Carrie Review

Review of Carrie (1976) by screenqueeen: 👍 4.5/5

HE HAS RISEN: CARPEASTER 1.0 DAY 6 OF 13

Not having read the book yet however being somewhat familiar with the main parts of the story this managed to surprise me. Compared to her home life Carrie's time at school is easily the best part of the day for her, even with kids constantly mocking and bullying her. Margaret is more than just a zealot, she fashions herself as somewhat of a leader to no one in particular as her neighborly visits are met with annoyance. People even just give her money to go away rather than contend with obvious differences in lifestyles and viewpoints. Oddly enough Margaret might feel at home running around with Harry Dean Stanton's Asa Hawks in WISE BLOOD but is instead stuck with her offspring Carrie who, at her most timid still resists her forced teachings of scripture.

Piper Laurie is at her most sinister and dangerous here as her facial expressions completely betray the true emotions lurking behind her mask. Most upsetting is the dinner scene with Carrie where she tells Margaret she was asked to the prom which leads into an ebb and flow of emotions from both of them and we first see a demonstration of Carrie's focused rage. The prom sequence really shows everything that de Palma wanted to throw on the screen -- full on chaos, no stops -- and it all works beautifully. The use of splitscreen splicing looks so much smoother than the story the editor would lead you to believe. The choice to intercut that with full frames really brings you into the action and arrests your senses.

This is a world-class example of how rewriting a literary story (that already translates to the visual medium excellently as a novel) is essential to get visual elements across from the written word. I don't know how often the finished screenplay is praised for its inventiveness yet somehow I think it's not enough.