Horror Films that Every Self Respecting Gay Man Should See: Carrie

* an ongoing project for gay pride month!

Film: Carrie

Director: Brian De Palma

Stars: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Betty Buckley, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, William Katt, John Travolta, P.J. Soles and Priscilla Pointer.

In a Nutshell:  Carrie White is the mousy  gal everyone picks on at Bates High School. One day, she gets her first menstrual period in the showers during gym class and has no idea what is happening to her; her classmates mock her by throwing sanitary napkins at her while she collapses in a corner hysterical, her religiously demented mother locks her in a closet and accuses her of sinning...her only hope is that one student, overcome by guilt for what has occurred, arranges for Carrie to go to prom with the most handsome boy at school.  The only problem is that another student has cooked up  the ultimate humiliation for Carrie at the prom.  Trouble is, no one involved is aware that Carrie has telekinetic abilities that can bring down a mini Armageddon on all involved. 

What's So Gay About It?: Bitch please!  From Piper Laurie's over-the-top portrayal of a sexually repressed born again manic mama; to Priscilla Pointer's suburban mom swigging down a mid afternoon cocktail ("I'll drink to that!"); to Broadway Babe, Betty Buckley as the caring dyke gym teacher; to a pre-Scientology Travolta looking all shaggy haired and darkly sexy; to a dreamy William Katt as the doomed "Prince Charming"; to Nancy Allen as the ultimate slut/bitch from hell; and finally, to Sissy Spacek's well played portrayal of the title character - Carrie took the sad tale of a high school outsider with an axe to grind and turned it on it's head.  Carrie represented every gay kid who ever suffered any kind of humiliation in the halls of academia and asked, "What if that kid could get revenge?"

Cool Stuff:  While DePalma was casting his film, he shared space with director George Lucas who was casting a little film called, Star Wars .  Apparently, many of the actors auditioned for both films at the same time ... if you note homages to Psycho in this film, well, they are pretty blatant: a shower scene that ends in blood, a high school named, "Bates" - and of course the stabbing four note violin strings that accompany Carrie's powers.

Gay Quotability:  "I can see your dirty pillows, everybody will!"

Inside Carrie White's Bedroom

Ever wondered what you would find in the bedroom of that mousy girl who lives in that dingy little house with her crazy mother?

Wonder no more

1: Picture of Bates High's BMOC, Tommy Ross, cut out of last week's newspaper's sports section.

2: Mirror cracked recently when Carrie had a mini-telekinetic-meltdown.

3: Scary picture of Jesus that Mama mail ordered from from a company called Opus Dei Direct.

4: A copy of Pat Boone's A Miracle a Day Keeps the Devil Away by  can be found under Carrie's bed.

5: A dog eared copy of Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. is stashed away in this drawer.

6: A small collection of cosmetics from the local drug store are hidden under the Madonna and Child night light on this table.

7: Transistor radio that picks up Wolfman Jack's show late at night.

8: Latest issues of Rolling Stone can be found behind this dresser.

9: A pamphlet detailing what to expect when a young woman get's her first period called, You Are Growing Up, can be found in the center of this history text book.  The pamphlet was given to Carrie by her gym teacher, Miss Collins.

10: One very uncomfortable bed.

Mother's Day is Coming

Sure! I love the dear silver
That shines in your hair

And the brow that's all furrowed
And wrinkled with care.

I kiss the dear fingers
So toil worn for me

Oh! God bless you
And keep you; Mother Macree.

Fun with Obamacon.Me

The One (or Two or Possibly Three) I Might Have Saved

After another one of his brilliant posts (this one in particular) , movie blogger , Arbogast threw the following wish out into cyberspace:

I wouldn't be disappointed if you bloggers out there carried the "The one you might have saved" torch to your own sites and wrote about those horror movie victims whose plights especially touched you and whom you wish you could have carried to safety.

...and I am happy to play along!

From the first time I saw Brian DePalma's film adaptation of Stephen King's first novel, Carrie, there were two characters that I really wanted to spare...

First, there was the Prince Charming, Tommy Ross, (played by the impossibly handsome William Katt). Tommy was essentially a blameless soul, who only took Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) to the prom because he wanted to help his girlfriend, Sue Snell (Amy Irving) get over her guilt for having earlier taunted Carrie (along with the other girls) in the gym showers after Carrie had her first period and freaked out. Tommy not only does his girlfriend's bidding, he actually begins to like Carrie, and after the two of them waltz dizzily on the star spangled dance floor, he begins to fall for her...

...So when we watch him get beaned by the dull, heavy edge of the steel bucket that had been filled with pig's blood, we are shocked and horrified. Of course we also assume that he is left for dead once Carrie's lost it and starts raising telekinetic hell.

Would I have tried to save Tommy Ross? Damn straight! To hell with those falling lights, electrical wires, and fire hoses that have seemingly come to life, I would have hoisted him over my shoulder and tried to beat a hasty retreat from the Bates High Prom.

I am sure that the blow to his head would have given him amnesia, so once he came around, we'd be long gone and headed to a little shack somewhere in Malibu. I'd have made something up and convinced him that we were long time lovers ... and then we'd while away our days, him unaware of his traumatic brush with death, his ex girlfriend now a basket case would have problems of her own (what with all the bad dreams she'd been having, her mother would just "take her away" for a bit), so she would not come snooping around ... yeah, that's how it should have ended; me and Tommy getting away, him teaching me how to surf, me teaching him what Greek passive means...sigh, a guy can dream, can't he?

Of course the only problem here is that I would have also saved Miss Collins (Betty Buckley).

And why not? Clearly, Carrie's gym teacher was family. That is, she was a lesbian. What with her knee socks and butch attitude. Let's face facts, when she bitch- slapped that slut, Chris (Nancy Allen), you knew you were dealing with a true Sister of Sappho.

Of course, Miss Collins was one of the few adults, maybe the only adult, who treated Carrie with respect and care. She even suspects that Sue might be up to something when she discovers her plan to have Tommy ask her to prom ... unfortunately, Miss Collins' hunch is a bit off, as the real trouble makers are not the golden boy and his girl, they are the aforementioned Chris and her scum bag boyfriend, Billy Nolan (John Travolta). Still though, her heart is in the right place.

Therefore, when we see the basketball backboard come slamming down on her, crushing her mid section, once more we gasp in disbelief.

Yes, I would have tried to save Miss Collins.

Of course, she'd be the fly in the ointment for my plans for Tommy, but what the hell, maybe she'd play along, maybe we could have gone back in to the gym and saved Helen (Edie McClurg), I think Miss Collins and her would have made a great couple!

Yeah, and the four of us could have then set up shop somewhere in San Francisco.