Director: Brian de Palma

Starring: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, William Katt, Nancy Allen, John Travolta

Bit part: Ricky Tomlinson (as Jenny, Carrie's sleepover friend)

Fact: Stephen King's wife Tabitha retrieved the original transcript of the novel after the drunken author had lashed it in the bin thinking that it would never sell.

In one line: Girl discovers telekinetic powers. Mayhem ensues.

Summary

A splendid, dated, unhinged version of Stephen King's symbolic coming of age story.

Spacek plays 'creepy' Carrie White, a teenage girl kept in the dark about all matters sexual by her religious maniac mother (the excellent Piper Laurie).

The film starts with Carrie in the showers at school and having a panic attack because she doesn't understand what's happening when she starts menstruating for the first time. I don't normally like period movies, but...

Anyway, evil John Travolta and Nancy Allen make life difficult for Spacek (culminating in a bucket of pig's blood being dropped on unlikely Prom Queen Carrie) whilst the atrociously coiffured William Katt and his equally frizzy girlfriend Amy Irving do their best to make Carrie's life that little bit better.

The Travolta/Allen prank leads Carrie to unleash the full force of her kinetic powers and she destroys the school hall and all of the prom goers inside with the sole exception of Irving (a bit sly on Billy Katt).

She then kills off the escaping Travolta and Allen in similar spectacular fashion before going home to dispatch her arl girl in splendid ritualistic fashion.

The best fake ending (and much imitated) in cinema history. I know someone who literally soiled hilselfv(NO, IT F***ING WASN'T!) when he saw the 'hand from the grave grabbing Amy Irving's arm' shot at 'the pictures'.

Best Bits:

1. De Palma's extravagant direction (particularly the slow motion 'pig's blood attack'.)

2. The fake ending.

3. The killing of Mrs White (particularly when Carrie starts pissing about and makes the knife somersault in mid air before impaling her ma).

Worst Bit:

William Katt's hair. (Possibly best bit).

7/10