Horror films of today are filled with teens, gore, or nudity. They tend to be teen slashers or faux docu-horrors, like the widely popular Paranormal Activity series. Carrie, adapted from a novel by American Horror writer Stephen King, was first released in 1976. Carrie was, and still is, considered a huge success in the horror genre. It grossed thirty times its budget in profits and received four nominations, including two Oscars. It was so successful that it set the trend of adapting Stephen King novels. Shortly after Carrie, many other King novels were made into films, such as Christine, Salem’s Lot, and The Shining.

One of the reasons Carrie is so widely popular is that it isn’t just your normal run-of-the-mill horror. It doesn’t rely on cheap scares or killers with masks. The film revolves around Carrie, a teenage girl who is constantly bullied in her senior year of high school.  Carrie’s schoolmates constantly reject her because her extremely religious mother never guided her socially, leaving Carrie socially inept. In one scene, Carrie gets her first period, but since her religious mother never informed her about menstruation, Carrie thinks that she is dying. She runs towards her classmates with blood on her hands begging for help. Carrie later learns that she has telekinesis. After a cruel prank at prom, she uses it to make sure she is never bullied again.

Not only did Carrie begin the Stephen King book-to-movie craze, it also shot the people involved to success. The director, Brian de Palma, was virtually unknown prior to Carrie. Nowadays, he has films like Scarface, Carlito’s Way, Mission Impossible, and many others. Sissy Spacek, who plays Carrie, and Piper Laurie, who plays Carrie’s mother, were nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.

No matter if you’re a first time watcher or a cult follower of Carrie, you will be thrilled and engaged. Carrie is able to effectively use its eerie soundtrack to enhance every scene from creepy to edge-of-the-seat terror. So take your friends this weekend to enjoy this cult classic.