Carrie: A Review and Synopsis

      Hi guys! This week I watched the movie adaption of Stephen King's Carrie.
Summary:
       After receiving her first period, a young girl begins to develop psychic powers that make life a little more than it used to be.
Synopsis:
      The film starts with the birth of our main character, Carrie; which depicts her mother lying on a bed writhing in pain. She gives birth to Carrie and contemplates taking the life of the baby in her arms, but decides against it. This beginning scene tells us that her mother is a woman of dangerous and impulsive actions. This plays a greater role later on in the movie.
      Next we see Carrie in a school pool, readying to enter the water. She watches the other girls around her, seeming to be maybe jealous of them, or just really lonely. Along with the other girls, Carrie makes her way into the pool where a game of water polo begins. The game starts out nice and easy, Carrie standing in the back corner of the pool aside, everything seems to be going fine. Eventually the ball is pummeled into the water in front of our protagonist and she is forced to enter the game. Attempting a serve, Carrie accidentally hits one of her classmates in the head (I think it was Chris, a snobby girl who is the daughter of a lawyer). This leads to the beginning of the tragic downfall that ends in a murder.
      Then we find ourselves at the beginning of the action, the scene that basically sets the show on the road for the rest of the film. While Carrie taking a shower, she finds blood on her soap (from her first period) and has no idea what it is. She begins screaming and yelling for help, thinking that she is dying. Carrie then approaches her classmates in a panicked manor and they begin to laugh once they realize that Carrie is just on her period. The other girls then proceed to throw tampons and pads at Carrie, yelling at her to "plug it up". The gym teacher hears the commotion and enters the locker room where she finds Carrie cowering on the floor and other girls throwing things at her. The gym teacher stops the other girls and tells Carrie that everything will be okay, and seemed a bit surprised that Carrie didn't know what her period was and that was what was going on.

Carrie on the Bathroom Floor

       Humiliated, Carrie goes to the principal's office with her gym teacher to tell him what exactly happened. In the end, Carrie's mother is called to pick her up. As Carrie leaves with her mother, Chris shows her friends, including the guilty Sue Snell, a video she took of Carrie's humiliation in the bathroom. The car ride back to Carrie's house is dead silent, even though Carrie asked her mother why she didn't tell her about periods.
      Upon arriving at the house, Carrie asks her mother again why she wasn't informed of the periods. Her mother, Margaret, asks Carrie to come inside. Carrie refuses and her mother goes inside. Our "heroine" is confronted by one of the neighbor kids who calls her "Crazy Carrie". Carrie reacts by making him fall off his bike, much to her surprise.  She eventually goes inside and sees her mother banging her head against the wall, asking "God" for "forgiveness". Carrie tells her mother that she didn't do anything, to which her mother retorts by telling Carrie to go into her prayer closet (a crawlspace under the house stairs that has pictures of Jesus and other Christian memorabilia). The teen refuses so she is thrown to the floor by Margaret and is dragged into the closet. Carrie begins to bang on the door, she becomes so emotional that she triggers a crack to occur in the middle of the wooden door.

The Prayer Closet

      Multiple hours later, Margaret opens the door to the closet and carries her sleeping daughter up to bed. Meanwhile, Sue and her boyfriend, Tommy Ross, are doing the dirty in a Jeep. They get dressed and Sue confesses to Tommy about what happened in the locker room and how she felt bad for doing it. Tommy tries to relate by telling Sue that he once punched another boy who was bullying him when he was little, saying that the bully had it coming. Then, Tommy asks Sue what Carrie White ever did to her, to which Sue answers, "nothing". All while this is happening, Chris, her friend, and her boyfriend arrive at Chris' house (drunk), and they decide to hang out. During this, Chris tells her boyfriend, Billy, about Carrie White and what happened. On a whim, Chris decides to upload the video of Carrie to YouTube as to humiliate her even further.
      The next day, Ms. Desjardin lays down the law with Chris, Sue, and all the other girls that participated in Carries shaming. Ms. Desjardin asks about Chris and Sues dates for the prom and tells Sue she wouldve voted her Prom Queen but not anymore. Ms. Desjardin tells them it was a "very crappy" thing they did to Carrie and they are going to pay for it. They will be doing suicide sprints after school for a week. Anyone who refuses the punishment is suspended and cannot go to prom. "While you run, I want you to think long and hard about what it has to be like for Carrie White," Ms. Desjardin says. After a while, Chris calls "bull crap" on the whole punishment, saying Ms. Desjardin can't do it. Sue tries to tell her to take the punishment and let it go but she wont. Chris refuses, so Ms. Desjardin suspends her and revokes her prom privileges. Ms. Desjardin mentions that apparently someone took a video of the incident, looking at Chris as she is pretty sure that she did it. Chris says Ms. Desjardin cant take away prom from her and tries to rally the other girls to go with her. One by one, they refuse, including Sue, the only one who shows any true remorse. They continue to run while Chris screams: "This is not over!"

