Month: October 2013

The Colony

- Roshan

The Colony is a 2013 Canadian science fiction horror film directed by Jeff Renfroe and starring Kevin Zegers, Laurence Fishburne & Bill Paxton. The movie is set in the near future where world that has been ravaged by bitter cold weather that has wiped out the majority of life on earth. Also starring are Charlotte Sullivan, Atticus Dean Mitchell, Lisa Berry & Dru Viergever.

In the near future the earth suffers another ice age that wipes out most of humanity, animal & wildlife. The earth is snow covered and desolate with the survivors living in underground bunkers and struggling as very little food grows down there. The underground bunkers act like outposts in a hostile world and the colonies as they are called keep in touch with each other via long distance radio transmitters. Colony # 7 is run by former soldiers Briggs, who is in overall command and Mason who is in charge of security of their bunker. The colonies also have a rule when it comes to illness – in order to avoid flu spreading amongst the residents, the ill are immediately quarantined and in a couple of days if they are not better, are either shot or made to walk outside away from the bunker. The movie starts off with Mason, going against the rules, killing a sick man as he says that the sick just keep coming back, begging to be let in.

It is then that they get a distress call from Colony 5; however further contact is not possible. Briggs, Sam & Graydon set out to check on the colony and walk 2 days in the snow. On arrival they find the floors are stained with blood. Lots of blood and the bunker seems abandoned. In a closed room they find an almost derange survivor, Leyland, who shows them a message from a group of people who fixed the weather machine and have caused the snow to thaw. The group offers aid to anyone and asks that they bring seeds so they can be planted in the newly thawed soil. Leyland shows them where the signal came from but informs them that a Colony 5 expedition failed to return. Moreover, the expedition’s tracks led a group back to Colony 5 and the killing ensued. Briggs, Sam, and Graydon force Leyland to return with them but he pushes them out and locks himself back into his room. The three go on further, led by a chopping noise and find a large room with a fire burning and a human chopping up the residents of Colony 5 while others, cannibals, eat the flesh. The cannibals are the ones who tracked the footprints and came to Colony 5. Disgusted by what they see the 3 of them try to leave but Graydon is caught and killed by the cannibals. Briggs and Sam are able to make it up the ladder out of the colony and destroy the shaft with a stick of dynamite and make their way back home. Taking shelter for the night in an abandoned helicopter, they wake up the next morning to find that the cannibals have made their way out and are following their footsteps in the snow.

Briggs suggests that they lose the group over a bridge using dynamite. Due to the cold weather though, the dynamite fuse goes out. Briggs is able to make it back but not before he is confronted by the cannibals. He lights the fuse and sacrifices himself to enable Sam to return to Colony 7. Sam makes it to Colony 7 before collapsing and is handcuffed as soon as he comes to. He tells Mason and the others that the cannibals will reach them soon but his words are dismissed as ramblings caused by the shock of the harsh environment outside. However, a while later the cannibals arrive and attack the colony, taking out their security grid. Sam is able to get free and along with is girlfriend Kai collects a few seeds in an attempt to leave the Colony. The colony is ravaged by the cannibals and many die. In the battle Sam is attacked and is forced to kill the leader of the cannibals and when a lone Mason is about to be attacked by several cannibals he blows up a propane tank killing a bunch of them, including himself. Sam, Kai and a handful of survivors gather their sparse belongings and the seeds they have recovered and leave the destroyed colony and try and make it to the thawed-out location.

The movie could have ended better. Made on a $16 million budget, it still has decent effects and settings (the dimly light interiors of the cannibal infested colony 5 is almost beautiful in shots) and fairly decent CGI. They have a solid cast but the movie is nothing great or memorable. The story has been done before and will be done again. There’s nothing to make it unique or make you want to rewatch it. I’m tore between 6.5 and 7 for this movie. And I’m going to keep it that way.

Don’t Blame It On The Music

- Roshan

mindbump suggested by Bandpox

“Some people try and blame speeding tickets on fast music. Describe an event in which you allowed music to influence you into doing something irrational.”

I don’t agree with the claims that fast music or aggressive music or lyrics that can provoke you to do certain things that you wouldn’t do otherwise. I don’t buy that excuse so please forgive me for not drinking the kool aid. For instance the few cases that came up in the late 80s & 90s, particularly the Judas Priest trial that came up in 1990 – to refresh your memories he band was involved in a civil action that alleged they were responsible for the self-inflicted gunshot wounds in 1985 of 20-year-old James Vance and 18-year-old Raymond Belknap in Sparks, Nevada, USA.

On 23 December 1985, Vance and Belknap, after hours of drinking beer, smoking marijuana and allegedly listening to Judas Priest, went to a playground at a church in Sparks with a 12-gauge shotgun to end their lives. Belknap was the first to place the shotgun under his chin. He died instantly after pulling the trigger. Vance then shot himself but survived, suffering severe facial injuries. Following numerous complications, Vance too passed away three years after the shooting. The men’s parents and their legal team alleged that a subliminal message of “do it” had been included in the Judas Priest song “Better By You, Better Than Me” from the Stained Class album (actually a cover of a Spooky Tooth number). They alleged the command in the song triggered the suicide attempt. Over 5 weeks later the trial was dismissed.

