CARRIE by DeWyNGaLe Rating: A
The other night, I made one of the biggest mistakes I have made relating to movies ever. I viewed The Rage: Carrie 2, without even seeing the original. My original rating for The Rage: Carrie 2 was an A-, but now after seeing this smart masterpiece, I give it a C+. The plot lines between the two films are very similar, but in Carrie, I felt for the character a lot more. Sissy Spacek plays Carrie, the high school outcast. Throughout the film, she is tortured because she is shy and not with the in crowd. Carrie has a very unique talent. She can move things with her mind. She researches the subject to see what is happening, and she learns she has telekinesis, the power to move things with your mind. Her mother, played by Piper Laurie, is convinced that the devil is in her, but Carrie knows the truth. Some of her tormentors include Sue Snell, played by Amy Irving, Billy Nolan, played by John Travolta, and Chris Hargenson, played by Nancy Allen. They feel no sympathy for Carrie at all. The teachers do not like Carrie either. They also make fun of her. There is one teacher though who does care about Carrie. Her name is Miss Collins, and she is played by Betty Buckley. She punishes those who torment Carrie, but in the end, even Miss Collins turns her back on Carrie.
Tommy Ross, played by William Katt, is one of the most popular boys in the school. He is asked by Sue to ask Carrie to the prom, to make Carrie feel better about herself. He asks, and Carrie declines. He keeps on asking Carrie though, and she finally gives in. Now, Carrie must go through her mother, Margaret, played by Piper Laurie, who thinks of going to the prom as a sin. Her mother thinks of almost everything as a sin. She is a very religious person, and therefore Carrie is not allowed to do much outside the house. When Margaret believes Carrie is acting up, she will put her in the closet and lock her in there. Her mother is just one more person who torments her. After demanding she is going to the prom, Carrie goes.
At the prom, no one can believe that Tommy Ross and Carrie are together. Carrie is actually enjoying herself for once in her life. After winning prom queen, Carrie thinks she has it made. Then, something terrible happens which destroys her night. The in-crowd has setup Carrie in an awful prank to make her feel horrible about herself. Nobody knows that Carrie has the power to shut them up from laughing at her withing seconds. They certainly do after she uses her telekinetic powers to get revenge on everyone at the prom, resulting in many deaths. The prom sequence was very effective and moving. Watching Carrie watch her other classmates die was very difficult. You could tell that she was very mad, but she was also upset with what she was doing to all of her fellow classmates. That night, she killed many innocent people, people who didn't even make fun of her. She did get her long awaited revenge though.
Sissy Spacek was so exquisite as the role of Carrie. She played the part where you felt feelings for Carrie, and almost just wanted to break down and cry when seeing her upset face. It is beyond me why Spacek did not win the Oscar for Best Actress in 1976, considering she gave one of the best performances I have ever witnessed in my movie-going. Piper Laurie, as Carrie's mother, was a very interesting role to watch. She played the part almost perfectly, creating the feel of a strong, religious person very well.
The in-crowd was played almost to perfection by the large cast, and although the characters were extremely repugnant, they were played very proficiently. Amy Irving as Sue Snell perhaps gave the best performance out of the crowd. The entire in-crowd were quite possibly some of the most frustrating characters I have ever come across in a movie. Carrie was such a nice, sweet girl, and they tortured her with all of their might.
The Bottom Line- Without a doubt, Carrie is one of the best horror films of our time.
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