By: Kane Breen
The legacy of the original 1976 Carrie, directed by Brian De Palma, is one that has transcended time. Why yes, it is based on the fourth novel by Stephen King (the first published but fourth novel he wrote) and the movie itself has grown to be the basis of its popularity, as most stories are for the general public. Media that has come after the movie being the musical Carrie from 1988 being one of the most expensive Broadway flops (I did just learn this while researching), the sequel called The Rage: Carrie 2 from 1999 (which I have personally not seen but have heard enough negative comments to not be sorry about that), made for tv movie Carrie from 2002, and the remake of Carrie from 2013 (remake in the most loose and emotionless sense).
Now in learning how many iterations of this story there are, you may be wondering two things: 1) Does Carrie from 1976 transcend time in a bad way like everything else that came after? or 2) Wow, the use of parentheticals as a glimpse into the writer’s mind is something so creative and I bet this guy is really cool. While I am flattered, let’s discover why every quirky girl on Tiktok dresses up as a bloody Carrie White from one of the most infamous scenes of this movie to date.
*Spoiler Free Recap*
Carrie White, a troubled teenager raised by a strict christian mother, gets her first period and discovery of telekinetic powers. When young Carrie gets asked out to prom, a group of bully’s plan a prank to get back at her. A prom night to remember is turned into an infamous one when teenage adolescence mixes with powers and trauma to bring on the most classic horror movies of all time.
*Spoiler Recap*
The movie starts off with a very small title card and a nude girl becoming a woman, and that nude woman being our very own Carrie White played by Sissy Spacek. What ensues from this bloody and embarrassing situation is Carrie starts freaking out because she doesn’t know what a period is and starts getting tormented by her classmates (oh yeah did i forget to mention that Carrie gets her first period in a school gym locker room). We then get the first hint that Carrie might have powers when a light bulb explodes after her gym teacher physically assaults (slaps) her because let’s just say Carrie is rightfully freaking out. Now there is a reason why Carrie is so sheepish and doesn’t know what a period is and shakes like a wet dog. That reason being she has an abusive christian fundamentalist mother who installed an at home forced prayer closet (wow fancy). So you can imagine how supportive Carrie’s mother Margaret, played by the recently deceased Piper Laurie, must be.Margaret yells, hits, and locks Carrie in her prayer closet (coming to all the new modern homes) because Carrie’s curse of blood is a result of her feeling sexual desires toward men. Meanwhile the gym teacher Rita, played by Betty Buckler, has some news for the group of girls that tormented Carrie. There we meet Chris, played by Nancy Allen, and Sue, played by Amy Irving, we learn if they don’t do her detention they won’t be able to go to prom. In typical antagonist fashion, Chris refuses and blames Carrie for ruining her prom. We then go to Sue, feeling guilty for the first time, who is making her boyfriend Tommy, played by William Katt, take Carrie White to prom. On the other side of the track, Chris makes her boyfriend Billy, played by John Travolta, help her get revenge on Carrie with a bloody good prank. So in the lead up to the prom, Tommy gets Carrie to go to the prom with him, making gym teacher Rita suspicious. This makes her mother hit Carrie again and tell her Jesus hates her. Then Carrie, who’s been using her powers a bit, shows her mother that she means business when it comes to going to prom. Chris and Billy also start their plan, that now had many people involved, to ruin Carrie’s prom of course. We then go to Carrie getting ready for prom while telekinetically making her mother lay down as she pleads for her to stay home and says, “They’re all going to laugh at you”. Chris and Billy get the bucket of pig’s blood that’s going to spill on Carrie in front of everyone at prom when she is elected prom queen ready (yup that’s a Stephen King prank for you). Carrie and Tommy go to prom and have a wonderful time and it’s obvious they are really crazy for each other, especially when they are elected prom queen and king after some votes were “misplaced” (better recount those votes). Then the blood of all blood happens and Carrie is covered in it from head to toe, with the bucket falling on and killing Tommy. So with this iconic scene, we see Carrie use her telekinetic powers to kill everyone at the prom while hearing her mother say, “They’re all going to laugh at you” and half imagining half seeing everyone laugh at her. She then goes to her house and washes off all the dead swine and when looking to her mother for comfort, she literally gets stabbed in the back from her. After this betrayal Carrie crucifies her mother with sharp household objects resulting in a fitting end for Margaret. Later we see the White House get stones falling from the sky, the house exploding, and being sunk into the earth because of god? It’s debatable.
Final Review Comments
After my many rewatches of this film, one of the most brilliant and memorable parts of the film is the character growth of Carrie White. When a teenage girl that has never had power in life that has been controlled by her mother finally gets power it is a story bound to entice anyone. In fact, in this last rewatch I had, there was a scene that is just so beautifully shot of Carrie and Margaret eating dinner. The lighting is made up of candles and it is just Carrie and her mother eating dinner almost in the dark alongside an absurd amount of christian memorabilia that is such a great symbol for their relationship.
When Carrie is finally happy and having hope for her life is when she is finally pushed over the edge. That pushing over the edge, being used and abused most of her life is what makes her so relatable to the audience. Because when the world wants to take away our power we don’t usually have telekinetic powers to lean on. So being able to see such a wronged woman be able to finally get back at everyone who wronged her is really what we always imagine we could do when life feels unfair. This shows that no matter how many failed movies or musicals Carrie has replicated, this story will always be one of revenge, intolerance, religious trauma, and one very messed up girl going on a murdering spree and looking good while doing it.