Aidan At The Movies: Carrie

I have a confession to make... I am a Stephen King junkie. I love reading his books and watching movie adaptations of his stories like this masterpiece. Stephen King's breakthrough novel comes to life with Sissy Spacek as Carrie. Celebrating 45 years on the screen. Also starring Piper Laurie (Twin Peaks and The Hustler) as Carrie's psycho religious mom, John Travolta (in his film debut), Nancy Allen (RoboCop), William Katt (The Greatest American Hero), Amy Irving (Crossing Delancey), P.J. Soles (Stripes and Halloween), and Betty Buckley as Miss Collins (or Miss Desjardin in the book). Directed by film legend Brian DePalma.

In Stephen King's take on Cinderella, Carrie White is a 17 year-old outcast at the Bates High School in Chamberlain, Maine in the year 1976. Nobody likes her. Carrie also has a secret power known as telekinesis, a power using the mind to move objects. One terrible morning after gym class in the shower room... Carrie got her first period... and doesn't know what to do. All the other girls did was throw stuff at her and laugh. The girls' gym teacher, Miss Collins, angrily shoos away the other girls with shame and helps Carrie on her feet. Carrie is then sent home for the rest of the school day. After hearing what happened to her daughter, Carrie's mom, Margret, a religious maniac, chastises her for what happened. Margret is such a religious freak, she believes sex is a sin. Not too long after the incident, Sue Snell, one of the girls who made fun of Carrie, felt guilty for what she's done and asks her prom date, Tommy Ross, to go with Carrie instead of her. Tommy reluctantly accepts. However, the girl who hated Carrie at school the most, Chris Hargensen, wanted to ruin Carrie's life some more. So, she and her boyfriend, Billy Nolan, devise a revengeful prank that will end up being a grave mistake. Little did they know that when they pull this stunt at the senior prom... Carrie White won't be happy about this...

Next to The Shining and Misery, Carrie is my favorite Stephen King story. Most Stephen King lovers may not see this, but to me, Carrie is SK's version of Cinderella. Carrie, being the center of the story and the outcast represents Cinderella. Margret, being not only wicked, but also psychotic, represents the evil stepmother. Chris Hargensen and the other girls (minus Sue) represent the ugly step sisters. Miss Collins represented the fairy godmother. The events of the senior prom represent the ball in Cinderella, except everything went totally wrong.

Despite the horror and tragedy that happens in the story, I can't help but love this Stephen King story. In fact, the infamous prom massacre scene is my favorite scene out of any Stephen King book/movie, probably because it shows how bullying can go too far when enemies really hurt others. Things like that happen in real life almost every day. Like the Columbine Shooting back in April of '99. (In which Stephen King compared Carrie White to the two killers during that massacre in his memoir, On Writing.)

What I can't help but notice in this Stephen King movie is that it has Disney like qualities. Mostly the music. The music sounds moody. One moment it's sad, another it's joyful, the other it's scary. It also sounds like the music came from Disney flicks like Bambi or The Rescuers. It's something you don't hear that much in Stephen King movies.

To sum this up, if you haven't seen this Stephen King movie masterpiece yet, then go rent this movie, get scared, and get your tissues ready as you see Sissy Spacek as Carrie.

Parents Guide: Like most adaptations of Stephen King movies, despite the Disney qualities in this one, this movie is rated R for nudity, language, suggestive content, and major violence. Not to mention some jump-scare moments near the end.

Did You Know?: Since Carrie was Stephen King's breakthrough novel, this was the very first film adaptation out of any Stephen King story. Nancy Allen, who played Carrie's arch-enemy, Chris Hargensen, never knew that her character was so cruel until she saw the final product. She and John Travolta thought they were being self-centered jerks for comic relief. (Obviously, they must have not read the book.) Piper Laurie thought this also with her character. The prom scene took two weeks to shoot with a total of 35 takes. Years later, Sissy Spacek narrated the audiobook version of Carrie, which I have listened to. (It was like hearing Carrie White telling her version of her story.) The boy on the bike was actually director Brian DePalma's nephew, Cameron. Guess what? That's not his actual voice singing "CREEPY CARRIE! CREEPY CARRIE! HAHAHAHA!!". That was actually Betty Buckley's voice, who played Miss Collins in the movie.