Carrie (1976)

Directed by:
Brian DePalma

Written by:
Lawrence D. Cohen (based on the novel by Stephen King)

Main Cast:
Sissy Spacek, Amy Irving, William Katt, Nancy Allen, Bette Buckley, John Travolta, P.J. Soles, Priscilla Pointer, and Piper Laurie

The Plot:
Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is your average high school girl, albeit with numerous problems to worry about. While at school, she is tormented relentlessly by her classmates. At home, she is psychologically abused by her overly religious (Piper Laurie). However, unbeknownst to anyone - including Carrie herself - she also possesses the power to move things with her mind.

The Review:

Directed with bold style and a heightened surrealism by Brian DePalma, Carrie is one of the genre's true all-time classics. And rightfully so.

In what might be her most powerful screen role to date, Sissy Spacek is marvelous as the put-upon Carrie, instantly sympathetic as a meek, intelligent girl without a bad bone in her body who simply cannot catch a break. Nancy Allen is a riot as bitch-on-wheels Chris, and John Travolta gets his first starring role as Chris' temperamental boyfriend. Future Broadway star Bette Buckley is also memorable as Carrie's gym teacher, and one of the only characters who truly cares.

Towering above all, however, is Piper Laurie as Carrie's zealot mother. By investing the role of Margaret White with haunting pathos, frightening credibility and just the right amount of theatricality, Laurie has given us one of the screen's most indelible villains. Her monologue towards the end about the nature of Carrie's conception is nothing short of a stunner.

The classic prom scene is masterfully conceived, shot, and edited, practically engineered to get the heart pounding and the imagination racing. But even up until this point, this film is as compelling as they come, putting us squarely in Carrie's shoes and demanding that we side with her, even when her revenge take a giant step into the unjust. Some minor changes were made to the original text but, overall, this adaptation is very true to the spirit of Stephen King's text, a superior example of how to translate from one medium to another without losing an ounce of impact.

**** out of ****