A classic Stephen King adaptation lauded as ‘spell-binding’ and ‘a masterpiece’ is now streaming on Netflix as we await a fresh remake from Mike Flanagan.
Released in 1976, Carrie starred Sissy Spacek as Carrie White, a shy teenage girl who is relentlessly teased at school by her peers and at home by her devoutly religious mother, Margaret (Piper Laurie).
After experiencing her first period, she begins to develop telekinetic powers, which she uses to wreak vengeance on her tormentors.
Directed by Brian De Palma, it is adapted from King’s classic novel of the same name, which hit shelves two years prior.
It was a huge commercial success, grossing a whopping $33.8million (£25.5m) against a budget of $1.8m (£1.3m).
It received two Academy Award nominations for both Spacek and Laurie, and it is often cited as one of the best films based on King’s novels.
Carrie is featured on several lists of the greatest films of all time, and its iconic prom scene has influenced popular culture several times over.
The horror film holds a mighty 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics’ consensus reading: ‘Carrie is a horrifying look at supernatural powers, high school cruelty, and teen angst – and it brings us one of the most memorable and disturbing prom scenes in history.’
In their review, The Times said: ‘Brian De Palma elevates what could have been a trashy exploitation picture into something mitigated by the angry empathy it places in the put-upon outsider.’
The Guardian hailed it as a ‘masterpiece’, adding: ‘Sissy Spacek unforgettably evolves from ugly duckling to swan to something else entirely in the groundbreaking film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel.’
Looking back at the film, Empire wrote: ‘The reason Carrie is still held in such high regard as a horror classic is very simple: it’s all in the sheer directorial bravado. De Palma at the top of his game.’
Meanwhile, the Chicago Sun-Times said: ‘Brian De Palma’s Carrie is an absolutely spellbinding horror movie… It’s also (and this is what makes it so good) an observant human portrait.’
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It received a sequel in 1999, The Rage: Carrie 2, which followed Rachel Lang (Emily Bergl), another teenager with telekinetic powers.
Remakes of the film were released in both 2002 and 2013, neither of which received the same critical acclaim as the original.
In 2024, it was announced that horror icon Flanagan would be helming a TV adaptation of Carrie for Prime Video, with Summer H. Howell taking on the title role.
Scream and Five Nights at Freddy’s star Matthew Lillard has signed onto the project alongside the likes of Siena Agudong, Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan, Amber Midthunder, and many more.
Scooby-Doo icon Lillard heaped praise on the series ahead of its release, branding it ‘fantastic.’
Speaking to Gamesradar+, he said: ‘Carrie‘s brilliant. Mike Flanagan, whom I worked with on Life of Chuck, is just the single greatest force of nature in this industry.
‘It’s three different sorts of sections. It’s the story Carrie written by Stephen King. It’s really a pure adaptation of the book [more] than the original movie was. The [Brian] De Palma film is really about sort of one aspect, but there’s a lot that happens in the book that’s been introduced to the show.’
He continued: ‘There are three different tiers: the teachers, the parents, and the students. The teachers and the parents are kind of the varsity-level of actors; you know, old … And then the kids, the kids are freaking brilliant. They’re brilliant actors. I would watch them work, and I was blown away by their ability to be honest and truthful.
‘We saw the first three episodes cut before we even left Vancouver. Mike had already finished and picture-locked the first three episodes, which was remarkable. But the show’s great. It’s really fantastic. The only thing that sucks is you have to wait a year to see it, because it’s so good.’
Carrie is streaming on Netflix now.
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