Carrie (1976): Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie and William Katt. Directed by Brian De Palma, Screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen, based on the novel by Stephen King.

Starting with "The Exorcist" and furthered by "Jaws", it seemed like every fifth film out of Hollywood in the 1970's was a supernatural thriller of some kind. Horror films were experiencing a resurgence and with each new one, new ground was being broken. You can nearly plot a clear path of development from one film to the next that end up with "Carrie", but, for whatever reason, "Carrie" stands out — even today.

The film was the first adaptation of a novel by new writer, Stephen King, and tapped into an area that had not yet been tackled in horror films, namely, a young outcast in a high school setting. Director Brian De Palma, who'd previously gained some critical success with his Hitchcock-esque thriller "Sisters" approached the material almost like a teenage comedy that just happened to have some strange supernatural elements thrown in, and it works amazingly well; even if you are thrown off-kilter slightly after the opening title sequence where Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is mocked by her classmates in the changing room shower, the soft-focus, brightly colored images of middle-America high school life lull you into a sense of safety. You think maybe you're going to see a kind of revenge drama, Carrie using her telekinetic powers to get back at her classmates, and that's basically what you get, but with each revenge act and ramping-up of her classmates' actions, "Carrie" cranks down into a darker world, culminating with prom night where we're a million miles away from the bright world we started in.

"Carrie" has appeared on many 10-best lists over the years, and deservedly so. It's a class piece of filmmaking from beginning to end and stands as one of De Palma's best (and least self-indulgent) works. The performances, although purposely hokey at times, are perfectly suited to the material, and the shocks and scares, especially the ending — which still makes me jump no matter how many times I see it — are perfectly timed.

A gigantic box-office hit, the film was even nominated for multiple Academy Awards, a rarity for a horror film, which only goes to show you how popular horror and the supernatural was becoming in popular culture at the time ("The Omen" was be released the same year).

And, yes, like many of the films on this list, "Carrie" was the subject on not only a bad sequel, but also a TV remake (which tacked on a new ending to allow for a "Carrie" TV series!). Thankfully, it appears that both those efforts have been buried and lost in time, the original still holding its own to repeated viewings and new fans alike.

Get it at Amazon.com:
Carrie (Special Edition)