Brian De Palma’s taut 1976 masterpiece Carrie has been consistently praised as one of the greatest horror movies ever made. Based on Stephen King’s debut novel, De Palma’s Carrie was the first of more than 100 adaptations of King’s work and still remains one of the best.
From Sissy Spacek’s powerful performance in the lead role to the most iconic prom scene in movie history, there are many timeless elements that make Carrie a masterfully crafted cinematic gem that new horror audiences can discover to this day.
Sissy Spacek’s Painfully Relatable Turn As Carrie White
Sissy Spacek was more than deserving of her Oscar nomination for Best Actress for playing the title character in Carrie. The fact that the Academy usually overlooks horror movies goes to show how impressive Spacek’s acting was.
Spacek’s turn as a downtrodden high schooler who’s bullied by the other kids at school and then by her overbearing mother when she gets home is painfully relatable. Anybody who was bullied as a teenager can see themselves in Spacek’s powerful performance.
Faithfully Adapting Stephen King’s Source Material
De Palma faithfully adapts the simple but effective storytelling of Stephen King’s source material. King’s novel tells its story largely through letters and articles, which are impossible to visualize, but De Palma translated the book’s already-tight story structure to the screen.
The 2013 remake’s attempts to modernize the story have aged poorly already. It’s like an after-school special vision of Carrie in the social media age: Chris posts a video of Carrie getting her period on YouTube, and when Carrie notices her supernatural abilities, she Googles “telekinesis.” De Palma’s faithful adaptation of King’s book, on the other hand, remains timeless.
Paul Hirsch’s Sharp Editing
Paul Hirsch was one of the most prominent editors of the New Hollywood movement — he even won an Oscar for his work on a frequent collaborator of Brian De Palma’s and brought his sharp editing skills to Carrie.
Throughout Carrie, Hirsch uses all kinds of editing techniques to create terror, like split frames, glorious slow-motion, and omitting a few key sounds (like the screams of Carrie’s victims).
Exploring Teen Angst Through The Lens Of Horror
Much like King’s novel, De Palma’s Carrie explores teen angst through the lens of horror. Carrie isn’t a straightforward horror movie from the beginning; it’s a compelling teen drama about the cruelty of high schoolers that becomes a horror movie.
If Carrie didn’t have supernatural powers, the movie would still be extremely scary, because it’s about the very relatable terror of being a teenager and attending a high school full of other teenagers.
The Iconic Prom Scene
Since Chris and her friends were seen planning the prank and picking up the pig’s blood, audiences know exactly what to expect when Tommy and Carrie are crowned as prom king and queen. Viewers are glued to the edge of their seats with a sense of unbearable dread as Carrie goes up on the stage and enjoys what she believes is the first positive attention she’s ever received from her classmates.
And then, of course, the bucket of blood drops. Just about every high school movie has a prom scene, but very few of them are as memorable as this one. It’s one of the most renowned scenes in the history of horror cinema.
Piper Laurie’s Haunting Portrayal Of Margaret White
As awful as Carrie’s bullies at school are, they’re nothing compared to her overbearing mother Margaret, played brilliantly by an Oscar-nominated Piper Laurie.
Laurie fully commits to the creepiness of Margaret’s religious fanaticism and the real-world horror of abusive parenting. Anyone who can convincingly play a mother viciously telling their child, “They’re all gonna laugh at you!” is worthy of a Best ing Actress nomination.
The Payoff Of Carrie’s Telekinetic Killing Spree
All throughout the movie, the audience is desperate to see Carrie’s bullies get their comeuppance. And then, after the pig’s blood is dumped on her at prom, she finally snaps and the audience gets the payoff they wanted.
Carrie seals the gym’s exits and burns the whole room to ground, killing most of the people inside. Then, Chris and Billy try to run her over and she blows up the car. While the audience wanted Carrie to get revenge against these bullies, her resulting killing spree is more disturbing than satisfying.
The Final Jump Scare
Modern moviegoers are a little dubious when it comes to jump scares in horror cinema because they’re overused in today’s scary movies and they’re rarely as effective as a creepy atmosphere or a shocking plot twist. In the final scene of Carrie, De Palma pulls off one of the greatest jump scares of all time.
Since Carrie has died and the dust has settled, it seems like the movie is done scaring its audience. And then, Sue places flowers on the charred remains of the White household and Carrie’s blood-drenched arm lunges out of the rubble and grabs her. Fortunately for Sue, it’s just a dream — but, for the audience, it’s still a hair-raising moment.
