Carrie (1976) Movie Review: Bullying, Religious Fanaticism, and Supernatural Horror

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Carrie is a 1976 supernatural horror film written by Lawrence D. Cohen and directed by Brian De Palma. The movie is adapted from Stephen King‘s 1974 novel of the same name. Carrie revolves around a teenage outcast who is burdened by her classmates’ bullying and by the abuse of her religiously extremist mother.

A Predictable Plot with Unanswered Questions

A shy and reserved teenager, Carrie constantly faces bullying from her classmates. She lives with her abusive mother, a religious fanatic, who has imposed on her a specific way of living. When she gets her first period, ignorant Carrie becomes the victim of another incident of bullying by other schoolgirls. The school punishes them for their behavior, and some of them have their prom tickets revoked, but they plan to seek revenge later. Carrie gets invited to the prom, and surprisingly, she intends to attend. Nothing will be the same after this night…

Unfortunately, Carrie did not live up to my expectations. Personally, I found it flat and occasionally vague, which makes me believe it was not a good adaptation. In my opinion, what was lacking was a background story that would provide answers to some important questions in the plot. Furthermore, the dialogue was poorly written, and the storyline felt predictable.

In fact, I felt that Carrie fails to make a connection with the audience. To elaborate, it failed to convince me regarding the supernatural elements and its anti-bullying message. Miss Collins’ fate in the end was an event in the story that feels contradictory for the character of Carrie – which is portrayed as kind- let alone for a potential anti-bullying premise. Therefore, it is not entirely clear whether the film premise is anti-bullying or just anti-Christianity propaganda.

Carrie White and the People Who Shape Her World

• Carrie, a reserved teenager, often faces mockery from her classmates. Meanwhile, at home, she is burdened by her abusive mother, who has imposed on her a secluded lifestyle devoted to praying and avoiding sin. Carrie feels isolated by her peers but concurrently does not trust them because of their unacceptable behavior.
• Margaret is Carrie’s mother, a religious fanatic. Moreover, she never teaches Carrie about menstruation, which leads to her being intensely bullied by other girls during an incident in school. Upon learning it, she attributes it to Carrie’s sinful thoughts and locks her in a praying closet to ask forgiveness.
• Miss Collins is the gym instructor and the only female character, who was kind to Carrie and tried to support her.
• Chris and Norma are Carrie’s main bullies in school. After Chris’ suspension from the prom for insubordination and the school punishment, these two, alongside Chris’ boyfriend, plan their revenge on Carrie.
• Sue is one of the girls who participated in the bullying incident. She feels remorseful and asks her popular boyfriend Tommy Ross to invite Carrie to the prom.
• Tommy Ross is an athlete and very popular in school. He proceeds with his girlfriend’s suggestion to ask Carrie to prom. Unlike most of the characters in the film, he is respectful, kind, and empathetic towards Carrie.

Unfortunately, the characters did not have much depth. The viewer barely learns anything more about them, except for whether they were with or against Carrie. Still, they are memorable, mostly because of their stylistic choices.

From Vulnerability to Religious Extremism: A Cast That Delivers

Performances was one of the film’s strengths. More specifically:

• Sissy Spacek was amazing as Carrie. She portrayed successfully in her role the vulnerability of a teenager who is a victim of bullying.
• Piper Laurie delivered a dramatic performance as the religious extremist Margaret, who is abusing her daughter.
• Betty Buckley did a very good job as well in the role of Miss Collins. Her performance conveys feelings of warmth to the viewer, as she was the only female character in the movie, who was protective of Carrie.

Cinematography and Camera Work: Where Carrie Comes to Life

Apart from the editing, which could have been improved, the visual part of the film was another strong aspect. The rotating camera shot at the prom scene between Carrie and Tommy Ross remains one of the most memorable scenes in this film, alongside the split screen.

Carrie starts in an ethereal way, as if everything is perfect. As time progresses, it gets tense. There is this contrast between the dreamy aesthetic and the horror elements of the second half. Concurrently, there is this difference between the outside world and the world of Carrie, which is a home with a domineering, religiously fanatic mother. Carrie is also displayed differently throughout the film, both as vulnerable and through supernatural elements.

All in all, director Brian De Palma and cinematographer Mario Tosi significantly contributed to the visual storytelling of the film through the atmosphere, the visual contrasts, and camera movement.

The Ending: A Less-Than-Satisfying Conclusion

The film concludes on a somewhat inconclusive and unsatisfying note.

Details

• Rating Certificate: R (certificate #24688)
• Studios & Distributors: Red Bank Films
• Director: Brian De Palma
• Written By: Stephen King | Lawrence D. Cohen
• Country: United States
• Language: English
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Run Time: 98 Mins.
• Original Release Date: 3 November, 1976 (USA)