Carrie

As the novel cemented the reputation of Stephen King, the film version would do the same for Brian De Palma. Easily his best horror film it holds up amazingly well 30 years after it's release. I've had the misfortune of meeting people who fancied themselves horror directors and sadly have not seen CARRIE which to me is a damn good reason for them to go back to school as this is viewing 101. A serious story of teenage development, cruelty and disocvery Sissy Spacek well deserved her Oscar nomination for the title role as did Piper Laurie as her overbearing religious fanatic mother. Rounding thing out are John Travolta in his first major film role, P.J. Soles, Amy Irving, Betty Buckley and William Katt, CARRIE was at fault for many a gen-Xer nightmare. The end still packs an amazing wollop. My biggest complaint though is with the split-screen technique De Palma uses in the finale though I suppose we can forgive him as it was rampant in many a film in the mid-seventies. Might even be the fault of studio tampering...who knows. What I do know is if you watch this one alone in the dark it will still spook ya well.