So, as a horror movie fanatic, it is definitely my duty to watch all of the classic horror films such as the "Friday the 13th" series, "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Halloween", "The Exorcist" (which to be honest, I still have yet to see, so maybe an Exorcist review in the future?), and last, but not least, "Carrie".
I have watched the remake before, but never quite got to finish the original, so last night, I decided to grab my tub of Ben and Jerry's (my two favorite men), sit down, turn on my Netflix, and start watching the original "Carrie".
“Carrie” is a 1976 horror film based off of the book by Stephen King of the same name. It was filmed by director Brian Depolma and the cast includes Sissy Spacek, Amy Irving, and Piper Laurie, John Travolta, and Nancy Allen.
“Carrie” follows a teenage outcast by the name of Carrie White (played by Sissy Spacek). Carrie is a small, weird high school girl who doesn’t fit in with any of her peers which I’m sure quite a few of high school students could connect with. Or who knows? Maybe not.
Moving on, Carrie starts her period while showering in the girls locker room and she, not knowing about periods because of her overly religious, psychopathic mother not teaching her about the normal womanly changes in her body, thinks she is dying. The other girls in the locker room decide to be complete douchebags and start throwing tampons at Carrie. I hope you understand now that Carrie really does not fit in.
Eventually, Carrie develops telekinesis and realizing this, starts looking into her new powers while also dealing with her mother, Margaret White (played by Piper Laurie), telling her to pray with her every ten minutes. Soon, Carrie gets asked to Prom by, Mr. Popular, Tommy Ross (played by William Katt) because his original date, Sue Snell (played by Amy Irving), felt bad about the tampon situation and asked him to take Carrie instead. To avoid giving out any more spoilers, let’s just say that prom doesn’t end up going well for anybody.
The plot of this movie as a whole seemed a tiny bit confusing, but it was definitely freaky in it’s own unique way which definitely represented the horror genre well. The acting in this movie at points was not that convincing (I'll give them a break, it was made in the 1970s) and although Sissy looks somewhat too old to play a high school student, she did eventually seem to become Carrie and definitely seemed to portray her well. She seemed completely in character and was good with the emotions of the film.
The pace of the movie seemed to go rather quickly and the emotions did seem almost everywhere at times. One minute, somebody in the film would be screaming and the next they’d be crying, but the film definitely did make me feel stuff and I have to say, I did become emotionally attached to Tommy. Damn.
A few things I happened to like about the film was the unique storyline, the gym teacher because she kicked butt, the fact that John Travolta was in the movie, the crazy mother, the crazy mother’s creepy smile, the good symbolism of the film, and the fact that I actually found some of this movie slightly humorous. Noted, there were certain parts that I found funny that most likely were not meant to be funny, but I couldn't help but laugh.
I have to say, the only thing that I really didn't like about this film was the poor little piggies being slaughtered, but hey, it's a horror movie. Also, that makeout scene between Chris and Billy was a little rough. Are you trying to eat each other?
Overall though, I happened to really like this film and I would definitely watch it again. Oh and a little advice for everybody, do not mess with a girl that has telekinetic powers when she’s on her period. It may not end well for you or anybody else.
Running time: 98 minutes. MPAA rating: R (for disturbing violent/bloody images, some sexual content and graphic nudity, and language). (IMDb)
