Oppressing religion interspersed with social hierarchies. Carrie is being alienated two-folded, at home and at school, leaving her so much outside the realm of any love and affection that even the slightest hint of kindness toward her is met with soul-crushing self-doubt. Split between hope and fear, she chooses hope – perhaps the boldest decision she has ever made, casting aside all the overwhelming fear that has ensnared her all her life. She opposes her fanatical mom, leaving the Christ figurine firmly behind in the closet. She opposes the domineering co-students who has scarred her for life. Carrie is brave but fragile.

Then comes one of the greatest climaxes ever. After having used his stylish directions throughout the film with split diopter shots showing frail Carrie in the background – both in class and at home, De Palma dials it up a notch. Split screens and screeching sounds display the now-fractured mind of Carrie, and it is a wonder that the intensity and action work so well. I think it does partly because of Spacek’s incredible performance. She is quite the screamer early on and obnoxiously so, but I think there is more nuance to her character and acting, especially taking into account the interactions with her mom. Spacek is, at first, solemn and subdued, but as Piper Laurie turns on the heat of heathens, Spacek turns immediately submissive.

The screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen should be praised more. Turning the semi-epistolary novel into a continuous narrative that so seamlessly builds in narrative force is quite the accomplishment. There are no academic papers or newspaper articles to relay information about telekinesis in the film that in the book works so well as foreshadowing - and that's great. In the film, we are forced into the unknowing, incredulous POV of Carrie, experiencing the surprising events as they happen, with equally exhaustive intensity. Stephen King’s book is great, it really is, but I find it nowhere near as great in terms of its portrayal of teenage drama or in terms of its narrative impact as De Palma's film.