Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
Withdrawn and sensitive teenager Carrie White faces bullying from her classmates and abuse from her fanatically pious mother. When she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers, things take a dark and violent turn.
Brian De Palma's adaptation of Stephen King's debut novel is a landmark of 1970s horror. Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie deliver towering, Oscar-nominated performances that elevate the material far beyond genre norms. De Palma's cinematography is inventive and expressionistic — the split-screen prom climax, slow-motion sequences, and fluid camera work are genuinely distinctive and assured. The film's novelty lies in its fusion of high-school social drama with supernatural horror, told with uncommon empathy for its outcast protagonist. The ending — including the legendary grave-hand shock — remains one of cinema's most iconic jolts. The plot, while strong in its emotional foundation, follows a relatively straightforward arc and is the least extraordinary element of the package, earning a slightly more modest rating.