This Day in Horror History: Brian De Palma & Stephen King’s CARRIE Opened in 1976
Mike Sprague
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On this day in horror history, Dressed to Kill director Brian De Palma’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie with Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie opened in 1976.
In this adaptation, withdrawn and sensitive teen Carrie White (Spacek) faces taunting from classmates at school and abuse from her fanatically pious mother (Laurie) at home. When strange occurrences start happening, Carrie begins to suspect she has supernatural powers. Invited to the prom by an empathetic fellow student, Carrie lets her guard down, but things take a dark and violent turn.
The film co-stars Amy Irving (The Fury), Nancy Allen (Robocop), William Katt (House), P. J. Soles (Halloween), and John Travolta (Battlefield Earth). Lawrence D. Cohen (Ghost Story, It, The Tommyknockers) wrote the screenplay based on King’s debut novel. It’s the first of over 100 projects based on the works of King.
Carrie was a commercial success, grossing over $33.8M on its $1.8M budget. Better yet, the horror movie was nominated for two Oscars at the 49th Academy Awards: Best Actress (Sissy Spacek) and Best Supporting Actress (Piper Laurie).
Amy Irving reprised her role as Sue Snell in The Rage: Carrie 2 in 1999. A remake was released in 2013 with Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa wrote the script which Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry) directed.
Widely considered the best adaptation of King’s novel and one of the greatest horror films ever made, Brian De Palma’s Carrie sports a 93% approval rating over on Rotten Tomatoes with a Critics Consensus that reads: 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.
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