Carrie is a 1976 American supernatural horror film directed by Brian De Palma from a screenplay written by Lawrence D. Cohen, adapted from Stephen King's 1974 novel Carrie. The film stars Sissy Spacek as Carrie White, a shy teenage girl who is constantly mocked and bullied at her school. She later develops the power of telekinesis and uses it to wreak vengeance on her tormentors. The film also features Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, William Katt, P. J. Soles, Betty Buckley, and John Travolta in supporting roles. It is the first film in the Carrie franchise.
The film was based on King's first published novel. De Palma was intrigued by the story and pushed for the studio's permission to direct while Spacek was encouraged by her husband to audition. It is the first of more than 100 film, television, and theater productions adapted from, or based on, the published works of King.
Theatrically released on November 3, 1976, by United Artists, Carrie became critically and commercially successful, grossing over $33.8 million against its $1.8 million budget. It received two nominations at the 49th Academy Awards: Best Actress (for Spacek) and Best Supporting Actress (for Laurie). Critics and audience members alike widely cite it as the best adaptation of the novel among the numerous films and television shows based on the character, as well as one of the best films based on King's publications.
The film has significantly influenced popular culture, with several publications regarding it as one of the greatest horror films ever made. In 2008, Carrie was ranked 86th on Empire's list of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time. It was ranked 15th on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies, and 46th on the American Film Institute list AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills. The film's prom scene has had a major influence on popular culture and was ranked eighth on Bravo's 2004 program The 100 Scariest Movie Moments. In 2022, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
16-year-old Carrie White is a shy high school student who is frequently bullied by her peers. When Carrie experiences her first period while showering after gym class, she panics, having never been taught about menstruation. Her female classmates laugh and throw tampons and sanitary pads at her until the gym teacher, Miss Collins, intervenes. Her abusive and religiously fanatical mother, Margaret, tells Carrie that her period was caused by sin and locks Carrie in a "prayer closet" to pray to God for forgiveness. At school, Miss Collins reprimands Carrie's tormentors by punishing them with exercise detention, threatening to suspend them, and revoke their prom tickets if they refuse. Carrie's longtime bully, Chris Hargensen, eventually refuses and gets banned from the prom.
Plotting vengeance against Carrie, Chris and her delinquent boyfriend Billy Nolan break into a farm and slaughter pigs to drain their blood into a bucket, which they place above the school's stage in the gym. Carrie realizes she can control objects with her mind when she is upset. She learns that her abilities result from telekinesis and begins researching books on the subject. Sue Snell, a classmate who feels remorseful for her part in bullying Carrie, asks her popular athlete boyfriend, Tommy Ross, to invite Carrie to prom. Carrie believes the proposition is a prank, but he insists it is genuine, and she eventually accepts. When Carrie informs her mother that she plans to attend the prom, she angrily forbids her. Despite her protests, Carrie rebels as Margaret witnesses evidence of her daughter's telekinetic powers, denouncing Carrie as a witch corrupted by sin.
During prom, Chris and Billy hide under the stage while her best friend, Norma, and other conspirators switch the ballots to ensure Carrie wins the Prom Queen title. As Carrie stands onstage with Tommy, finally beginning to feel accepted by her peers, Sue realizes Chris and Billy's plan and tries to intervene. Miss Collins spots Sue and, thinking that she is plotting a prank, throws her out of the prom. Chris and Billy douse Carrie in pigs' blood before sneaking out of the school. The empty bucket hits an angered Tommy on the head, knocking him unconscious. Norma begins laughing with other students, causing Carrie to hallucinate that everyone is mocking her, believing it was their plan all along. She telekinetically seals the exits, and the students are attacked by a fire hose, injuring several and killing Norma. A falling basketball backboard crushes Miss Collins after she and the students attempt to carry Tommy's body, and Carrie electrocutes her principal and English teacher, one of the two bursting into flames, setting the gym on fire. She exits the burning school and seals the doors behind her, leaving the trapped staff and classmates to die. As Carrie walks home, Chris attempts to run her over, but Carrie causes the car to swerve and roll over. Carrie ruptures the gas tank, and the car explodes, killing Chris and Billy.
After Carrie bathes herself at home, Margaret reveals that Carrie was conceived when her husband was drunk, an act that Margaret admits she enjoyed. She then stabs Carrie in the back with a kitchen knife. Carrie telekinetically sends knives flying toward Margaret, killing her; then she destroys the house and dies.
Some time later, Sue, who was the sole survivor of that night, goes to lay flowers on the charred remains of Carrie's home. Upon the remains stands a "For Sale" sign, vandalized in black paint with the words: "Carrie White burns in Hell!" Suddenly, Carrie's bloody arm reaches from beneath the rubble and grabs Sue, who, screaming, wakes up in her bed, as her mother tries to comfort her from the nightmare.
Carrie was the first Stephen King novel to be published and the first to be adapted into a feature film. During an interview in 2010, King said he was 26 years old at the time and was paid just $2,500 for the film rights, but added that he was fortunate to have this happen to his first book. Brian De Palma told Cinefantastique in an interview in 1977:
I read the book. It was suggested to me by a writer friend of mine. A writer friend of his, Stephen King, had written it. I guess this was almost two years ago [circa 1975]. I liked it a lot and proceeded to call my agent to find out who owned it. I found out that nobody had bought it yet. A lot of studios were considering it, so I called around to some of the people I knew and said it was a terrific book and I'm very interested in doing it. Then nothing happened for, I guess, six months.
Lawrence D. Cohen was hired as the screenwriter, and produced the first draft, which had closely followed the novel's intentions. United Artists accepted the second draft but allocated De Palma a budget of only $1.6 million, a small amount considering the popularity of horror films at the time. The budget eventually rose to $1.8 million. Certain scripted scenes were omitted from the final version, mainly due to financial limitations.
Many young actresses auditioned for the lead role, including Melanie Griffith. Sissy Spacek was persuaded by husband Jack Fisk to audition for the title role of Carrie White. Fisk then convinced De Palma to let her audition, and she read for all of the parts. De Palma's first choice for the role of Carrie was Betsy Slade, who received good notices for her role in the film Our Time (1974). Determined to land the leading role, Spacek backed out of a television commercial she was scheduled to film, rubbed Vaseline into her hair, left her face unwashed, and arrived for her screen test clad in a sailor dress which her mother had made her in the seventh grade, with the hem cut off, and was given the part. Nancy Allen was the last to audition, and her audition came just as she was on the verge of leaving Hollywood. She and De Palma married in 1979 and divorced in 1984.