Carrie

Absolutely brilliant in its direction, Brian De Palma's style is incredibly progressive and purposeful, at times, it feels like being on a roller coaster. It starts with a phenomenally shot scene in the showers, continues with several silent scenes (only music and image), and ends with the division of the screen into several frames and the sped-up voices of the actors. Insane, but incredibly daring. Some of the script tricks are hard to understand, but the story itself is relatively simple. However, it is the director's skills that truly stand out on this relatively flat and straightforward film. Sissy Spacek is not particularly terrifying, and even the final scene did not make me cover my eyes – although it is impressive, no doubt. However, there are several significantly better adaptations of Stephen King's books that easily overshadow the slightly above-average Carrie. (2007-01-30)

The ending was changed and the plot was chewed to the bone, but even so, the film Carrie does not owe anything to the book version. Brian de Palma is great and the way he shot the prom scene blew my mind. But his Carrie isn't just about a bucket of blood. Far from it. The dispute between the daughter and the mother is portrayed so engagingly, is so visually striking and underlined by Donaggio's beautiful music, that it is not boring for even a moment. And I don't need to tell you that Sissy Spacek is unique in the lead role (but she is). (2013-03-20)

After many (and I mean many) years, I returned to this film, and I hate to admit it but I noticed some goofs that I hadn’t noticed before. Despite that, it is a film whose creators (as one of the few) did not butcher King's novel. Anyway, Sissy Spacek was brilliant and it's a shame that Piper Laurie didn't get more screen time, I think it would add to the atmosphere. 4- (2021-01-14)

The king froze me with how he drove Carrie towards the magnificent finale without any signs of emotion or understanding, only occasionally peeking into her thoughts and wrapping everything in almost documentary form. De Palma and Cohen do it exactly the opposite way. Carrie becomes a supernatural being, not belonging to the ruthless and cynical world around her. Her feelings, whether it's anger, astonishment, or joy, are the main driving force of the story, which, thanks to its brilliant form, elevates the story almost to a message. The original and the adaptation are ultimately quite different, yet they easily won my favor. 85% (2008-09-06)

It’s not really a bad thing that I first watched the new Carrie and only then returned to the original that was created under the wings of a movie legend – Brian De Palma. That’s because the new Carrie only seemed decent before I watched the original. I had no clue just how original De Palma’s horror is. It’s perfect, considering when it was made. It barely mentions telekinesis only to showcase an array of brutal scenes at the end that every one of us has been waiting for. It’s really worth it. I’m taking one star away from the new Carrie just by default. When I realize that this movie is nearly 40 years old and it still has a lot to offer, I’m almost terrified to think what the youth of today, the target audience of the new version, would think about it. You’d hardly find as many original ideas as the original Carrie came up with in a modern horror movie. (2015-07-25)