Carrie White, daughter of a religious fanatic mother, is a shy and awkward teenager. When her first period takes place as she showers after gym class she is terrified as her mother had never taught her about such things; the other girls in her class torment her. As her teacher tries to comfort her a lightbulb bursts... Carrie's latent power of telekinesis has been awakened. The girls in her class are punished for their actions; after which one of then determines, with the help of her boyfriend, to humiliate Carrie further to get revenge. Another suggests to her boyfriend that he should invite Carrie to the prom to make up for what they did. Back at home Carrie's mother is unsympathetic and tells her that her period is a sign that she was having sinful thoughts. As she grows to understand her new powers she gains the confidence to stand up to her mother and accepts the invitation to the prom... needless to say the night does not end well.This is rather unusual amongst horror films in that the person who has supernatural powers and ultimately uses them to kill people isn't the villain of the story but its victim. The villains are Carrie's classmates and her mother; the first group are just very unpleasant, for the most part, but her mother is truly disturbing with her absolute faith. The film doesn't rush to get to the horror; instead it gradually raises the tension; clearly signposting the fact that something will happen at the prom. Not all of the characters are black and white; until it becomes obvious I wasn't sure if the boy who invited Carrie to the prom was being genuinely nice or part of the scheme to humiliate her. When the violence starts it is perhaps a little too comic but that could be due to effects that while not bad don't feel quite real. The cast does a solid job; especially Sissy Spacek in the title role and Piper Laurie as her mother. Overall I'd say that this is a classic of the genre so a must see for horror fans.

I'm sure it was scarier at the time of its release, but I just couldn't get into this film. It's dull and prolong just to build up to that one infamous scene. Some of my favourite films are King adaptations, but this one did nothing for me.

Carrie is both disturbing and horrifying. And for a horror flick that's obviously a good thing. Most of the complaints about this movie are that it is "not scary." Whoever believes this, however, apparently has never met people, because Carrie's main villains seem all too real. The main villains are not a vampire or a redneck with a chainsaw but are instead a bunch of sexually awakened teenagers and an overly protective mother. These characters on the surface don't sound scary, but Carrie brings out how evil and sadistic these characters can all be. The real to life villains makes Carrie feel truly unique and worth watching over 40 years later.Carrie, played by Sissy Spacek, struggles to fit in with a sexualized society full of "mean girls" and a mother, Piper Laurie, who plays a religious nutjob hellbent on protecting her daughter from said society. The conflict between her mother and a sexualized society forces Carrie into becoming a social outcast. An isolated Carrie is a strange protagonist. As sometimes, you will feel strong sympathy for her character, but yet as soon as you feel her pain, you will just as quickly become completely horrified by her. This dichotomy about Carrie as a character makes her an iconic horror movie protagonist that you will never forget.The movie has many interesting themes worth taking note of like sex, religion, parenting, womanhood, isolation, and bullying. For exploring so many different and pertinent topic, Carrie, as a film is much more powerful than the horror flicks of today that are instead all about cheap jump scares and plastering the screen with guts and gore. Carrie does a little bit of that, but it also explores some deeper and more interesting societal issues. It is worth a watch just for these reasons to see if you agree or disagree with some of the larger messages.In sum, Carrie is a fantastic horror film from beginning to end. It gets the tough balance of making a film both scary and relatable as you will feel like you have met these characters before in real-life. Since Carrie was filmed in the 1970s, however, it may scare away some modern audiences because of the outdated film quality. Luckily, the superb acting and thoughtful script make it still worth the watch. The 1970s atmosphere also makes it extra haunting. Because watching Carrie filled with retro relics, hairdos, and clothing made me feel like if the portraits in my high school Health class textbook came to life and were destined to suffer a terrible fate. For this reason the classic film Carrie is wicked haunting!

A timeless horror classic - it's very much a must watch for fans of the genre. This classic with Sissy Spacek is THE version to watch, I'm not into the remake at all.For those who have not seen this one yet and love horror - you'll just have to watch it because I won't give it all away. I will say that Carrie is a girl with a mother that is overly zealous in her religion and has raised Carrie in it - making Carrie weird to others and they make fun of her for that. Carrie also has Telekinesis - a mental power that she uses only when she feels forced to use for her own protection.A really fun watch. It's just to bad those who are picked on don't develop Carrie's powers for their own personal revenge in real life.8.5/10