Carrie Review
Looking back on it now Carrie can pretty much be seen as a template for Stephen King's entire career onward: psychotic bullies, traumatized kid characters, mistaking cultic behavior with what he supposes to be fundamentalism and so on. However, Carrie wasn't just the blueprint for every book King would write for the rest of his life; it was also a pop-cultural touch stone that had a lasting effect on the rest of the horror genre, inspiring everything from Nightmare on Elm Street to Chronicle. When a film has that kind of legacy the question becomes not whether Carrie is a good movie in its own right, but whether it holds up after everything in the entertainment industry has picked its bones clean over the last 30+ years. The answer, thankfully, is absolutely.
The setup is that Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is a timid girl who has been turned into a forceful shut-in by her cultic mother (Piper Laurie) and the constant torment of her sadistic classmates, barely kept sane by the kindness and care of a single teacher. After she's invited to the prom and experiences the only night of happiness she's had in her life, it's ruined by an especially cruel act of mockery from one of her classmates. This is the final straw for Carrie and now every one of her tormentors shall face her wrath. (I spoil the ending with absolutely no shame because it's been included in all of the marketing for the film since day one. The entire selling point of the film was to see Carrie tear apart everybody at the school.)
The reason the film holds up so well is because of two very specific aspects: the characters and the direction, which work hand in hand so perfectly its hard to talk about one without mentioning the other. The audience immediately sympathizes with Carrie not just because she's a sweet girl that just can't seem to get a break from life, but because of the way director Brian De Palma visually frames (literally and figuratively) Carrie's impossible situation in life. This is mostly done through blocking and clever visual symbolism; there's a scene where Carrie is outside the principal's office in a waiting area which is also separated from the hallway where all the other students are. This not only visually explains Carrie's entrapment with her mother, but also her separation from the rest of her classmates and any logic or reasoning the other adults in her life have for her. The barrier symbolism continues in the final act as Carrie traps the entire school in the gym, almost like she's forcing them to feel what she's felt her entire life: suppressed rage that will now be taken out on them. There's visual storytelling like that all over the film and its fantastic.
There's also visual story conveyed in a less subtle sense. Much like Fight Club, you could put the entire film on mute from beginning to end and still have a good idea of what's going on just through what's happening on screen.
The big problem I have with the film (aside from its gross misrepresentation of fundamentalism) is that the bully characters, especially the main villain of the piece, aren't written realistically. The bullies don't seem to have any reason to hate Carrie other than she's quiet and keeps to herself, which if anything would give them even less reason to target her. I understand that people like this sometimes don't need a reason to take their abuse out on others, but a little backstory or explanation for why every single girl in the school seems to be in on the sadistic abuse.
The other problem I have, though entirely a personal gripe, is that the film ends so nihilistically. Nothing goes right for Carrie, there is no bright spot in what is probably the darkest moment of her life after the one happy time she was allowed to have. I guess the fact that I was so upset about it is a testament to the film's ability to make me invested in the characters, but I didn't much appreciate having the rug pulled out from under me and then have all my hope pissed on.
Carrie is a difficult film to recommend. On the one hand, it's an incredible example of direction and visual storytelling that should be seen by any aspiring filmmaker. However, it is an extremely unpleasant experience, that allows you to grow to love the characters you're supposed to care about and hate the characters that are meant to be despicable and then smacks you in the face for getting invested. I suppose if you like cathartic, though unsatisfying, supernatural horror then Carrie is your cup of tea. However, if you don't like feeling like you just drank a whole bottle of whiskey and were then punched in the gut then I say skip it.
The setup is that Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is a timid girl who has been turned into a forceful shut-in by her cultic mother (Piper Laurie) and the constant torment of her sadistic classmates, barely kept sane by the kindness and care of a single teacher. After she's invited to the prom and experiences the only night of happiness she's had in her life, it's ruined by an especially cruel act of mockery from one of her classmates. This is the final straw for Carrie and now every one of her tormentors shall face her wrath. (I spoil the ending with absolutely no shame because it's been included in all of the marketing for the film since day one. The entire selling point of the film was to see Carrie tear apart everybody at the school.)
The reason the film holds up so well is because of two very specific aspects: the characters and the direction, which work hand in hand so perfectly its hard to talk about one without mentioning the other. The audience immediately sympathizes with Carrie not just because she's a sweet girl that just can't seem to get a break from life, but because of the way director Brian De Palma visually frames (literally and figuratively) Carrie's impossible situation in life. This is mostly done through blocking and clever visual symbolism; there's a scene where Carrie is outside the principal's office in a waiting area which is also separated from the hallway where all the other students are. This not only visually explains Carrie's entrapment with her mother, but also her separation from the rest of her classmates and any logic or reasoning the other adults in her life have for her. The barrier symbolism continues in the final act as Carrie traps the entire school in the gym, almost like she's forcing them to feel what she's felt her entire life: suppressed rage that will now be taken out on them. There's visual storytelling like that all over the film and its fantastic.
There's also visual story conveyed in a less subtle sense. Much like Fight Club, you could put the entire film on mute from beginning to end and still have a good idea of what's going on just through what's happening on screen.
The big problem I have with the film (aside from its gross misrepresentation of fundamentalism) is that the bully characters, especially the main villain of the piece, aren't written realistically. The bullies don't seem to have any reason to hate Carrie other than she's quiet and keeps to herself, which if anything would give them even less reason to target her. I understand that people like this sometimes don't need a reason to take their abuse out on others, but a little backstory or explanation for why every single girl in the school seems to be in on the sadistic abuse.
The other problem I have, though entirely a personal gripe, is that the film ends so nihilistically. Nothing goes right for Carrie, there is no bright spot in what is probably the darkest moment of her life after the one happy time she was allowed to have. I guess the fact that I was so upset about it is a testament to the film's ability to make me invested in the characters, but I didn't much appreciate having the rug pulled out from under me and then have all my hope pissed on.
Carrie is a difficult film to recommend. On the one hand, it's an incredible example of direction and visual storytelling that should be seen by any aspiring filmmaker. However, it is an extremely unpleasant experience, that allows you to grow to love the characters you're supposed to care about and hate the characters that are meant to be despicable and then smacks you in the face for getting invested. I suppose if you like cathartic, though unsatisfying, supernatural horror then Carrie is your cup of tea. However, if you don't like feeling like you just drank a whole bottle of whiskey and were then punched in the gut then I say skip it.
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