Carrie

Sissy Spacek delivers a startling and unforgettable performance in the first film adaptation of a Stephen King work, now approaching its 50th anniversary.

Carrie White’s experience of puberty has been harrowing. After a sheltered childhood growing up under the maniacal eye of her fundamentalist mother, the sudden changes to Carrie’s body come as a horrifying shock. But puberty brings changes beyond just the physical, and Carrie finds that she has developed strange new powers that she’s not able – or perhaps not willing – to control.

Curator’s Note

Stephen King’s debut novel – and his first to be adapted to the screen – is a blistering account of cruel teenagers, pathological parents and (literally) fiery revenge. Few people come out of high school unscathed but at Bates High School, people are lucky to come out alive at all.

One of Brian De Palma’s earlier features, Carrie well and truly put the director on the map as a filmmaker with super-stylish sensibilities, wearing his unfettered obsession with Alfred Hitchcock on his sleeve. 

A revelatory Sissy Spacek stars alongside Amy Irving, John Travolta and Twin Peaks’ Piper Laurie, who, along with Sissy Spacek, received an Academy Award nomination for her performance.

Today Carrie is a bona fide classic approaching its 50th anniversary. Join us to experience the film beautifully restored in 4K.

Reece Goodwin, Curator (Film & TV)