Chris (Pictured) Argues with Ms. Desjardin

      At school the next day, Carrie hides in the bathroom. She looks at her face in the mirror and concentrates, making the mirror shatter into pieces. Carrie concentrates even further and makes the mirror shards levitate until another girl walks into the bathroom. Carrie leaves abruptly.
      Chris gets a meeting with Ms. Desjardin and The Principal with her arrogant lawyer father to try and overturn her suspension and revoked prom privileges. Chris tries to play the victim, but Ms. Desjardin plays better hardball than her, saying there was a video uploaded and if Chris just proves it isn't on her phone, then she can have her prom after all. Her father tells her to give up the phone, but Chris refuses to and storms out, thus indirectly admitting her complicity and making sure her suspension and punishment stay active. Sue and the prom committee work on turning the gymnasium into the prom. Chris storms in and asks why the girls didn't back her up. She then asks why Sue didn't. Sue says because she deserved the punishment, they all did. Ms. Desjardin was right; they did a shitty thing to Carrie. Chris balks and says Carrie deserved it. "What has Carrie White ever done to you?" Sue asks her soon to be former friend. Chris tells Sue that she is not being high and mighty because she feels bad; its because she wants to go to prom with Tommy then do the dirty with him in the hotel she already booked. "You don't give a crap about Carrie White," Chris sneers, leaving.
      The next day, Sue watches Tommy play Lacrosse. Sue comes up to Tommy and asks for a favor; she wants him to take Carrie to the prom. Tommy is shocked, saying he wants to take her, but Sue wants to do something. "I'm trying to fix what I did," she says. Tommy tries to convince her, but Sue says she cant go and begs him to help her make things right. Tommy finds Carrie at lunch and shocks her by talking to her. Tommy asks her about prom and if she would like to go with him. Carrie runs off without responding. Tommy tracks her down and asks again, but Carrie thinks it is a joke. "Stop trying to trick me," Carrie says. "I'm not," Tommy replies. Carrie doesn't believe him however, and runs off.
      Carrie cries in the locker room when Ms. Desjardin finds her. Ms. Desjardin thinks the girls did something again but Carrie says she got invited to prom. Ms. Desjardin says that's a happy thing and asks who asked her. Carrie says Tommy Ross. Ms. Desjardin, realizing something is up, stays neutral saying he is a cute boy. Carrie says she knows he dates Sue Snell and thinks this a big joke to him. "They're going to trick me again," Carrie says. Ms. Desjardin says maybe not. Carrie ponders why Tommy would want to go with her. Ms. Desjardin directs Carrie to the mirror telling her she sees a beautiful girl and with the right dress and the tiniest dash of makeup she can stun everyone speechless. Ms. Desjardin confronts Sue and Tommy thinking they are planning something. "If the two of you are planning some kind of joke on a poor, lonely girl..." Ms. Desjardin warns them. However, Sue says she is trying to do a good thing for Carrie; allow her one good night and a chance to be social. Tommy says it doesn't matter since Carrie said no, but Sue tells him to try again. Ms. Desjardin tries to appeal to Tommy saying he will look weird with Carrie on his arm, but Sue says this is a private matter and they don't care how they look doing it.

