Is it weird to anyone else that Stephen King‘s very first novel explores the feminine wiles of a sexually repressed teen? Well, the horror continued in 1976 with the screen adaptation of Carrie, directed by Brian DePalma. This Friday, October 28, see the film outside with friends during the last night of Campout Cinema at EMP Museum.
She won’t be smiling for much longer.
Carrie stars Sissy Spacek as Carrie White, a sheltered girl with a frighteningly religious mother at home, played by Piper Laurie. (Not to mention a young—dare I say, poor?—performance by John Travolta as a brutish high schooler.)
Carrie suffers the very worst of adolescence: teasing, bullying, betrayal. It culminates in a conspiracy by false friends to douse her in pig’s blood at a phony prom queen initiation. Other films from the era have tried to replicate her humiliation and failed. (Looking at you, Prom Night).
Humiliation by blood is an iconic motif in Carrie, beginning in the girl’s locker room, when her period suddenly arrives. Carrie thinks she’s bleeding to death, and her fear of her own body reflects a societal ignorance/discomfort regarding female anatomy. It’s still an issue 40 years later. And 40 years later, nothing can compare with Carrie‘s satisfying final revenge, filled with telekinesis, pyrotechnics and an unlikely return from the grave.
EMP has this to say about Campout Cinema:
Bring the outdoor movie experience indoors with EMP’s Campout Cinema series, featuring film screenings on EMP’s mammoth Sky Church screen alongside cinematically-inspired fun. At Campout Cinema, EMP invites you to get comfy and relax under LED stars on blankets, pillows, cushions, and sleeping bags from home (no chairs please). With photo ops and drink specials before the screening and during intermission—as well as trivia, giveaways, and other surprises—every Campout Cinema event offers a unique and super themed movie-going experience.
Plus, tickets to Campout Cinema include admission to the EMP exhibition Can’t Look Away: The Lure of the Horror Film. Is there a better way to kick off your Halloween weekend?
Campout Cinema at EMP Presents: Carrie
When: Friday, October 28, doors at 7pm, movie starts at 8pm
Where: EMP Museum (325 5th Ave N)
