Carrie
Withdrawn and sensitive teenager Carrie White faces bullying from classmates and abuse from her fanatically pious mother. When she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers, things take a dark and violent turn.
Why it matters
A seminal blend of supernatural terror and raw adolescent anguish that transformed horror’s portrayal of bullying and female rage.
- Sissy Spacek’s quietly haunting performance anchors a character study of isolation turned violent vengeance.
- Brian De Palma’s direction crafts iconic set pieces—locker room horror and prom night carnage—that still set the genre’s visual and emotional bar.
- A pioneering fusion of psychological and supernatural horror that speaks to the cruelty of high school hierarchies and religious fanaticism.
- Practical effects and tense atmosphere build dread without reliance on cheap jump scares—this is horror as cultural commentary, not just spectacle.
Director
6 horror films in catalog
Cast
Horror DNA
Gore
57
Slow Burn
33
Psychological
86
Supernatural
20
Creature
0
Disturbing
67
Fun Factor
50
Cerebral
85
Survival
50
IsolationRevenge
