Carrie

Based on Stephen King's debut 1974 novel, 1976's Carrie was director Brian De Palma's first hit film, featuring young actors John Travolta, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, and P.J. Soles in their first substantial roles. Sissy Spacek made a powerful impression as Carrie White, bringing a sensitivity to the titular shy and bullied high school misfit who discovers inexplicable powers when she hits puberty. Piper Laurie (in her first screen role in over a decade) plays Carrie's religious zealot of a mother, who views her daughter's telekinetic powers as the work of the devil, which only fuels the repressive hysteria bottled up in the tormented, isolated teenager until she eventually explodes in fury. De Palma creates lush cinematic beauty while Pino Donaggio's romantic score (punctuated with violin screams out of Psycho) suggests an adolescent paradise that is about to be totally and terribly lost in nightmare. The pyrotechnic finale is literally a hell on earth unleashed by the emotionally scarred and scared teen who is transformed into an unrestrained, vengeance-seeking powerhouse. Allen is the vicious bully who torments Carrie with the help of co-conspirators Travolta and Soles. Both Spacek and Laurie earned Oscar nominations for their performances, making Carrie one of the rare horror films to receive Academy Award attention. Extras on this “collector's edition” Blu-ray release include new and archival interviews, a locations featurette, a look at Carrie: The Musical, a photo gallery, and a text examination of the evolution of King's novel. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)