Taglines: Take Carrie to the prom. I dare you!
Carrie White is the outsider of her class. She’s a mousy girl, all of her classmates hate her, and her mother is a religious fanatic who walks around in a black cape. After she unexpectedly has her first period, she is teased by the girls more ruthlessly than before. The gym teacher punishes the girls that were involved and one of them, Sue Snell, feels sorry for what she did and asks her boyfriend to take Carrie to the prom instead of her.
But another girl that has been banned from the prom, Chris Hargenson, isn’t so forgiving and hatches an evil plan with her boyfriend that involves Carrie and a bucket full of pig’s blood. But what none of the students realize is that Carrie has the power of telekinesis, the power to move things with your mind, and that when you make her angry, she transforms from an innocent girl to a rage-filled monster. And this is gonna be a prom no one will ever forget.
Carrie is a 1976 American supernatural horror film directed by Brian De Palma from a screenplay written by Lawrence D. Cohen, adapted from Stephen King’s 1974 epistolary novel of the same name. The film stars Sissy Spacek as Carrie White, a 16-year-old diffident teenager who is consistently mocked and bullied at school. Her peers are unaware that she possesses telekinetic powers. The film also featured Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, William Katt, P. J. Soles, Betty Buckley, and John Travolta in supporting roles. It is the first film in the Carrie franchise.
The film was based on King’s first novel by the same name. De Palma was intrigued by the story and pushed for the studio to direct it while Spacek was encouraged by her husband to audition. It is the first of more than 100 film and television productions adapted from, or based on, the published works of King.
Carrie was theatrically released on November 3, 1976, by United Artists. The film became a critical and commercial success, grossing over $33.8 million against its $1.8 million budget. It received two nominations at the 49th Academy Awards: Best Actress (for Spacek) and Best Supporting Actress (for Laurie).
About the Story
Carrie White is a shy 16-year-old girl who lives with her fanatically religious and abusive mother, Margaret. Carrie is unpopular at school and is often ostracized by her peers. Carrie experiences her first menstrual period as she showers with her female classmates after gym class. Unaware of what is happening to her, she panics and desperately pleads for help, believing herself to be bleeding to death.
The other girls—led by the arrogant, popular and beautiful Chris Hargensen, who frequently bullies Carrie—pelt Carrie with tampons, laughing and chanting “Plug It Up! Plug It Up!” A light bulb mysteriously breaks as Carrie reaches the height of her panic. Gym teacher Miss Collins breaks up the commotion, consoles Carrie, and tells her what menstruation is.
Later, as the principal dismisses Carrie from school, Carrie becomes frustrated at both cigarette smoke emanating from an ashtray and at the principal Morton repeatedly referring to her by the name “Cassie”; she causes the ashtray to flip from his desk and shatter. On Carrie’s way home, a young boy teases her, and she makes him fall off his bicycle with just one look.
At home, Carrie is abused by Margaret, who uses fake Bible quotes to rant about menstruation being the result of sinful thoughts, and Eve being “weak”. Carrie is dragged and locked in a small, specially-decorated “prayer closet” and forced to pray for forgiveness. When she is allowed to go to her room, she gazes into her reflection, causing the mirror to shatter. Shocked, Carrie begins to assume she may have some kind of supernatural power.
Carrie’s classmate Sue feels guilty for participating in the locker room antics, so she arranges for her boyfriend—the handsome and popular Tommy—to invite Carrie to the upcoming prom. Carrie is reluctant to accept, but is encouraged to do so by Miss Collins. Chris furiously throws a tantrum and defiantly skips her detention for tormenting Carrie, resulting in her getting slapped in the face by Miss Collins. Swearing vengeance, Chris recruits her delinquent boyfriend Billy to play a prank on Carrie. They slaughter pigs from a nearby farm and place a bucket of pigs’ blood above the stage at the school’s gymnasium. Margaret discovers Carrie’s prom plans and attempts to abuse her again. Having researched her telekinesis, Carrie asserts her power and stands up to her mother. Margaret responds by accusing Carrie of being a satanic witch.
At the prom, Carrie finds acceptance among her peers and shares a kiss with Tommy. Chris’s friend Norma rigs the election and Carrie is crowned Prom Queen. However, Carrie’s joy is cut short when Chris pulls a rope to dump the pig’s blood on her. Chris and Billy escape through a back door while the bucket falls on Tommy’s head, knocking him unconscious.
The audience is left shocked and speechless, but Carrie hallucinates that everyone in the gymnasium is laughing at her, even Miss Collins. Enraged, Carrie goes into a silent-psychotic breakdown which causes her to unleash telekinetic fury upon the crowd. The doors slam shut, a high-pressure water hose assaults many people (including Norma, who is knocked unconscious), the principal is electrocuted, Miss Collins is crushed to death, and Carrie’s English teacher Mr. Fromm is electrocuted so badly that his body erupts in flames, setting the gym on fire. As the inferno rages, the enraged and entranced Carrie calmly walks out and locks the remaining students inside, sealing their fates. Later, Chris and Billy—who witnessed the entire episode—attempt to run over Carrie with a car. Carrie causes their car to flip and explode, killing them both in a burst of flames.
When Carrie reaches home, Margaret reveals that Carrie is the result of a rape committed by her drunken father and that Margaret enjoyed the experience. Margaret says that sin never dies; as she comforts Carrie, Margaret stabs her in the back and chases her around the house with a knife. In self-defense, Carrie causes knives and sharp kitchen utensils to fly through the air and crucify Margaret. Overcome with anguish over her actions, Carrie loses control of her powers and incinerates the house while she and her mother are still inside.
Carrie (1976)
Directed by: Brian De Palma
Starring: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, William Katt, John Travolta, ancy Allen, Betty Buckley, Priscilla Pointer, Sydney Lassick, Stefan Gierasch, Noelle North
Screenplay by: Lawrence D. Cohen
Cinematography by: Mario Tosi
Film Editing by: Paul Hirsch
Costume Design by: Rosanna Norton
Set Decoration by: Robert Gould
Music by: Pino Donaggio
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: United Artists
Release Date: November 3, 1976
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