Continuing my classic horror reads with Carrie. I'll preface this review by saying I am often let down by Stephen King. He's well regarded so I keep trying, and while the ideas are good, the execution I find dull. I thought maybe a classic like Carrie would be the one.
Carrie White is a naive seventeen year old high school student who lives alone with her fanatically religious mother. Fat and unattractive, her classmates constantly taunt her, which the teachers hesitate to stop, silently agreeing with the kids. No one has taught her about becoming a woman, so when her first period happens in the gym showers, the girls pick on her and call her names. Her mother is known in town as a fundamentalist and most people avoid them. In their house she conducts religious services three times a week for her and Carrie, and is constantly praying for the devil to leave her sinful daughter - her overreaction to the power of a teenager discovering herself. But Carrie is discovering a talent for telekinesis, and practices moving objects with the power of her mind.
With the Prom coming up, one of the popular girls feels genuine remorse for the way they have treated Carrie, and asks her boyfriend to take Carrie instead of her. The invitation sincere, they do enjoy the lights and dancing and are even voted King and Queen. Teenagers can be cruel though, and before the night is over, Carrie will have been pushed over her limit, unleashing her pent up fury.
I've seen Brian DePalma's excellent film Carrie many times, and can see how the adaption of this novel was improved. The novel is told in semi-documentary style - jumping back and forth from Carrie's school days, to newspaper and tv reports looking back on prom night, to excerpts from several books written about the event - and the momentum never built for me. It was hard to get into the characters when their story kept being undercut, although anyone who was bullied or found no place to fit in as a teenager in school will find the theme palpable - it's very satisfying to watch Carrie's revenge and a vicarious pleasure at locking them all in the gym as it burns to the ground. While the film centered Carrie's rage in the school gym, the novel has her leave the building and watch from outside, then cause trouble in town. Sure, the damage was more widespread, but the intimacy of her power was lost. The night took over 30 pages to describe, where the film used split screens to intensify. Kudos to King for creating these solid characters but the technique of compiling reference sources to tell their story didn't work for me.
This just made me want to watch the film again, for it's excellent (unknown at the time) talent, direction, editing, and a superb score by the great Pino Donaggio. Piper Laurie was deservedly nominated for an Oscar for portraying Carrie's mother - whose death in the book is rather gentle compared to the unforgettable film version.
Carrie the film went on the have a sequel, a 2013 remake, and an infamous Broadway musical adaption in 1988 - with music by the team from Fame and choreographed by Debbie Allen, it lasted a four-week try out before opening on Broadway to mixed cheers and boos (and standing ovations opening night), but despite sold out tickets the reviews were scathing and the show closed after five performances, making it one of the most expensive flops in theatre history. What I would give to have seen it. A tidbit of history that would not have been possible if Stephen King had not created these characters - you never know where your art will take you, or how it will live and grow in the world.
Read my other reviews of Stephen King:
1974 / Paperback / 245 pages
Comments