Plot: What’s it about?
Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is a young woman with little joy in her life, at home or in school. At home, her overbearing mother punishes her for everything, as well as berates her with verbal tirades, often for no good reason. She is abused all the time, sometimes beaten by her mother, sometimes locked inside a closet, never loved or cared for, to say the least. But her situation at school is just as bad, as the other students torment her by calling her names, picking on her, and playing cruel little jokes on her. When Carrie has an extreme reaction to her first period in the showers after gym, the other girls scream at her and make cruel jokes, which results in real trouble. Carrie is sent home to her mother, while the girls are punished and warned if future abuse of Carrie takes place, they will be banned from prom. But one girl decides to risk it and continues to torture Carrie, which means she ends up banned from prom, as promised. So now she wants revenge in the worst way and plans a massive trick to ruin Carrie’s night, but little does she know what it will cause, as a force wells up within Carrie…
Carrie is just a horror classic, no doubt. I’ve always been a fan of this movie and even after all these years, it hasn’t lost a step in terms of effectiveness, at least to me. Brian DePalma (Sisters, Phantom of the Paradise) supplies excellent direction, while the cast is nothing less superb, even the smaller players seem in fine form. This is the perfect blend of horror and supernatural thriller, one that takes you from the start and never eases up, a very powerful and memorable film. Carrie has remained a mainstay of horror and thriller fans, as it still holds firm and never seems to lose steam, and in truth, I don’t think it ever will. This movie is highly recommended. even to those with even a casual interest in the genre. Fox’s Blu-ray release has a solid transfer, but abandons almost of the extras from the Special Edition DVD. Even so, the movie is first and foremost, so if you just want the best presentation, this is the release to seek out.
In the title role here is Sissy Spacek, who not only gives a riveting performance, it is a haunting one at that. I think that while Stephen King’s story and Brian DePalma’s direction are major factors here, it is Spacek’s performance that makes Carrie. She has a massive role at the center of the film, but she never shows the burden, always in prime form here. I am always impressed with her work here, even after countless times of watching the movie, as she nails the part from start to finish, never letting up for a second. She is able to seem so alone and helpless, it just perfectly sets the stage for the film’s later events, I think. You can also see Spacek in such films as Coal Miner’s Daughter, ‘Night Mother, JFK, The Straight Story, and Affliction. The cast also includes Piper Laurie (The Faculty, The Grass Harp), John Travolta (Battlefield Earth, Swordfish), and Amy Irving (Traffic, The Rage: Carrie 2).
Video: How does it look?
Carrie is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. This is solid, but seems to be an older transfer, as MPEG-2 offerings seem to be rare at this point. At any rate, I was still pleased for the most part and noticed some nice improvements. The print still has a lot of grain, as it should be and the inherent softness is still intact. I am glad this wasn’t all DNR’ed out of existence, as we’re left with a natural, film like texture. The colors look bright and bold, contrast is accurate, though a touch light at times, and detail is good, but rarely great. So a step up from the DVD, but not a big one.
Audio: How does it sound?
was pleased with this DTS HD 5.1 option, as it provides some extra punch when needed, but still sounds natural and allows the material to shine. The music has a lot of life and of course, when the finale goes down, the speakers come alive to put us right in the thick of the action. Aside from the music and the climactic moments, the surrounds don’t have much to do, which is fine, since the sound design doesn’t call for much presence. The audio is clear and clean however, while dialogue is sharp and never hard to pick up on. This disc also includes the original mono soundtrack, French and Spanish language tracks, as subtitles in English, Spanish, French, Korean, and Cantonese.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes the film’s theatrical trailer.
