Carrie

Stephen King is normally associated with Horror and if we are making a confession then now is the time for me to say that I categorised this film as horror until I actually watched it and apart from the death at the end I don't really see how it could be categorised as that.

From this film Carrie seems to be a film about a child who is victimised by her peers and has a slightly religiously challenged mother who abuses her. I use that term because she punishes Carrie for everything, quoting random bits of the bible to justify her actions but most Catholics now would get angry if they saw that taking place. I like to keep religion and politics to myself and not get into any sort of rant about them on this blog so as to not offend anyone who stumbles across this blog so all I will say is that the mother is not entirely right in the head and that appears to be why Carrie is picked on so badly. A lot of children experience bullying or feel like they don't fit in with the rest of the class but this is the first film in which I have seen a teacher stand up for a student in the way that the Gym teacher does for Carrie in this film and I salute it for that reason and that reason alone.

This film was made in 1976 and the only name that I recognise from this film was John Travolta even though many names such as Nancy Allen, William Katt and Amy Irving featured in this film and their careers were launched or greatly helped by this film. It looks like it was made in the 70's because now, 40 years on (41 to be precised) it looks dated and John Travolta wasn't fat in this movie which is how he has looked for the last two decades worth of movies that he has made. In the 70's it was slightly less scandalous to beat your child, although it was frowned upon by some people whereas now if anyone even suspected that a child was being abused schools, social services and safeguarding agencies would get involved. Carrie gets the better of everyone when her mother dies at the end of the film and she is elected prom queen (albeit so that they can empty a bowl of disgusting pigs blood all over her).

This film was the first adaptation of a Stephen King novel.

Carrie has some interesting skills and makes things happen when she is stressed or panicked without being able to explain them. No one else realises that it is her because no one else can explain why the light bulb smashed either. No one dies until the end and even then the mother probably deserved being hurt for not preparing her daughter for anything in life and for abusing her. Everyone dies in this film at the end because Carrie imagines that everyone is laughing at her at prom and she electrocutes the principal, crushes the gym teacher, sets the building on fire and locks everyone in it before flipping over the car of Chris and Billy (the two that victimised her at prom) and killing them as well. Kind of gruesome and I feel sorry for the Gym teacher who only tried to help Carrie but when you are telekinetic and you think that people are laughing at you, especially the people who bullied you then you probably do want them dead.

Carrie is for any child that has ever been abused or bullied.