Hi there, friends! The resolutions just keep on a-comin’! After Thomas from Video As Life fulfilled his second film resolution yesterday, today Mikey from Screenkicker decided to swing by and fulfill a resolution of his own. If you’ve never visited his site before, I strongly recommend it–lots of great film reviews, TV write-ups, top 5 lists, videogame tidbits, etc. Also, he just started doing a podcast and you can listen to him being wonderfully Irish! Anyway, here’s Mikey’s take on one of my favorite horror classics, Carrie!
Carrie (1976)
Synopsis: A young, abused and timid 17-year-old girl discovers she has telekinesis, and gets pushed to the limit on the night of her school’s prom by a humiliating prank. – IMDB.com
What I liked:
- The performances – The acting is excellent all round. Sissy Spacek is heartbreaking and Piper Laurie as her crazy mother is terrifying.
- The themes – Carrie is extremely relevant to modern times as there is strong connection to the plague of American school shootings.
- The direction – Brian DePalma has constantly been accused of being a Hitchcock imitator. There are elements of this in Carrie but also a great Polanksi-esque vibe.
- High school girls are horrible and Carrie really drives this home. I have limited experience of being a teenage girl but now I’ll have nightmares about it.
- Nancy Allen is an evil, evil cow but somehow is totally hot. I don’t know what that says about me.
- Pervy DePalma shoots the opening locker room scene like a soft porn movie.
What I didn’t like:
- At times the music is overpowering which can ruin the effect of some of the scares.
- Tommy the school ‘stud’ sports some mad curly blonde hair and dresses head to toe in denim. Now I know where I went wrong at school.
- Carrie is sometimes hard to watch especially scenes with her mother. This isn’t a criticism, its the point of the film.
- John Travolta murders a pig with a sledgehammer. I like pigs.
- Some of the split-screen shots near the end seem a little cheesy.
- Pervy DePalma shoots the opening locker room scene like a soft porn movie.
A worthy resolution? I’ve always meant to watch Carrie but it’s one of those films that everyone knows the plot to. It’s quite a simple story but the way the characters interact creates a mundane kind of local horror. Carrie’s telekinesis is integral to the plot but it’s really just a device to represent a bullied child who snaps. The movie is about growing up and how hard puberty is on young girls. It’s also an insight into American high school culture with its cliques and cruelty. In essence it’s an extremely nihilistic film, moments of hope and truly good people spring up here and there but despite this everyone is ultimately doomed. The build up to the prom is handled brilliantly and the finale is still totally shocking even if you know what’s coming. In other words – Carrie is bloody brilliant. Period.
My grade: A
Many thanks, Mikey, for an excellent resolution! Love this film. 😀 I’ll have another resolution from a stellar guest blogger later this week! I’m still accepting from anyone who’d like to participate in this series, but just keep in mind that there are only nine days left this month! How time flies…
Silver Screen Serenade 
Great review, Mikey. Your make your points well, as always!
Thanks mate, such a strange film
It is. Not one I like half so much as you, but that owes mostly to my opinion about horror in general.
Nice job. I hear nothing but amazing things about the remake.
Isn’t that always the way with remakes?
In my experience.
I have still never seen this either 😦
Great review Mikey!
The only tidbit I remember about this movie was that Sissy Spacek switched parts with Carrie Fisher because CF didn’t want to do nudity. CF obviously took Spacek’s part in a small movie called Star Wars (1977)
From IMDB
“George Lucas and Brian De Palma held a joint audition for Carrie and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977). There is a long-standing rumor that originally, Sissy Spacek was cast as Princess Leia, and Carrie Fisher as Carrie, but when Fisher refused to appear in nude scenes and Spacek was willing to do them, they switched parts. However, Fisher refuted this story in a Premiere magazine article called “The Force Wasn’t With Them,” about actors who auditioned unsuccessfully for Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977). That article quoted Fisher as saying, “Not only do I love being nude, I would’ve been nude then… But anyway, it’s total bullshit [that Fisher refused to play Carrie].””
I can’t imagine it without Spacek. I like the idea of a young nude Carrie Fisher though!
I’d never heard this before! Wow. I could not imagine them in one another’s roles…like, at all…
I haven’t seen this since I was a kid – I need to go back and watch it again.
Mike – your mom’s trying to get a hold of you. She says you’re late for supper. And your nightly spanking.
I will telekinesis your ass so hard. That was supposed to sound threatening, but it came out wrong
Lol! I missed you telekinesising Eric’s ass. Is that a word?! Telekinesising! I like that. Nice review of a horror classic! I’m glad you’ve given it such a high rating – I know it’s VERY dated… But I love it. : )
Lolololol!!!
Reblogged this on Screenkicker! and commented:
I’ve done it again, I’ve besmirched another excellent site with my inane ramblings. This time it’s Silver Screen Serenade, specifically Cara’s Resolutions 2014 blogathon.
Basically Cara has asked her readers to write about a movie they’ve always been meaning to watch but for some reason hadn’t seen it.
I chose horror classic Carrie and you can read my views by visiting Silver Screen Seranade. And while you’re there have a nose round the totally excellent articles from Cara. Tell her Mikey sent ya!
YAY! 🙂
And yet you won’t grace me with a top ten list 😦
It’s coming, I just need to think of something 🙂
Yeah yeah! 😀
Not sure if you’ve read Stephen King’s “on writing” – there’s a neat part where’s he talks about where the idea for Carrie came from, worth investigating if you haven’t already!
Ive been thinking about reading that, sounds fascinating
It’s well worth exploring – good advice (no magic formula alas!) and some interesting anecdotes from what was going on in his life when he wrote some of his biggest hits.
Good review. I was surprised by how well most of this movie held-up. Granted, it was a bit dated in certain bits here and there, but still a very scary, very thoughtful horror-thriller that can work as a cautionary-tale for any generation. Just a shame it’s been remade so many times, and done so poorly as well.
Love this film and the book! I wish they would stop remaking it!
Mikey sent me! He totally. Shouldn’t have though – cause.your blogs waaaaay better!
Good review. All reviews should include menstruation puns.
Ahaha well hello, Chris! And welcome! Yes, Mikey’s just so punny, isn’t he? 😉
Really good review.
Good review, I haven’t seen this movie or the remake. I’m gonna check this out, but not because of the pervy scenes 😉
😉
Great review Mikey!
However, I won’t lie. I am NOT a fan of this film at all!
Not enough jungle based boardgames in it for you? 😉
Absolutely not! Not enough King, either!
Nice stuff Mikey! Like this film a lot, especially the final third, although at times the whole thing does feel like a high school drama rather than a horror film.
Oh and your last sentence made me laugh 🙂
Love this film-so much better than the remake.
I know i’m in the minority here but I didn’t like this movie at all.
Liked your review and I guess blond curls on guys were all the rage in ’76. I like that you nailed the context of the film too. I did a write up on the remake from last year:
http://junkieintheattic.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/carrie-2013-will-you-go-to-prom-with-me-again/
Nice review! I agree–the remake doesn’t stand up to the original. I was very glad that Mikey liked the original, too. Carrie’s one of my favorite classic horrors. 🙂