Pwaters' Month of Terror Day 23: Carrie

Hello ladies, gentlemen, and creatures lurking in the shadows!  This month, October, is a favorite among horror fans, such as myself.  My goal for the next 31 days is to share with you the scariest and best of the genre.  The films will range from old school classics to modern day gorefests (they won't be in any particular order).  So scout these movies out, grab a bag of popcorn (or a blood bag) and enjoy!

Carrie (1976)
Dir. Brian De Palma

Carrie is based off of Stephen King's first ever published novel of the same name.  The story follows a teenage high school girl (...named Carrie, how'd you guess?) who is a little "different" than her peers.  She grew up extremely sheltered from the real world by her insanely religious mother - and as a result she is often mocked and humiliated by her peers for not knowing the "right" way to act (in the first scene, Carrie panics and believes she is dying after having her first period in the girls' shower).  Even the principal gives her a hard time, screwing up her name calling her 'Cassie.'  However, Carrie soon discovers that she has certain psychic powers and when she is provoked or just really pissed she can whip objects around with only her mind.

Myself never being quite "Mr. Popular" growing up, I find Carrie to be despairingly tragic.  Her home situation mixed with the ridicule at school - it's easy to see how someone like that could just snap.  I don't think I'm ruining the movie to say she takes a nutty at her school prom (it's only on every Carrie-related poster, trailer, DVD cover, CD, book, t-shirt, newspaper clipping, lunchbox, and/or bedsheet).  As a joke, the "hottest" guy in the school asks her to the prom; after a 'false' good time, the kids were then to dump a bucket of pig's blood on top of her when she gets up on stage (to further mock her "period incident").  Once that happens she just can't take the relentless abuse anymore and finally goes berserk - her eyes widen and she blazes the school into a hell-like fury.  Carrie a story of a girl being pushed to the edge by bullies, and I think what has made this story stay with us all these years is the fact that we connect with Carrie since [most of us] have been bullied at one point or another, and that makes it so intense to see her become an almost feral, Bride of Frankenstein-type psychotic fire-starter.  Carrie is at it's core the ultimate anti-bullying movie.