Film: Carrie

Director: Brian De Palma
Genre: Horror
Source: USA (1976)
Rating: R
Location/Format: Netflix Instant Watch
Grade: B

Having never seen Brian De Palma's 1976 horror classic, I was pleasantly surprised with the peaks the film hit--notably some incredibly striking imagery, a crackerjack climax, and a fully committed (in every sense of the phrase) performance by Sissy Spacek as the titular teenage . . . protagonist? Antagonist? Victim? Monster? Her layered performance--painful and shy, angry and needy, mousy and bold--is really the best part of the film and what gives it its heart. She plays a very different kind of outsider here than she did in Badlands, but I can see now why she was the go-to "unusual girl" of the mid to late 70s. Though I haven't seen the remake, it's a natural, empathetic, and all-consuming performance that I can't imagine Chloe Moritz topping. Spacek is just a natural actress, willing to expose herself emotionally for a nuanced role like this.

The film is at its best when De Palma unleashes his full visual flair. There's a reason that image of Carrie, drenched in blood, standing in front of a wall of fire, has become so iconic. It is haunting and powerful, and even though I'd seen it a hundred times before, it remained powerful and haunting. Spacek looks like a drowned kitten--pathetic and scrawny and weak--and yet she also embodies the full rage of teenage angst. The film is worth it for those few shots, in addition to a few other strong elements. Is Carrie the proto-school shooter that haunts our high school halls today? In her rage, she destroys both those who have sought to aid her and those who mock her, and De Palma plays a neat trick in the pig's blood humiliation scene by showing both people laughing and those same people standing in apparent horror. So is Carrie's perception of victimhood blown out of proportion? Or does she see the truth behind those cruel teenage eyes? I like that it's not quite clear--though we know at least one or two of those Carrie destroys really had been trying to help her.

Great imagery and thoughtful ambiguities aside, however, the film is really showing its age. It doesn't surprise me that, in a world in which "mean girl" bullying continues to gain new life on the Internet, the time seemed ripe for a Carrie reboot, and several of the elements of this film really do come off as cheesy and dated now. It's a little funny to me that Piper Laurie was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Her Bible-thumping mother is so over-the-top and histrionic that she comes off as little more than a caricature. Similarly, De Palma's tone is all over the place. Some scenes (tuxedo shopping, in particular) feel way out of place here--like they might fit better in an after school special or made-for-tv comedy.And Carrie's antagonists--Chris and Billy (a turning-it-up-to-11 John Travolta) are like mustache-twirling villains with little motivation other than Carrie got her in trouble. Which I guess is fine, but it's also really two-dimensional. It just doesn't always work. And though I haven't read King's original novel, so I don't know how much of it was changed for the film, I was also amazed with just how simple the plot was. There's not a whole lot of complication, and it zips from point A (Period! Bullied!) to point C (Bullied! Revenge!) really quickly. 

In all, the film serves as a good reminder that high school can be hell. It invites empathy while also reminding us that even the wronged can do great wrong themselves, however seemingly worthwhile the reason. I'm not sure it fully deserves its classic status, but I see why it has such a devoted following, and when it works, it's great. I'm glad we saved it for Halloween.