Carrie - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Carrie



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
When I first started the review I was CONFIDENT that I had written a review for the 2016 Scream Factory collector’s edition release, but after much searching of notes and my aging memory, I have to admit that I’ve actually never reviewed the home video release before. Something which is long over due and needs to be corrected immediately. Luckily Scream Factory is on a mission to re-release many of their previous Blu-ray’s on 4K UHD and doing so with generally stellar results. Brian DePalma’s classic horror thriller is ripe for the proverbial picking, and this new 4K UHD disc is quite a solid upgrade as well for fans.

A classic film by any standards, Brian DePalma’s take on Stephen King’s book is a cinematic masterpiece. It starred a nearly unknown Sissy Spacek, John Travolta and Nancy Allen, it took the horror world by storm. Like Black Christmas, it’s more akin to a thriller with some supernatural elements at the end, Carrie is a slow paced film that plays with one of mankind’s oldest demons. Original sin.

The film focuses on young high school student Carrie (Sissy Spacek) who is the typical outcast at school. She has no friends, no future, no confidence, no grasp of the idea that she has telekinetic powers. She’s picked on at school, but emotionally destroyed at home by a mother who who views Carrie as spawn of the devil. A self soothing tactic to come to grips with the fact that she messed around with a man outside of wedlock and has to tell her hyper religious brain something to ease her guilt. Unfortunately that means Carrie is just an easy target for high school students, who pick on her day and night, until she’s asked to the prom by one of the hottest boys at school (William Katt). Thinking that she’s finally blossoming and getting her dreams fulfilled, Carrie has no idea that she’s being set up for a humiliating public spectacle, which will inadvertently turn her latent telekinetic powers into an unstoppable force of rage, grief and uncontrolled fury, culminating in deadly consequences.

Carrie still manages to be one of the most unique and well paced horror/thrillers of our time. It deals with hyper religious tropes unlike the typical exorcism style movies did back then in a unique manner, and uses DePalma’s trademark slow paced drama to build up the film to a tense and frightening finale. He’s also not afraid to use exploitation techniques in his storytelling to really draw the viewer in. That opening shower scene was pretty controversial back in the 1970s, and it gives the audience an uncomfortable view into the life of the poor girl on the burgeoning of womanhood. Her unveiling of her inner beauty despite having a train wreck of a mother is actually rather heart warming and kind of sweet, leading up to the inevitable conclusion which literally just sweeps the rug out from underneath the audience.

Some of the optical effects and swipes are typical DePalma, and almost out of place in a typical horror movie, but it most certainly gives Carrie a very distinctive tone and vibe that is ALL DePalma. As a horror film, it doesn’t follow any major mold or trope, but instead manages to blaze a brand new stylistic path. Most of the terror and horror stems from the last act with the telekinetic power blast as well as Carrie’s own raging psychotic mom. Even though the last few moments does give me the idea that Drag me to Hell actually took homages from Carrie.




Rating:

Rated R by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

Carrie looked very good with the 2016 Blu-ray, but the new scan from the original negative (again, par for the course with Shout/Scream Factory 4K UHD upgrades) shows noticeable improvement over the Blu-ray. The contrast levels appear more refined, with a less bright and blown out look, as well as better skin tones and some incredible fine details present. The scene where Carrie is down below in the stairwell as well as the auditorium are stand out sequences for textural and detail level improvement in spades. There’s still a decent grain structure, but it’s not overly grainy and gritty like one would expect. The HDR application is well done and nuanced, boosting certain colors like the red and the mahogany 70s browns nquite a bit as well. No signs of jutter or from DePalma’s hyper active cuts as well. All in all a very impressive upgrade over the already good Scream Factory disc (and light years over the medicore to crummy MGM disc.







Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA and Mono DTS-HD MA tracks appear to be the same tracks that were featured on the Blu-ray 6 years ago. As noted back then, the surround mix isn’t going to be a show stopper, as it’s still fairly front heavy and only uses the score as rear channel ambiance. Bass is reserved but appropriate, and dialog in the center of the screen is the real focus. Pino Donaggio’s score is quite smooth and clean, with no sounds of major distortion or over bearing upon the rest of the mix. It’s a simple track (stemming from a dual channel Mono mix, not shocking) but does everything well enough to still be engaging.








Extras:

4K UHD Disc
• BRAND NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE (2022)
• DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• Original Mono and 5.1 lossless tracks

Feature Film Blu-ray
• BRAND NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE (2022)
• Original Mono and 5.1 lossless tracks
• Theatrical Trailer
• Carrie Franchise Trailer Gallery

Special Features Blu-ray
• Writing CARRIE – An Interview With Screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen
• Shooting CARRIE – An Interview With Director Of Photography Mario Tosi
• Cutting CARRIE – An Interview With Editor Paul Hirsch
• Casting CARRIE – An Interview With Casting Director Harriet B. Helberg
• Acting CARRIE – Interviews With Sissy Spacek, Amy Irving, Betty Buckley, Nancy Allen, Jack Fisk, William Katt, Piper Laurie, Priscilla Pointer, PJ Soles, And Brian DePalma
• More Acting CARRIE – Interviews With William Katt, Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley, Piper Laurie, Edie McClurg, And P.J. Soles
• Visualizing Carrie – Interviews With Brian De Palma, Jack Fisk, Lawrence D. Cohen, And Paul Hirsch
• Bucket Of Blood – An Interview With The Maestro Pino Donaggio
• Horror's Hallowed Grounds – Revisiting The Film's Original Locations
• A Look At Carrie, The Musical
• TV Spots
• Radio Spots
• Still Galleries – Rare Behind-The-Scenes Photos, Posters, And Lobby Cards
• Stephen King And The Evolution Of Carrie Text Gallery

Final Score: ​

Carrie is most notable not only being an iconic horror film, but also the starting point for several actor’s careers. Sissy Spacek, John Travolta, Nancy Allen, and even PJ Soles really started their careers with this movie. The new 4K UHD is a well done evolution of the Scream Factory 2016 Blu-ray collector’s edition, giving a few minor extra upticks, the same solid audio, and a very solid 4K video upgrade as well. Highly recommended.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Sissy Spacek, John Travolta, Nancy Allen, PJ Soles
Directed by: Brian DePalma
Written by: Lawrence D. Cohen
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA Dual Channel 2.0 Mono (Original Restored), English DTS-HD MA 5.1 (Original Restored), English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Scream Factory
Rated: R
Runtime: 98 Minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: December 13th, 2022

Recommendation: Great Buy