Carrie (1976)

De Palma's gothic fairy tale is praised as a tense and lyrical web of emotions with standout performances from Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie. The symbolic crucifixion scene and overall package of pop psychology and psychic phenomena are highlighted as thrilling highlights in an unforgettable film.

The critic praises De Palma's directorial bravado in this masterwork, highlighting the unforgettable set-pieces like the shower scene, prom night, and dream ending, while noting its subtext on power, religion, and high school cruelty.

Ebert calls the film an absolutely spellbinding horror movie and an observant human portrait of a shy, complicated high-school senior with telekinetic powers. He praises the performances by Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie and notes how the horror grows organically out of the characters.

The critic calls Carrie De Palma’s first completely mature film and a profoundly sad horror comedy that synthesizes his destructive humor with graceful visuals. He singles out its insistently sensual style, feminine perspective, and bittersweet humor for praise.

The critic hails De Palma’s 1976 film as an insouciantly horrible masterpiece and a groundbreaking horror classic. They single out the staggering, drawn-out prom sequence for its evolving power and split-screen carnage.

Kael praises the film as a terrifyingly lyrical thriller with a teasing mix of comedy, horror, and tension, calling it a new trash archetype and a menstrual joke in the form of a film noir in red. She highlights De Palma's baroque sensibility, the archetypal Cinderella-revenge plot, and strong performances by Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie.

The critic calls the film a streamlined shocker that retains its unnerving power, praising the central pairing of Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie as the emotional spine. They note the disturbing clashes between mother and daughter.

The review highlights how adolescence and coming-of-age themes drive the horror in De Palma's adaptation of the Stephen King novel. It praises the film's exploration of empowerment, sexuality, and violence through its vivid red imagery and key sequences like the shower scene and prom climax.

The critic highlights how the film captures the terror of high school bullying and social anxiety through its iconic scenes, praising the direction and performances for reflecting everyday adolescent fears.

The critic finds the film troubling in a modern context for its exploitative male gaze on female characters and bodies. De Palma's assured direction and Sissy Spacek's flawless performance are singled out for praise as making it a gripping horror with effective set pieces.

Canby describes the film as an elegant but messy box lunch that is sometimes funny, generally overwrought, and occasionally touching. He singles out Sissy Spacek's effective, if over-the-top, performance as the main source of interest amid the horror and prom-night chaos.

There is practically no fault in Brian De Palma’s landmark adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, a defining work of New Horror that showcases the expressive potential of cinema. The critic singles out the film’s visual eclecticism, swirling camera work, irreverent score, gothic art direction, and kaleidoscopic cinematography for particular praise.

The critic calls Carrie the best horror film of 1976 and praises its fidelity to the source material in the New Hollywood era. They single out Sissy Spacek's genuinely vulnerable and unstable performance as the key element that later versions fail to recapture.

The critic calls De Palma’s film a solid adaptation of King’s novel that captures its disquieting mood and focuses on Carrie’s personal tragedy. They praise Sissy Spacek’s performance for balancing naivety and steeliness while noting the film’s potent, layered quality as a horror classic.