Carrie (1976) – Film Review

A withdrawn and sensitive teen named Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) faces taunting from classmates at school and abuse from her fanatically pious mother (Piper Laurie) at home. When strange occurrences start happening around Carrie, she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers. Invited to the prom by the empathetic Tommy Ross (William Katt), Carrie tries to let her guard down, but things eventually take a dark and violent turn.

It’s seriously remarkable just how creepy and effective Brian De Palma‘s Carrie is. It’s essentially ninety minutes of pure buildup that leads to one devilishly chilling finale, and while that may sound tedious and extremely boring, it’s actually a blast to watch thanks to the smart character development, the looming sense of dread present in every single scene, and the acting. It’s the definition of simple yet effective.

There is something so indescribably unsettling about the film’s primary setting of the high school. By all accounts, it certainly seems and functions as an everyday school would. Students chatter and laugh with friends in the hallways before heading off to class or lunch, teachers are ragging on students about getting homework done on time, etc. So why does this school feel so… weird? I think it’s a combination of the aforementioned looming dread that you feel lingering in the air accompanied by the cold and uninviting cinematography from Mario Tosi.

Sometimes when cinematography comes across as cold, it can be a detriment to the film overall. After all, who wants to feel strange and uncomfortable while watching a movie that may otherwise be really good? In the case of Carrie it works tremendously, though. I think we all know the eventual events that transpire in the third act of the film, so if you haven’t seen the film by now, there will be spoilers from this point on.

The film does a remarkable job at making you feel awful for the titular schoolgirl because we understand that her fellow students at her high school quite literally treat her like garbage. When she gets her first period in the opening scene of the film, Carrie has no idea what’s happening. She’s terrified and thinks that she’s dying, which is when she proceeds to cry out for help to her classmates in the locker room with her.

Instead of comforting her or telling her that everything will be okay, they proceed to humiliate her by laughing hysterically, pointing their fingers at her, and throwing garbage at her. She truly has nobody in her life that she can turn to and be comforted by. Not even her own mother, mainly because she is outrageously worried about her daughter sinning. We know immediately that her home life is terrible and that she can’t even find solace at school by hanging out with her friends because she simply doesn’t have any.

The whole movie, Carrie is treated like trash. We do know, however, that she has telekinesis. How does that come into play? Well, in the finale, which is definitely one of the most iconic in horror film history, Carrie finally secures a date to the senior prom with a guy named Tommy Ross. While at prom, she seems to have a great time as nervous as she is. She finally feels seen and potentially loved by somebody which is something the girl has never felt before.

During a dance, a ballot is passed around to vote for who the senior prom king and queen should be, and it turns out that Tommy and Carrie win the vote. While accepting on stage, a bucket filled with thick amounts of pig blood is dumped on her from above, which serves as the final straw. Carrie now unleashes the full extent of her rage in an absolutely disturbing and unsettling scene that will forever stay in your mind.

Carrie is infinitely rewatchable despite the fact that it’s essentially a movie that builds up to its insanity and saves it all up for the final few moments. But that doesn’t mean it’s not any good – it’s kind of amazing, actually. This is proof that you can make a highly memorable and deeply unnerving film even with a small budget and an incredibly simplistic story.