October 4th - Carrie 1976

Carrie forms a very distinct memory in my childhood. Many of the horror movies I saw as a kid were me and a cousin on a Saturday night staying up late before church. Not this one. This one was a group of boys, elaborate subterfuge and lies, and a sleepover geared around watching this movie. Why were a bunch of boys so interested in a Brian De Palma horror movie? The opening shower scene, duh. However, we did watch the rest of it through. And as corny as it is, by the end of the movie, I was more interested in the actual movie and what it meant and how it was showing us than the fleeting 3-5 minutes of bare chests.

The movie fills around Carrie and her mother nicely with interesting side characters. Look out for the secretary from Ferris Bueller. She looks young for the only time in her career as one of Carrie's tormentors. There's also Joanie, aka the ball cap girl. She barely gets any lines, but bizarrely stands out with her perfect color coordination. Then later, she is wearing a ballcap still at the prom. It's kind of disturbing and actually never commented on whatsoever. There's also a really ugly streak of abuse going on between Chris and her boyfriend (John Travolta). They're pretty physically and verbally abusive to each other throughout the lead up. Chris stays fixated on Carrie White and her revenge plot, while he is pretty much oblivious and along for the ride. The funniest example of this is Travolta's incredulous reaction to Chris obsessing over Carrie while they're trying to fool around in his prized car. He would rather yell "Git R Dun!"(this actually happens), and taunt pigs about not having "to worry about the bomb no more" as a gleeful idiot than be a part of Chris' fury.

De Palma pretty much pitches a perfect game, at least the cinematic equivalent, once the prom finally arrives. There is an epic tracking shot showing the entire layout of the gym and dance as Carrie enters. It does a great job showing most of the characters and setting up the geography of the mayhem to come. Another long shot follows the rope from Chris' eager hands all the way up to the bucket of pig's blood waiting above. She grips it tightly under the stage as she casts a silhouette over the sheet hanging off the stage. It looks like a delicious Psycho shower curtain reference. Another close up of Chris' glossy lips right before all hell breaks loose. It's decidedly sexual, titillating us right before the money shot.

Other weirdnesses creep in throughout as well. An early standoff between Carrie and her mother happen across a long table with a huge Last Supper painting on the background wall between them. Lightning flashes with each yell back and forth, lighting up Jesus' face. I love how it still commits to a goofy and light-hearted prom montage. A funky 70s tune plays while Bobby Ross and a couple of nameless bros try on tuxedos. All of this would play as a parody today, but it's completely strait-laced. Seemingly coming in from another movie that ends at the lakehouse party where everyone gets laid and grows a little bit. By the time the prom band plays "the Devil's got a hungry soul", and Bobby tells Carrie "to the devil with false modesty!" it's laying it on a little thick.

The sheer terror once Carrie's rampage starts doesn't disappoint. The king and queen announcement is shown over the shoulder of the bucket of pig's blood hanging over the stage. Even through the soft-focus walk towards the stage, it's obvious that this is all going to get very bad, very fast. The use of blood red lighting and split-screens really keeps the carnage vivid and kinetic throughout her massacre. It's a fitting and iconic climax for one of my favorite horror movies.