Ms. Desjardin Comfort and Reassures Carrie

      That evening, Carrie walks home seeing her mom waiting for her in the front yard. Margaret is livid since she didn't know where she was. Carrie says she went into town to buy fabric to make herself a gown. Margaret says she is not allowed to go anywhere but school and home. Carrie then tells her the news; shes been asked to prom. Carrie tells her that she knows she is scared and she is too. However, the kids laugh at her and think she is weird. She doesn't want to be weird; she wants to be normal and thinks prom may be her final chance. "I have to try and be a whole person before it is too late," Carrie says. Margaret is livid and tells her to go to her closet and repent before it is too late. Carrie asks why she cant be happy for her. But the insane Margaret refuses to listen and orders Carrie to go to her closet. Carrie then has an episode and makes everything in the living room jump up. Margaret falls to the floor in shock and starts to pray. Carrie tells her mom to get up and when she doesn't, she raises her with her powers. Margaret calls Carrie a devil, but Carrie says she has powers and others have them too. Carrie states that her grandmother may have had them and it's possible that they skipped a generation to Carrie. Carrie places her mother down and her mother says she thought she was a cancer when she was born. Carrie tells her that is a horrible thing to say and levitates her again. She tells her she is going to prom, she will not stop her, and they are not talking about it anymore. Carrie then releases her.
      Margaret tells her she looks like a deviant. Carrie, having enough of her mother's overly religious quotes, asks that for once that her mom could be happy for her. Margaret says they are going to laugh at her, but Carrie says to stop it. Tommy is a nice boy and everything is going to be fine. As Tommy shows up, Margaret tells her daughter that she was conceived by what was basically marital rape and how she tried to kill her as a baby. Carrie, finally losing all her patience, force chokes her mom. There will be a judgment Carrie, Margaret says. Carrie opens the closet and looks her mother in with powers, saying she will be back at 10:30 pm as promised. She then melts the door lock so her mother cant get out. Carrie goes out to meet Tommy. "Do I look okay?" Carrie asks. "You look beautiful," Tommy says, meaning it. They drive to prom in a limo. Carrie requests a moment, thinking about the other students. Tommy tells her despite what she thinks they aren't all bad. Calming her down, they go in, where she is introduced to Tommy's best friend and his girlfriend, who goes to another school. The other girl compliments Carrie on her dress, and is pleasantly surprised to find out that Carrie made it herself.

Carrie puts on Makeup

       A slow song comes on and Tommy convinces Carrie to dance with him. He teaches her how to slow dance and quickly learns. Carrie puts her head on his shoulder then backs away. Something crosses Tommy's face when that happens; while he is still obviously loyal to Sue, he is starting to grow some feelings for Carrie due to her being such a sweet person. Carrie, still unsure about his intentions asks why he asked her to prom. Tommy says that he wanted to, and is having a good time with her and hopes she is feeling the same way. Carrie nods yes. Tommy then says they will enjoy their time here then they can go to an after party and he will have back home on time. Carrie smiles, agrees, and notes that she can maybe stay out till 11.Thanks to a friend, Billy and Chris break into and sit in the rafters waiting to dump pigs blood they stole onto Carrie. They hand off ballots to their friend to make sure that Carrie gets elected prom queen and will make her way up to the marked dumping spot. The voting for Prom King and Queen begin. Carrie questions voting for herself but Tommy tells her it isn't much to it, and she should have one chance to be in the spotlight. Carrie notes that the crowns are beautiful. "Devil with false modesty," Tommy says. Carrie is convinced so they vote for themselves. Meanwhile, Chris friends switch out the ballots to rig them in Tommy and Carries favor.
      Sue looks around and sees Chris in the rafters. Chris sees Sue see her. She hesitates momentarily, but Billy goads her on to pull the rope. Ms. Desjardin sees Sue and misconstrues her reasons for being there and throws her out of the building without hearing her warning. Chris pulls the rope and the pig blood cascades down and drowns Carrie in it. Complete and utter silence follows. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Tommy yells at everyone, having and wanting no part in this unbelievable act of cruelty. Chris then hacks the video monitors and plays Carries period video. Most cant help but laugh but Ms. Desjardin among with a few others, are in complete shock. Ms. Desjardin goes to Carrie but Carrie pushes her back with her powers, startling everyone. Chris and Billy rig the rope and begin to flee but Chris wants to stick around and see Carrie squirm. The rope however gives and the pail that held the blood cracks Tommy on the back of the head, killing him instantly. Carrie turns back around and cradles his head her lap, absolutely devastated that the only boy that ever treated her kindly has been killed. Carrie looks up in the rafters and recognizes Billy's sunglasses. She knows who is responsible. Something snaps in her mind. She turns to the guests, as the blood on her body starts to levitate off it. A few see this and try to flee in horror but it is no use.

