Hell Hath No Fury (Carrie (DVD))

Member Name: plipplop

Product:	Carrie (DVD)
Date:	23/11/07 (163 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Classic horror film with excellent performances

Disadvantages: Nothing major

When the onset of puberty starts to bring about disturbing physical changes, young Carrie White is ill-prepared. With a deeply religious mother who believes that such changes signal the onset into evil ways, it is not surprising that Carrie is terrified about what is happening to her. When Carrie experiences her first period, her schoolmates torment her viciously, ceasing only when the games mistress, Miss Collins, intervenes. Collins is far from impressed by the girls' cruelty towards Carrie, and implements a series of punishments that leads the group's leader, Chris, to be banned from attending the school Prom later that week. Chris's anger is directed entirely at Carrie, who has subsequently been invited to go to the Prom and an elaborate revenge plot is constructed. But whilst Carrie is at face value weak and sensitive, her timid exterior betrays a darker, powerful secret. Pushed to the limits of her tolerance, it may transpire that Carrie White is more than capable of looking after herself......

Now more than thirty years old, Brian de Palma's tale of teen angst and revenge remains an assured horror classic. A (dire) 1999 sequel aside, the format still feels fresh and original and the film is still one of the few truly successful adaptations of a Stephen King novel. But perhaps the most remarkable observation is that the film somehow dates incredibly well. The tone, content and moral of the tale remains just as relevant in 2007 as it was in 1976.

Although de Palma never set out to titillate, Carrie is initially curiously erotic. Set to a smarmy 1970s soundtrack, the opening titles are set amidst a steamy, bustling locker room, filled with completely naked young woman, resplendent in their sexual awareness and confident in their good looks. Initially, this also seems to be the case for young Carrie White, who seems to be enjoying the luxury of the hot water beating against her body, until the enjoyment is instantly cut short by the discovery of blood originating from a forbidden part of her body. This jarring, shock treatment is a tool repeated throughout Carrie, as the audience is drawn painfully into a scene of apparent innocence, only for things to take a far darker turn. It's all terribly symbolic too. The film as a whole is a testament to the pains of growing up, exploded into a violent and horrific melee of extremes and it works very well. De Palma uses a highly effective combination of careful dialogue, music and lighting to create a physical manifestation of what the characters are essentially feeling. It isn't overly subtle, but it is good cinema for sure.

Primarily a sequence of events building to one shocking climax, Carrie is at times, excruciatingly tense. Short bursts of harassment and mischief (she is bombarded momentarily in the showers with sanitary products) give way to more protracted, fundamental cruelty as Chris's revenge plans come to fruition. The plot rather carefully blurs the lines between who is accountable and who is responsible for Carrie's plot, as if to add credence to the eventual outcome in which Carrie (sub consciously or otherwise) makes absolutely no distinction. Even when it becomes very clear what it is that Chris is going to do to Carrie, the viewer is left dangling tenuously, almost holding his breath in anticipation of what is to follow next. It's clever stuff. I can think of few cinematic moments where you can barely watch the screen, knowing full well exactly what is going to happen but largely wishing it wasn't. This dramatic concept is all the more effective by the contrast with the following scenes that (to anyone who sees the film for the very first time) are all the more shocking by their sheer unpredictability.

The competent visuals contribute greatly to the film's ability to age well. This is not a film rammed full of special effects or gory make-up; the director's craft is far more subtle. Carrie's revenge is exacted in a cold, simplistic manner, terrifying the audience through Carrie's classmates' panic and the growing tragedy, as opposed to bold, effects-laden visuals. There are probably four key scenes in Carrie, none of which really deposes the other but all of which leave you holding your breath. De Palma realises that the key to dramatic impact lies not only in the climax but in the journey to get there and the tone and content is consistently good from start to finish.

It helps that the film can boast such strong performances. Sissy Spacek was nominated for an Oscar as best actress for her portrayal of Carrie and it's easy to see why. This is powerful stuff. She lends the character such emotion and angst that her ordeal at the hands of the school bullies is truly disturbing. Carrie's first Prom Night is a series of unbelievable highs and lows and it is Spacek who drives this in every screen appearance. Her wide-eyed innocence and adulation for the date is as touching as her eventual wrath is frightening and was certainly a career-defining performance. As Carrie's mother, Piper Laurie is equally memorable (and was also Oscar-nominated) but is not as "easy" a character to watch as her daughter. Her religious fanaticism threatens to push her into caricature at times, not helped by the fact that she physically resembles a witch, but you simply cannot fail to admire her conviction. Nancy Allen is sneeringly unpleasant as Carrie's nemesis, Sue, but some of the smaller characters are also very good. Betty Buckley's school mistress seems to break the mould of how we might see school teachers (she genuinely seems to care) and even Carrie's date Tommy (William Katt) seems like a genuinely nice guy. Carrie is also notable as having John Travolta's first major screen role, although it's hard to see why he went on to such popularity from what is essentially a rather one-dimensional character.

The film's soundtrack is powerful and effective, particularly the short, screeching bursts of string music that accompanies Carrie's "outbursts" but the 70s feel is hard to ignore. The style has since been emulated many times and thirty years after its release sounds clichéd (although in its day was quite groundbreaking.) Similarly, the film's infamous climax has since been copied many, many times and you have to remember that thirty years ago, would have been far more shocking than it is today. Most criticisms of the film would be levelled by an audience that has different demands from cinema to those who went to see the film in 1976. The 1970s costumes and hair cuts are occasionally laughable. For some tastes, the growing tension is perhaps painfully slow and with a film as well-known as this, it's hard not to grow impatient to get to "that scene with the pig's blood."

A re-mastered version of the film was released on region 2 DVD in 2000 and is highly recommended. The picture has been sharpened up (but still retains some glitches and crackles that remind you its thirty years old) and the soundtrack is far crisper. Indeed, the work on the soundtrack can make some of the music stand out rather more than the composer intended but it will certainly keep you awake. You can easily get hold of a copy for around £5, which is a good investment for what is certainly a horror / cinema classic.

Highly recommended

Summary: Prom Night