Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is a 16-year-old high school girl, frequently bullied by the other students. She panics when she discovers herself bleeding because her twisted, ultra-religious mother Margaret (Piper Laurie) has never explained to her the facts of life. The other girls in the gym class pelt her with tampons and sanitary pads, but her gym-teacher Miss Collins (Betty Buckley) intervenes. At home, her mother tells her that her period is the result of sin and locks her in a closet to pray for God’s forgiveness. Miss Collins threatens her tormentors with banning from the school prom and one, Christine Hargerson (Nancy Allen) is banned.
She and her boyfriend Billy Nolan (John Travolta) break into a farm and slaughter pigs to collect their blood in a bucket, which they mount above the stage in the school gym. Another girl, named Sue Snell (Amy Irving) asks her athlete boyfriend, Tommy Ross (William Katt), to invite her to the prom as her date. Though suspicious, she accepts, but her mother forbids her to attend. She rebels and shows startling evidence of telekinetic powers, which her mother takes as evidence that the girl is a witch.
At the Prom, conspirators switch the ballots to ensure that Carrie becomes Prom Queen. Carrie steps on stage with Tommy, finally believing that she is accepted, but she is drenched in pig’s blood as the bucket is dumped. Tommy is knocked unconscious by the bucket. Norma laughs and Carrie believes that everyone is mocking her. The doors shut and lock of their own accord and students are attacked by a living firehose, which kills Norma. The basketball backboard crushes Miss Collins, the Principal and an English teacher are electrocuted and burst into flame, setting the gym on fire. Carrie leaves and mentally slams the doors behind her, incinerating everyone in the school. Chris tries to run her over with his car, but Carrie makes it explode.
Carrie returns home and washes off the blood, and her mother reveals that Carrie was conceived when her husband was drunk. Then she stabs Carrie in the back, but Carrie impales her on all the kitchen knives and then Carrie herself dies as the entire house is destroyed. Sometime later, Sue, the sole survivor, visits the remains of the house. Carrie’s bloody arm rises from the ashes and grabs her, and she awakens from the nightmare.
The film was directed by Brian de Palma from a screenplay written by Lawrence D. Cohen adapted from Stephen King’s 1974 novel. Several sequels were made but none had the impact of the original, which was the first of 100 film productions based on his books. It was nominated twice for Best Actress at the 49th Academy Awards, was ranked 46th on Entertainment Weekly’s list of the 50 best High School movies and 46th on the American film Institute’s list of AFI’s 100 thrills. It is registered as significant by the Library of Congress. This is pretty good for Stephen King’s first published novel.
Sissy Spacek skipped an audition for a commercial to show up for her part, her hair full of Vaseline and wearing a child’s dress. The shocking final shot was performed by Spacek herself, who was literally buried alive to do it, and the scene was filmed backwards for a dreamlike quality. She was the first woman to be nominated for a horror film, and the second was Sigourney Weaver for Aliens. Several remakes, sequels, Broadway musicals, and TV series have been created to follow it, but none had been awarded anything like the kudos this film was given. It was a monumental hit on DVD. It pretty much made Sissy Spacek’s, John Travolta’s, and Brian de Palma’s early careers.
I think its success proves two important concepts about monster movies: Do not reveal too much of the horror too early in the movie but constantly whet the audience’s appetite and then give it to them full barrel. And make sure the audience cares for the monster. By the time Carrie gets her revenge, we are ready to cheer her on, even if we are shocked and terrified.