The Blood Falls on Carrie and Tommy

      Carrie finally loses control and force-pushes the entire crowd back, people hitting tables and each other. Carrie shuts all the doors of the gym so no one can get out. One of the girls, Heather, is force flinged across the room and has her head smashed into a closed door. Jack and a few other guys try to escape by climbing the bleachers, so Carrie collapses them, gorily crushing Jack to death. As a boy films her, she throws a table at him, the force of the hit killing him. Carrie then trips the sprinkles leaving the whole room wet. As she sees the twin girls Nicki and Lizzy, friends of Chris, flee she forces pushes them to the ground and lets them be trampled to death. She then takes electrical wires and whips another one of Chris' friends, Tina, which catches her dress sets it on fire, causing Tina to burn to death. As flames envelop the room, Ms. Desjardin tries to calm Carrie down but Carrie catches her in a force choke hold and considers electrocuting her. However, her reasoning returns momentarily and she spares Ms. Desjardin as she was one of the few people that were ever nice to her. Carrie then levitates herself out of the building. By now the entire school is in flames. While people some escape, many don't. Carrie sees Chris and Billy's red car. Her rage returns.
      Chris asks Billy what they should do as their little prank is now responsible for at least a dozen deaths. Billy tells her they will leave town and never come back. Chris agrees reluctantly. As they drive off, Carrie is behind them. She stomps the ground and causes it to cave out ahead. Billy turns the car around and speeds back. Chris sees Carrie and despite everything, will not give up her vendetta. "RUN HER DOWN. KILL HER!" Chris snarls. Billy says he has it under control and charges Carrie. Carrie however is waiting for him and stops the car with her power, the force causing Billy to hit the steering wheel hard, breaking his nose. Chris comes to a few minutes later, and realizes Billy is dead from the impact. She cries but when she sees Carrie, she reaches for the keys and backs up, still hell-bent on killing her. When she charges again, Carrie pulls the car up high in the air, and then throws into a gas station pump. The force of the throw causes Chris face to go through the windshield making shards of glass embed all around her face. Carrie watches as Chris breathes her last. As an extra precaution and because Chris deserved it, Carrie causes the leaked gas to spark, causing an explosion that guarantees Billy and Chris demise.

Carrie Stops the Car

      Carrie begins to walk home, destroying everything in her path. When she gets inside, she sees her mom had forced a hole from the crack in the door and has escaped from the closet. Carrie calls out to her but gets no response. Her mother is hiding in the shadows. Carrie gets into the bathtub and cleans off all the blood, changing into a blue nightgown. She finds Margaret and tells her she was right about everything. They hug and Margaret suggests they pray. As they pray, Margaret takes her butcher knife and stabs Carrie once in the back. Carrie then pushes her mother back as she falls down the stairs. Their fight continues in the kitchen as Carrie begs her mother to stop what she is doing. "You know a devil never dies. You gotta keep killing it," Margaret says, manic. They struggle and she slices Carrie on the leg and arm. When she tries to stab Carrie in the face, Carrie stops the blade with her powers and then pulls up numerous sharp objects and points them in her mother's direction. Telling her she is sorry, Carrie lets them fly, and they impale her mother to the wall as if in a crucifix-like pose. Carrie, horrified by what she is done, releases the blades that pin her mother to the wall. Margaret dies moments later in Carrie's lap. Carrie cries at the loss.
      Moments later, Sue arrives at the house. Carrie is angry with her saying she just killed her mother and she wants her back. "Why couldn't you leave me alone?" Carrie asks. Sue says she tried to help her. "Don't hurt me Carrie," Sue pleads. "Why not?" Carrie snarls. Carrie puts Sue in a force choke-hold as the house begins to collapse around them due to her powers becoming uncontrollable. Carrie puts Sue down. Sue tries to reach for Carrie so they can escape. Carrie places her hand near Sues stomach. "Its a girl," Carrie says. Sue looks at her in shock. "You don't know?" Carrie asks. Carrie pushes her out of the house. Sue watches as rocks come out of nowhere and fall directly on the house, collapsing it on itself. Carrie holds her mother and kisses her forehead as the house finally falls down on the both of them. Sue looks on in horror and gingerly touches her stomach. An undisclosed time later, Sue is giving a deposition in front of the whole town (As to her pregnancy subplot, it is very unclear whether Sue is still pregnant or not and/or she kept the baby). The man interviewing her asks if what she saw happen could've been a natural accident. Sue however, stands by her story. Carrie was just a normal girl with normal hopes and desires like everyone else, and they pushed her and when people get pushed, eventually they break. They broke Carrie White.
      We see Sue at the graveyard where Margaret and Carrie are at a joint plot. Someone has spray painted "CARRIE WHITE BURNS IN HELL" on the gravestone with an arrow pointing down. Even in death, someone still had to be heartless to the poor, lonely girl who only wanted to be accepted. Sue lays a white rose at the grave and leaves. A moment later a force comes up from the ground, cracking the tombstone down the middle. In the middle, a crater forms in the shape of a heart. Carrie's ultimate fate is left ambiguous.

Her Grave

Review:
      Sorry for the long synopsis, but this was a big movie to cover. As an avid Stephen King fan, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Yes the acting was cheesy, for the most part, and the effects were kinda stupid, I thought that it told the story of Carrie White as it should be told. Unlike the 1970's movie, this film had a better way of playing out the full book, and included many of the small details. All in all, I rate this movie a 7 out of 10 stars.
Sources:

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