The story of Carrie White (Sissy Spacek), a social misfit
cursed with telekinetic powers, has become so ingrained in pop culture since
the publication of the book that it hardly seems worth giving a full synopsis. Spacek
is utterly outstanding in the lead role, giving a dark and tearful portrayal of
the character unequalled across the genre and deservedly accruing an Oscar
nomination. Carrie’s descent from a
normal girl to violent insanity is perfectly illustrated by Spacek, who
presents a character confused and terrified by her horrendous experiences.
Piper Laurie is also superb as Carrie’s fanatically fundamentalist mother
Margret, and Nancy Allen is brilliantly hateable as school bully Chris. One of the joys of DePalma’s direction is in bringing new life to a story which, although wonderfully written, wasn’t particularly original in the first place. A wealth of innovative techniques are employed to great effect; lengthy scenes in slow-motion build tension to the breaking point; dizzyingly spinning cameras and swift focus changes provide intimacy; and even DePalma’s liberal use of Hammer Horror (including the legendary screech screech noise) feels inventive and intelligent rather than clichéd. The director rarely forgets he’s making a horror film though, adding several jump-scares, notably the notorious ending, and increasing the gratuitous nature of certain scenes.
Having said that, the movie’s best sequence involves the calmer minutes proceeding Carrie’s breakdown. Shots which might have come out of any rom-com are juxtaposed with a swelling, foreboding score (the music is consistently excellent) with culminates with Carrie murderously falling apart, in itself a DePalma tour-de-force. And it’s scenes like this where DePalma and scriptwriter Lawrence D. Cohen hammer home the message that the disaster Carrie caused could easily been averted. And it’s here that you forget that this is a cheaply made horror film about a girl with an impossible power, because Carrie becomes a heart-wrenching tragedy to rival Romeo and Juliet or Macbeth.
It’s not often that a brilliant book is made into a
brilliant film, but Carrie is one of those rare occurrences. Through superb
pacing and great cast performances DePalma creates a movie that entertains,
terrifies and spreads a message on bullying and social isolation all at the
same time. It’s almost unarguably the best film to be based on a Stephen King
novel, and it remains the horror classic that it became more than 35 years ago.
As Jaws irrevocably altered our perception of the ocean, I’ve no doubt that no
senior high school prom has been without a worried glance to the rafters to
check for a precariously balanced bucket of blood since the release of Carrie.
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