Carrie

Carrie had been included on a list of great films to which my mother had taken my older brother and me to see upon their theatrical releases decades ago. And the memories of that long ago time will forever remain with me. Back when the Chicago Theater had still been a movie house, Carrie was the first film that my family and I had gone out on our weekly "Movie Date Night" to see. Good times. Gooood times. Carrie is an undisputed horror masterpiece. I still...get chills.

Sissy Spacek is really good in this as the socially inept, psychologically tortured, girl living in the shadow of her overbearingly Christian mother, with few friends and some remarkable telekinetic powers. What ensues is a complex, at times convoluted, angst-ridden horror film that sees the best and worst of human nature - of all ages - depicted, as thoughtless pranks and humiliation become the order of the day with some chilling consequences. Piper Laurie is superb as the zealot mother, as is John Travolta as the odious "Billy" and the combination of Brian de Palma and Stephen King make for a compelling, multi-layered critique on many different aspects of intimidation, bullying as well as adding some genuinely scary moments too!