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Post by slayrrr666 on Dec 8, 2005 17:34:32 GMT -5
 Here's one of the last of the "Never-ending Shame" series, and am now finally done with them: “Carrie” is a pretty decent mid-70s chiller from King’s works. **SPOILERS** Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) a senior in High School, is considered a social outcast and pretty much ignored by her peers. Her home-life is even worse. Her religious mother Margaret (Piper Laurie) is convinced Carrie has become a sinning woman and treats her like a captive. When Carrie goes through her first period in the locker room after gym, the whole school begins to humiliate her to no end, including popular Chris (Nancy Allen) who turns on Carrie and revokes her prom tickets from her. Margaret is pleased at that, as it means Carrie can stay home and not become corrupted by the sinning going on at prom. Carrie thinks she is being unfair to her, and she tells friend Sue Snell, (Amy Irving) who agrees to lend her boyfriend Tommy (William Katt) to escort her to the prom. Once there, Chris makes Carrie’s humiliation so extreme that it leads to a shocking revelation about Carrie that no one at the school wishes would’ve been discovered. The Good News: This is a little more graphic than I remembered it was. We get lots of impaling, a couple of people set on fire, and other such graphic happenings. There isn’t a whole lot of that I want to spoil, so that will be up to the viewer to find out. We also get a lot of great action scenes towards the end. Everyone knows that the prom is one of the highlights of the genre, so that part is no doubt a part many will want to see. It’s also got a 70s feel to it, the way it is filmed and the way it is executed, that you become completely fascinated by it and don’t want to turn it off since it might show something you don’t want to miss. It is action-packed and full of ingenious surprises that keep you on the edge of your seat and wondering what will happen next. This is done greatly by the perfect cast assembled. Piper Laurie looks and sounds like such a complete nutcase that you actually begin to want Carrie to finish her off. Her rantings and ravings are perfectly done that makes the viewers sympathize against her. She plays the part so well that the performance is etched in your mind for a long time afterward. Her house is like a containment camp for the religiously devout: crucifixes in every possible location, “Last Supper” paintings placed in ominous places, and her special confessional is just weird. All of this is building up tension, and it actually succeeds from others that haven’t before. It’s also great at building tension earlier, when we see what happens to her at school. That is some of the scariest images of a high school ever committed to screen, and it really makes you feel for her. The initial bits used to show her gift are also some creepy images, and the events are pretty creepy. This is more of a character-based movie, so that’s about all for this one. We get great characters, but not much else until the spectacular third act. The Bad News: The main thing I want to say is that it takes a long time to get going. There is at least a long portion of the film that takes place before we get anything remotely interesting. That can be an eternity for those that like faster moving films. There are also so few jumps that after repeated viewings, it loses some of its initial impact. The film is a little dated so it shows itself very quickly. Also, some of the religious discussions can be a bit much for those that aren’t that versed in religion or don’t believe in it. The religious aspect of the film is a large part of the film, and if you don’t believe in what is presented, it can lead to some unpleasant experiences. The Final Verdict: A little overrated, but that doesn’t take anything away from it. A little slow in the beginning like all of King’s works are, but there is a lot of good stuff towards the ending. King fans are encouraged to check it out, as are those that like the 70s feel for horror. Rated R: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Language, and discussions and events portraying feminine issues and religion |
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Post by Quorthon on Dec 9, 2005 10:40:06 GMT -5
The late 70's and early 80's seemed to have spawned some excellent film adaptions of King works.
One of my friends read the book for a class in High School--we had to read one book per quarter and do a report about it to the class--he chose Carrie because he found it abandoned somewhere. I read Christine, The Running Man, and... I think, Jurassic Park or Cujo--Cujo is a rather dull book.
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Post by slayrrr666 on Dec 9, 2005 11:18:04 GMT -5
Cujo is one of the few King books I haven't read: The Stand, The Shining, and Misery are the others. This one's not that bad, but I always felt that his films always take a while to get interesting before all the good stuff happens.
