This Stephen King Classic Has Been Added To The National Film Registry—Here’s Why That’s Important
They’re not all going to laugh at her, now, mother. Brian De Palma’s adaptation of the Stephen King novel Carrie has been added to the National Film Registry, an honor that the young telekinetic girl should be proud of. Carrie‘s inclusion follows on the tails of A Nightmare On Elm Street, which was added to the list in 2021.
The National Film Registry releases 25 new additions to the list every year, which are “selected for their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance to preserve the nation’s film heritage”. Horror films are historically snubbed by the larger film canon, so seeing a film like Carrie included not only acknowledges the power of horror cinema, but the level of craft involved in creating an amazing horror film. The inclusion of De Palma’s film is further recognition of the effects genre cinema has on cultural consciousness.
Carrie joins the few other horror titles to be included in the library, such as The Exorcist, Alien, Psycho, Rosemary’s Baby, Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein, The Shining, and A Nightmare On Elm Street.
Carrie was Stephen King’s first novel, published in 1974. The story follows the titular young girl who discovers she has psychic abilities. Bullied by other teens and abused by a religious zealot of a mother, Carrie’s rage boils over and she exacts revenge on those who have made her miserable.
De Palma adapted the source material into the 1976 film starring Sissy Spacek as Carrie and Piper Laurie as her mother. Both earned Academy Award nominations for their roles as lead and supporting actress, respectively. The imagery alone in the film, notably Carrie absolutely soaked in pig’s blood, makes it a horror staple and a tale of revenge, cruelty, and finding empowerment in the wrong places.
The National Film Registry said about Carrie:
Brian De Palma stands as an icon of the new wave of filmmakers who remade Hollywood and its filmmaking conventions beginning in the 1960s and 70s. After some intriguing independent efforts, De Palma burst onto the national spotlight with “Carrie.” Never one to feature subtlety in his films, De Palma mixes up a stylish cauldron of horrific scenes in “Carrie,” adapted from the Stephen King novel. Combine a teen outcast with telekinetic powers facing abuse from cruel classmates and a domineering religious mother, and you have a breeding ground for revenge, with the comeuppance delivered in a no-holds-barred prom massacre. The flamboyant visual flair and use of countless cinema techniques may occasionally seem overdone, but the film’s influence remains undeniable to this day, often cited by other critics and filmmakers for its impact on the horror genre.
Here’s the full list of films added to the National Film Registry this year:
- Mardi Gras Carnival (1898)
- Cab Calloway Home Movies (1948-1951)
- Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
- Charade (1963)
- Scorpio Rising (1963)
- Behind Every Good Man (1967)
- Titicut Follies (1967)
- Mingus (1968)
- Manzanar (1971)
- Betty Tells Her Story (1972)
- Super Fly (1972)
- Attica (1974)
- Carrie (1976)
- Union Maids (1976)
- Word is Out: Stories of Our Lives (1977)
- Bush Mama (1979)
- The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982)
- Itam Hakim, Hopiit (1984)
- Hairspray (1988)
- The Little Mermaid (1989)
- Tongues Untied (1989)
- When Harry Met Sally (1989)
- House Party (1990)
- Iron Man (2008)
- Pariah (2011)
What do you think of Carrie‘s inclusion on this year’s list? Do you think this Stephen King adaptation deserves a spot? Let us know over on Twitter @DreadCentral.
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