Rating: 17/20
Plot: The titular bullied high schooler goes nuts and kills everybody.
This was the first movie that I can remember seeing in a movie theater back in '76 when my parents took me as a 2 1/2 year old. It was hard to forget the artsy dirtiness of that locker room scene, the way John Travolta drinks his beer, that bucket of pig blood, those flying knives, and that filthy hand as I relived it all over and over again in my nightmares throughout my childhood. Though dated somewhat, this is a horror classic. De Palma's storytelling, though not far removed from King's novel, is unapologetically over the top, but he's got a style that I really like here. I really like how Carrie the character is filmed in a lot of of this. She's seen at askew angles and through things enough, and it adds to the mystery of her character. I also loved this long shot that leads the audience up the rope and to that ominous bucket. The whole king/queen announcement sequence is brilliant and leads to the longest applause for anything in movie history. The aftermath--the music cutting out with the only sound being a stylish bucket creaking and dripping--is such a perfect calm before the shit storm. Sissy Spacek is perfect; her eyes manage to give off an innocence and creepiness simultaneously. Piper Laurie is also perfect, the performance nowhere near realistic but deliriously entertaining regardless. She's effectively creepy while saying some pretty absurd things. "I can see your dirty pillows. Everyone will!" Also, note that carrot chopping scene. Laurie apparently thought that this movie was a spoof which may explain how she played her character. This isn't a perfect movie. There's a dancing scene where the camera spins around Tommy and Carrie way too fast, almost like De Palma wanted to make his audience really dizzy before the climax of the story. There are a few awkward comedy attempts including one with sped-up chipmunk voices. John Travolta, probably because he became so famous, is a little distracting. This movie should also probably lose points for his "Get 'er done!" which I'm sure is what gave Larry the Cable Guy the only idea he's ever had as a comic. There's also so much music, a few notes plagiarized from Psycho, I think. Of course, with an overbearing mother and a notable shower scene, I guess this has a few things in common with Hitchcock's movie.
Worth mentioning: Michael Talbott acting his ass off during the scene where they get a pig. Incredible performance.
Love this "Goof" from imdb.com: "Chris is somehow able to give her boyfriend a blow job and talk to him at the same time, without her voice being distorted in the least."
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