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Post by LivingDeadGirl on Dec 9, 2005 17:42:46 GMT -5
The Stand, The Shining, and Misery are the others. If you're a King fan, which I'm assuming you are, definately read The Stand! IMO his best, certainly my favorite of his & probably my favorite book of all time. I think I've read it about 3 times....twice for sure.  |
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Post by DrLenera on Dec 10, 2005 13:07:32 GMT -5
Classic film,de Palma at his best. I don't mind the slow first half,and John Travolta is helarious. His blow job scene with Nancy Allen always makes me laugh "I hate Carrie White". The famous 'hand' scene really made me jump the first time. Soon after that,I watched Carrie with about 10 other people,none of whom had seen it before,and they ALL jumped,even though two of them knew about the scene.
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Dec 12, 2005 2:05:48 GMT -5
Carrie using telepathy to cruxify her mom is still pretty creepy and the whole prom scene is a classic. Amy Irving spotting the rope and following it to the bucket of pig's blood in slow motion, is a great build-up of suspense. Here's something to confuse the younger readers. What the hell was the Greatest American Hero doing at the prom with the Coal Miner's Daughter???  And why hasn't our resident DePalma nut commented yet?? ;D |
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Post by spacer on Dec 12, 2005 2:38:45 GMT -5
Carrie using telepathy to cruxify her mom is still pretty creepy and the whole prom scene is a classic. And why hasn't our resident DePalma nut commented yet?? ;D Oh, Dark Master I caught you erring which I thought previously was impossible knowing your immense cinema knowledge. Carrie didn't used Telepathy but Psychokinesis   and you repeated it TWICE ;D Telepathy - The ability to sense communications from, and communicate with, people far away, Psychokinesis or Telekinesis - ability to influence the behavior of matter by mental intention. BART WAKE UP, WAKE UP. |
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Dec 12, 2005 11:11:54 GMT -5
Oh, Dark Master I caught you erring which I thought previously was impossible knowing your immense cinema knowledge. Carrie didn't used Telepathy but Psychokinesis and you repeated it TWICE ;D Whoops! You're right, I called it telepathy and not telekinesis, but I only mentioned it once, not twice. |
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Post by Quorthon on Dec 12, 2005 11:16:38 GMT -5
Oh, Dark Master I caught you erring which I thought previously was impossible knowing your immense cinema knowledge. Carrie didn't used Telepathy but Psychokinesis and you repeated it TWICE ;D Whoops! You're right, I called it telepathy and not telekinesis, but I only mentioned it once, not twice. He means you double-posted. Scroll up. |
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Dec 12, 2005 11:45:57 GMT -5
He means you double-posted. Scroll up. No I didn't, I don't know what you guys are talking about. Ah, the power to delete your own post. Priceless. |
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Post by Phoenix on Dec 12, 2005 11:47:04 GMT -5
Carrie is classic horror for me, and it's a movie that makes me think 'I'm glad high school wasn't THAT BAD for me.' Those evil gym bitches are brutal! I think there is more horror in the way they torment Carrie than what she does to 'em back.
9/10 for me. A 'must-see.'
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Post by Quorthon on Dec 12, 2005 11:48:12 GMT -5
He means you double-posted. Scroll up. No I didn't, I don't know what you guys are talking about. Ah, the power to delete your own post. Priceless. You shister. |
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Post by Heineken Skywalker on Dec 12, 2005 11:51:27 GMT -5
Shister? What are you, fifty?
Hey, I didn't go back and "edit" my original post, just deleted the second redundant one. Freeing up some bandwidth is all.
Which I've now used up again explaining myself. Sheesh. ;D
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Post by Quorthon on Dec 12, 2005 12:15:18 GMT -5
In this post, Quorthon leans forward in his creaky rocking chair on his porch and shakes his cane at Heineken Skywalker.
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Post by Bartwald on Dec 12, 2005 12:49:58 GMT -5
And why hasn't our resident DePalma nut commented yet?? ;D Here I am. Sorry for being late. Now... Carrie is one of my favourite films of all time - much better than King's little book and, ayuh, infinitely better than the 2002 remake (which wasn't all bad but... you know...). I never even tried writing a review of this film 'cause it would mostly consist of the word "perfect" repeated over and over again: acting, direction, f/x, editing, photography... Flawless. Gripping. Haunting. Genius. You know: perfect. 10/10 Strange thing this: being the Carrie nut I am I should perhaps hate the sequel - Rage: Carrie 2 - but I caught it at the theatre and liked it a lot; it is more like a remake if you look at it closely but some atmosphere of the original did get into it. And I jumped at the end, too. |
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and you repeated it TWICE ;D
