Carrie

Carrie

1976

Director- Brian De Palma

Cast- Sissy Spacek, William Katt, Nancy Allen, John Travolta, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, P.J. Soles, Beth Buckley

            

   Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is a lonely teenager, growing up in a single parent home, raised by her hyper religious mother (Piper Laurie) who has demonized sexuality and told Carrie nothing about it other than it is evil. When Carrie begins having her period at school she freaks out, thinking that she’s dying. The other girls quickly use it as a way to shame and humiliate her. Carrie bears a secret though. She has burgeoning telekinetic powers and they lash out when she is angry.

            

    The high school gym teacher (Buckley) tries to protect Carrie by punishing the girls involved. One of the girls, Sue (Amy Irving) learns her lesson and begins to feel sorry for Carrie. Another girl, Chris (Nancy Allen) hates Carrie even more now. Sue comes up with a plot to make Carrie feel better, by having her boyfriend (William Katt) take Carrie to the prom. Chris, on the other hand, comes up with a plot to humiliate Carrie even further, with the help of her boyfriend (John Travolta).

            

   The supernatural elements aren’t the main story here, they are just a plot device. The real story is the lonely, social isolation of Carrie. She is a marginalized, beaten down person. She is rejected by peers, abused by her mother. It’s a grim lesson ,I guess, that the better angels of our nature don’t always win, because Chris’s plot to humiliate Carrie ultimately prevails. When this happens, Carrie snaps and her powers run wild, resulting in a chaotic massacre.

            

    This movie is a “classic” and is mandatory viewing amongst many horror fans, but it’s also 43 years old, so probably many fans have not seen it. The film is based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name, the first of his novels to be published (I guess he knocked it out of the park on the first swing). Even people who haven’t seen the film have seen the classic imagery of Carrie White, covered in blood. That image has inspired uncountable tributes and homages over the years.

    

   The movie was made for a little under 2 million and made almost 34 million (proof that horror is the most profitable genre). This was helped by a tremendous amount of talent. Brian DePalma was a very successful and influential director through the 1980’s giving us Scarface, Carlito’s Way and the incredibly well received The Untouchables. Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie were both nominated for Oscars for their portrayals. Amy Irving went on to a long career, including starring in The Fury, another DePalma film about a kid with special powers. Nancy Allen had a long career as well, starring in several more DePalma movies. She is probably best known today as Lewis, the spunky partner to Robocop. John Travolta had the most success of the actors involved and the next few years was a golden age for him, making Saturday Night Fever, Grease, and Urban Cowboy within the next four years. P.J. Soles, who played Chris’s minion, had a successful few

year herself, starring in John Capenter’s Halloween (1978), Rock n’ Roll High School (1979), Private Benjamin (1980),  and Stripes (1981). Of the entire cast, William Katt is probably the most beloved by genre fans. He was the star of the superhero TV show, The Greatest American Hero and the horror/ comedy movie, House. 

            

     The film, despite its age, is particularly relevant today, even more relevant than when it premiered.  The prevalence of disconnection and disaffection in today’s youth, pervasive bullying fueled by “social” media and a general lack of empathy in society, has created an entire generation of kids who have grown up under the threat of school violence. Carrie was a few decades ahead of its time.