'Carrie' (1976) Review

     For my fifth horror viewing this month, I watched ‘Carrie’, a 1976 film based on the classic novel by Stephen King that was published in 1974. I had read ‘Carrie’ a couple of years ago and since then have developed a love for books written by Stephen King despite his odd way of writing women (which I will be getting into). This story focuses on a traumatized, out of touch teenage girl. Not only is she emotionally and physically bullied by her insanely religious mother, but suffers the same fate from the kids at school. The catch here is that Carrie isn't a normal outcast, she harbors a supernatural power that allows her to move things with her mind. If you've never seen ‘Carrie’, I’m sure you've at least heard/seen the popular bloody prom scene. That scene alone is enough to make this movie worth it through all the errors that occur in the character writing. 

Sissy Spacek, who played the infamous Carrie White, did a fantastic job. Her expressions and mannerisms are realistic to the character's description unlike the 2013 remake where nobody was believing Chloe Grace Mortezs’ portrayal of a classroom weirdo. The other acting choices in this film were decent for its time, the dialogue is dated and the actors definitely talk like they're from the 70’s (take that for what you will). Yet, the thing that I enjoyed most about Carrie is also the thing I think could have been done better. The underlying theme about femininity and female sexuality is a perfect metaphor, but the metaphor itself was presented in a bad light. King presents us with a great plot, but executes it with no knowledge of the reality of being a woman.

        The opening scene shows us when Carrie gets her first period. She had never learned anything about the female body, she was only terrified because she didn't know what was happening to her. Carrie getting bullied for her period by her female peers was great symbolism for the lack of feminine education women receive about their bodies. This has been a taboo topic in schools, especially for its release date. While we receive more education nowadays, this was almost unheard of in the 70s. Her mother is horrified by the news of her getting her period and shames her for now being seen as a sexual being. This can be seen as how we suppress female sexuality and shame girls for becoming women. These double entendres make Carrie a progressive horror film with feminist undertones, but King ending the story in a non redeeming fashion kills the character arc that you were hoping for. His descriptions of women were made for the male vision. Carrie, who was only a victim of circumstance, is seen as a weak woman and when masculinized is finally seen as a powerful being. If this story had a better ending, there would be less discourse on whether this is offensive or empowering. 

    Overall, I still found Carrie to be a fantastic movie and very fun to dissect. If you enjoy movies like The Craft, Misery, or All The Boys Love Mandy Lane, then I would recommend this movie for you. I would rate this a solid 4 out of 5 because of its 'partially' satisfying story and wonderful performance by Sissy Spacek that gave us one of the best female horror icons.