which no one wishes for her. An awesome King adaptation that's only killed by five additional endings (the movie should have ended imho either like the book or, if there's no money, by leaving the prom) and the occasional haha scenes like something out of Grease. Anyway, I'll give it a five for the directorial bravura.
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Stephen King chilled me to the bone with how he drove Carrie towards her magnificent finale without any signs of emotion or understanding, only occasionally peeking into her thoughts and wrapping everything in almost documentary form. Brian De Palma and Lawrence D. Cohen do it exactly the opposite way. Carrie becomes a supernatural being who does not belong to the ruthless and cynical world around her. Her feelings, whether it's anger, astonishment, or joy, are the main driving force of the story, which thanks to its brilliant form, elevates the story almost to a message. The original and the adaptation are ultimately quite different, yet both won my favor easily.
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I found it hard to rate this film, it’s subtle and precise as a drama, effective and terrifying as horror. Perhaps deliberately, perhaps unintentionally, De Palma completely abandoned King's mystery style and his story of a high school girl tormented by her mother and ridiculed by her classmates is an example of the kind of slow build-up of tension we know only from Kubrick's The Shining. Some of the scenes and the characters' actions may seem silly, predictable and tedious, but what we actually have here is a well-served teen drama that has everything in the right place, and the occasional glimpse of supernatural horror seems to prepare us for the impending climax. Sissy Spacek is absolutely fantastic in her role and her deranged and fanatical mother exudes a hearty aura of fear and madness thanks to Piper Laurie's performance. The last half hour is masterfully directed and perfectly reflects the unpleasant atmosphere that builds up during the film. Carrie probably won't bring modern audiences to their knees, but compared to today's would-be horror films, it has enormous charm. 75%
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The first King’s film adaptation turned out to be quite good, great, in fact (which is something you can’t say about most adaptations of his books, but let’s be happy with the few good ones – and when the stars align, they can be great). For most of its runtime, Carrie is a drama rather than horror, but the tension escalates with every minute and and it keeps you expecting something unpleasant coming. The story is quite predictable (and it must have been so even in the 70s), but that’s well compensated by the psychology of the characters – the mother is especially good. PS: At least one and a half stars go to Sissy Spacek, she’s great in the role.
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