Carrie - Will's Review

Stephen King spins a great story but film adaptations of his work, while usually entertaining, are veritable in quality to say the least.

In Carry, I think one of his books was captured properly; of course some things were changed, books and movies are different mediums, but none of those changes take anything away from one of Kings most identifiable novels.

I'm going to miss the most important part of the story, because it doesn't happen until the movies final act. It's not a spoiler in the strictest sense; most synopsise mention it, but in the off-chance you don't know what the movie is actually about, you have a rare opportunity to go in cold... And I really think you should!

For those who know nothing about the film though (really?) Carrie (Sissy Spacek) is, thanks to her abusive upbringing at the hands of her religious nut of a mother (Margerate White) is and awkward and unpopular high school student. When one pack of girls bullying goes too far they are barred from the prom, one of them sees the error of her ways, and decides to give Carrie a night she'll never forget; unable to go to the prom herself, she convinces her handsome boyfriend to take Carrie instead. Unfortunately, one of the bullies is less rational, blaming Carrie for her ban; she also decides to give Carrie a night she'll never forget...

Spaacek and White both received Oscar nominations for their performances, and it's easy to see why; White especially is brilliant, despite (or perhaps because) she misunderstood the script, believing she was filming a comedy.

For a good two thirds of the films running, there is little in the way of horror; instead it's a compelling, well written and acted, teen drama... Aside from a few minor hints, there's little out of the ordinary until well into the prom, which makes the films climax all the more effective.

I'm not going to say more; as I've said, if you're lucky enough to be able to go in cold, you should take that opportunity.

Fun fact: the dream sequence right at the end of the film would go in to inspire the one at the end of Friday the 13th.