carrieCarrie
Director: Brian De Palma
Cast: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons

Carrie was not only Stephen King’s first book, but the first movie based off of one of his books, and one of the best movies by Brian De Palma, who was so influential, that now other filmmakers rip off his style. Now this movie has been released as a collector’s edition Blu-ray, packed with a ton of extras from the Blu-ray masters, Scream Factory. If those are reasons enough to get this, I don’t know what is, but hey, I’m here, you’re here, so let’s take a quick look at 1976’s Carrie. Don’t worry, no one is going to laugh at you…

Carrie is a very unpopular girl in high school with a crazy Bible-thumping nutbag for a mother. So yeah, a charmed life she sure don’t have. One day, after being picked on again by the other girls at school, she realizes she has Jean Grey-like super telekinetic powers and wonders what she’s supposed to do with them. As poor Carrie just tries to crawl out of her social shell a little, events are put into motion that will culminate in a gloriously violent night of death that will leave any and all survivors both mentally and physically scarred for life.

Look, you know the story to Carrie. Even if you have never seen the movie, it’s become such a large part of the human zeitgeist that you know it. But beyond the story is a well-crafted movie that still delivers even all these years later. It is packed with De Palma’s trademarked style, including his love for split screen, and colors that would give Dario Argento a run for his money in the bright and vivid category. The actors are all top notch, with Sissy Spacek killing it as the sad social outcast, and Piper Laurie perhaps being the best and most frightening thing in this movie with her portrayal of Carrie’s bat shit insane mother. Even John Travolta (who for me is the weak link in this cast) isn’t bad, just a tad bit cliché. And then there is that ending, the one that was so influential and memorable and has been referenced, homaged, and parodied in dozens of movies that followed it. If this movie wasn’t that damn good, it would not have had such a long-lasting effect in filmmakers and movie watchers alike.

On to the extras that Scream Factory has done for this new Blu-ray release — and there are so many of them, that it took two discs to hold them all. First there are no commentary tracks for this movie, and that is sad. Surely someone with some connection could have said something about it. But nope, I guess not. That said, the rest of the extras do work overtime to make up for that oversight. There are a whole bunch of interviews on here, with a whole bunch of people, bundled up into sections like “Writing Carrie,” “Shooting Carrie,” “Cutting Carrie,” “Casting Carrie,” “Acting Carrie,” “More Acting Carrie” (no, really), “Visualizing Carrie,” and the one with the best title, “Bucket of Blood.” Hmm, what could that one be about? Altogether, these interview featurettes run over three and a half hours. That’s pretty damn impressive, and we’re not even done with the goodies. There is a Horror’s Hallowed Grounds segment that runs eleven and a half minutes about the locations used in the movie, and I always love those. There is also a six minute look at Carrie the Musical. Yes, really, they made a musical based off this movie. Because, why not? There is a trailer for this, and the other movies in the “Carrie franchise” but really, who cares about those? There is a lengthy text gallery about Stephen King and him writing the novel, Carrie. Last but not least, the usual collection of TV spots, radio spots, a still gallery of behind-the-scenes pics, and a gallery for posters and lobby cards are also included.

Carrie is one of those landmark horror movies that helped to not only define a decade, but the genre as a whole. The talent by all involved is obvious, the ending is beyond memorable, and it has scenes that will haunt you forever. It is a classic and this is the best edition of that classic movie ever to come out. So getting this is a no-brainer. It is beyond highly recommended.

About Brian M. Sammons

Brian M. Sammons has penned stories that have appeared in the anthologies: Arkham Tales, Horrors Beyond, Monstrous, Dead but Dreaming 2, Horror for the Holidays, Deepest, Darkest Eden and others. He has edited the books; Cthulhu Unbound 3, Undead & Unbound, Eldritch Chrome, Edge of Sundown, Steampunk Cthulhu, Dark Rites of Cthulhu, Atomic Age Cthulhu, World War Cthulhu and Flesh Like Smoke. He is also the managing editor of Dark Regions Press’ Weird Fiction line. For more about this guy that neighbors describe as “such a nice, quiet man” you can check out his infrequently updated webpage here: http://brian_sammons.webs.com/ and follow him on Twitter @BrianMSammons.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This