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CARRIE

CARRIE
© 2001 MGM Home Entertainment

Carrie White (played brilliantly by Sissy Spacek) is a troubled teenager, a lonely outcast who endures daily torment from her peers at school; she's shy and introverted, and unable to stand up for herself when bullied. But while that might not be dissimilar to lots of awkward teens' experiences, Carrie's situation is compounded by the fact that her single mom (Piper Laurie) is an insane religious fanatic who locks the poor girl in the closet for hours at a time to say her prayers.

Oh yeah, there's one other problem that Carrie's dealing with at this confused time: her emerging telekinetic abilities.

A dangerous cycle begins when, at the film's start, the ignorant Carrie has her first period while showering after gym class. The other girls (Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, P.J. Soles) react with taunts when they realize that Carrie doesn't understand what is happening, but the resulting punishment the girls receive for their cruelty from the gym teacher Miss Collins (Betty Buckley) sets them on a path to revenge. It is arranged for one of the popular boys at school to ask poor Carrie to the prom, with Nancy Allen's villainous Chris planning a gruesome prank. But no one has reckoned with Carrie's burgeoning supernatural powers; not her schoolmates, and not even her mad mother.

De Palma kicks off the film by kicking his audience in the head, typically offering leering nudity during the opening credits as his camera tracks through the girls' locker room in slow motion, to gentle music, before abruptly shocking us as Carrie notices her menstrual blood for the first time and the scene turns horrific. It's an unsettling effect that puts the viewer on edge right from the start.

The director's usual bag of visual tricks is on display in CARRIE as well, particularly in the bloody final reel of the film when he utilizes slow-mo, split screens and dramatic lighting (not to mention a dream sequence). But De Palma is relatively restrained through the bulk of the picture, and he also largely avoids his tendency to copy other filmmakers' styles as well. Instead, much of the power of the film is derived from the performances by Spacek as the doomed title character and Piper Laurie as her unbelievably creepy mom (both were Oscar-nominated). Telekinetic powers notwithstanding, this is one scary life Carrie leads, between her psycho mother and the everyday terrors of high school cliques.

De Palma also manages to cram a bit of humor into the film as well, particularly in its middle section. Some of this is dated at times (as is the soundtrack occasionally as it veers into the ridiculous pop music of the time) but much of it is effective. The notion of having adults play high school students, though, is a ridiculous situation that Hollywood still hasn't gotten around (Buckley is only a couple of years older than Spacek, though she played her teacher here).

But, regardless, CARRIE is one of the best horror films of the '70s. Carrie White's primal outburst at the climax of the film feels like a sort of fantasy wish fulfillment for audiences who have experienced the character's pain throughout. De Palma's movie is a genre film in the classic sense, but it's also quite a persuasive tale of the ordinary horrors of everyday adolescent life.

This "25^th Anniversary" Special Edition DVD has been released along with two other De Palma milestones, DRESSED TO KILL and BLOW OUT. And while CARRIE has been available on disc before, this new package is an improvement with its anamorphic widescreen transfer and extra features, all of which are new. Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound audio is offered, as is the original mono track.

As with the DRESSED TO KILL disc, MGM has provided several documentaries and featurettes as extras, though the lack of a De Palma commentary is disappointing. Still, what is here is quite good. The two docs are both some 40 minutes in length, and feature new interviews with many of the cast and crew who worked on the film.

ACTING CARRIE obviously focuses on the performers from the picture, which were quite a group of young up-and-comers in 1976. Of particular interest here is the revelation that De Palma's casting for CARRIE took place simultaneously with George Lucas' casting for STAR WARS. The two directors shared sessions, with actors like William Katt auditioning for Luke Skywalker but winding up in CARRIE. Many such anecdotes are found in this segment, courtesy of Katt, Nancy Allen, Amy Irving, Sissy Spacek, Betty Buckley, Piper Laurie and De Palma himself.

The second documentary, VISUALIZING CARRIE: FROM WORDS TO IMAGES, is equally fascinating. Screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen talks about the evolution of the script (as well as a deleted scene where Carrie first learns of her powers). Art director Jack Fisk also describes the effort that went into this doomed scene, among other things. Editor Paul Hirsch contributes quite a bit also, discussing his input on the project. And of course, De Palma offers his thoughts on just about every aspect of CARRIE. All of these documentaries, both here and on the DRESSED TO KILL disc, avoid studio PR trappings and as a result are very substantial offerings.

A six-minute featurette called SINGING CARRIE discusses the doomed musical stage adaptation of the story, with interviews from Cohen and Buckley (who were both involved in the show). Other extras include an animated photo gallery, the trailer and production notes called "Stephen King and the Evolution of Carrie."