Carrie Movie Analysis

The 1976 movie Carrie, directed by Brian De Palma and starring Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, and Amy Irving, is a film adaption of Stephen King’s novel of the same name. The film follows the title character Carrie White, a teenager raised by an extremely religious and overbearing mother who has telekinetic powers which she uses to get revenge on her classmates after being humiliated by them. Roger Ebert’s review of Carrie states “This isn't a science-fiction movie with a tacked-on crisis, but the study of a character we know and understand. When she fully uses (or is used by) her strange power, we know why.” I agree with this statement because one of the things that sets this movie apart from other movies of similar genres in my eyes is that

Ebert states “There's a little something wrong, though, and De Palma has an effective way to convey it: As Carrie and her date dance, the camera moves around them, romantically at first, but then too fast, as if they're spinning out of control.” I agree with this statement because this scene from the prom stood out to me as I watched the movie. At this point in the story, without prior knowledge of the ending, the prom almost seems as if it could be a turning point in Carrie’s life leading to a happy ending. She looks beautiful and she is at the prom with the most popular boy in school which has a settling effect on the mood of the story, however, as the dancing continues and the camera circles them, the scene has a literally dizzying effect that successfully foreshadows the chaos to come. I think it was a creative way for De Palma to put an ominous twist on what was otherwise a calm scene by having the movement start out subtly and continue speeding up until the audience notices that something is

Not a manufactured one…but a real one, in which the horror grows out of the characters themselves. The scariest horror stories…develop their horrors out of the people they observe.” I agree with this statement because I think that the characters are one of the most important components in telling a story, especially one like Carrie where the focus of the entire film is the interactions between characters. The film almost seems realistic because there is no character who is simply crazy, Carrie never really chooses to harm her classmates, each character who’s actions help the turmoil along has some sort of motivation, none of which can necessarily be considered unwarranted. By having such a realistic format, the plot can seem even more horrifying because some of the characters who caused the events, like Carrie, her mother, or Chris, can be reflective of anyone you might see on the street who would seem harmless, maybe even