Here’s my view; those two numbskulls were plainly idiotic and wanted to kill themselves. Blaming a single line in a song that they “happen to be playing” at the time is a cheap effort to extort some money by the survivor, the parents and the legal team. Similarly unless you are of the same mindset and are going to do something stupid anyway, the music/lyrics just happen to be playing. That’s it! It cannot influence you in such a way that you, an innocent person, will go and commit a crime or do something rash. That’s just bullshit. I have never done anything more than pump my firsts, head bang, do a mosh pit style dance and really get into the groove with fast music. Nutcases do stupid things and then find something else to blame it on.

Clothes Maketh The Dude!

- Roshan

How important are clothes to you? Describe your style, if you have one, and tell us how appearance impacts how you feel about yourself.

I have no style! I think I used to but now I don’t even wear jeans anymore. This is because I’m overweight and I find it hard to get a good pair of jeans in my size. A few years ago I would always wear jeans as much as possible and loved going to work during Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays so I could wear casuals and my jeans. But I haven’t worn jeans since late 2008 (I guess). I stopped even checking to see if there were any jeans that I could buy for myself and haven’t in a long time. Now I only wear pants that I have custom stitched – I buy the cloth and have them stitch it for me according to my measurements and specifications. I always wear black when it comes to pants – I do not like any other colour when it comes to trouser pants!

I haven’t worn t-shirts for a very long time. Since I was a teenager. Again, reason is because I am fat. I’ve actually had tshirts sent to me and they fit well but I never wear them. So no band tshirts or tshirts with cool logos! I never wear them at all. I wear button down shirts, mostly formal or semi-formal. When I choose my shirts at the shops I check them out by wearing it in the changing booths for two purposes – 1) to check and see if they fit comfortably ofcourse and 2) to see how they look tucked in and tucked out before I wear them out. My version of format is tucked in shirts for work and on casual days or when I go out I just untuck the shirts! That’s my style!

And that brings us to shoes and socks – I only buy laceless black shoes that I can easily wear to work and it looks formal enough and yet it is comfortable for me to walk a bit and not face an issue. Always only black. Sock ofcourse I wear many colours and designs just because they are easily available. I wear white undershirts and multi-coloured jockey underwear. Always jockey and the ones I select are so comfortable and soft. Feels nice on my ass and my manland!

Comfort is what I look for. And some flexibility!

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Man Of Steel

- Roshan

The last feature film on the most famous & beloved superhero of all time was in 2006 with Brandon Routh as Clark Kent/Superman in Superman Returns, which was a homage sequel to Superman I & II and ignores the events of III & IV. 2013 sees the franchise rebooting itself with a lot of changes done to the origin story as well as events shown in Superman II. Man Of Steel is directed by Zack Snyder, produced by Christopher Nolan, and written by David S. Goyer. Henry Cavill stars as Clark Kent / Kal El / Superman with Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane,  Kevin Costner,Laurence Fishburne and Russell Crowe in main roles. Other notable actors Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni are also featured while scifi regulars Ian Tracey, Tamoah Pennikett & David Paetkau have small roles.

Since the story of Clark Kent & Superman are universally known I’ll focus more on the differences in storyline here rather than do my usual review. Krypton is a wholly awesome looking planet and the Kryptonians are at all kinds of technologically advanced but the planet faces imminent destruction due to its unstable core, the result of years of depleting Krypton’s  natural resources. The ruling council is deposed by the military leader General Zod and his followers and before they can get to him, eminent scientist Jor El and his wife Lara launch their newborn son Kal-El on a spacecraft to Earth after infusing his cells with a genetic codex of the entire Kryptonian race. Zod needs the codex to restart the Krytonian population on another planet which he plans to terraform to suit their requirements. Zod kills Jor El but he & his followers are captured and banished to the Phantom Zone – but when Krypton later explodes, they are freed. This not like in the original movie. Kal El’s craft lands on earth and is found by Kansas farmer Jonathan Kent and his wife Martha who hide the craft under their barn and raise Kal El as their son, naming him Clark. The differences in Superman’s life is also to be noted – he is treated as a freak and his strength & powers are noticed, when he saves his classmates and bus driver from drowning in a river. Jonathan reveals to a teenage Clark that he is an alien and advises him not to use his powers publicly, fearing that society will reject him.

Jonathan is killed in a twister Clark lives a nomadic life, unable to cope with the death of his adoptive father. Working different jobs from place to place he is noticed for his feats but his identity remains unknown as people only know him as Joe. When a Kryptonian scout vessel is unearthed (being on our planet for 18,000 years) on Ellesmere Island in Canada, a joint US/Canadian military mission is launched to investigate it. Clark having infiltrated the mission enters the the alien ship, it allows him to communicate with the preserved consciousness of Jor-El in the form of a hologram. Jor-El reveals Clark’s origins, his story, and the extinction of his race, and tells Clark that he was sent to Earth to bring hope to mankind for a better future. Lois Lane, an award winning Daily Planet journalist is also in the area and follows Clark into the ship. She gets injured by a sentry robot and is saved by Clark. Her story of a superhero rescuer is rejected by her editor Perry White so she investigates on her own and traces Clark back to the Kent farm in Kansas. After Clark tells him his story she decides not to write about it to protect his identity and returns back to Metropolis. This is when General Zod and his crew, having searched the various worlds that his people had colonized and finding that none survived the destruction of Kryton eventually pick up a signal from the unearthed vessel and reaches earth. Zod demands that the humans deliver Kal El to him and that he will leave them alone if they do so within 24 hours.Failure to do so will mean the destruction of earth and all life on it.

The FBI catches up to Lois and bring her to the military base and Clark, now in his Superman outfit which his father had made for him, also willingly gives himself up. The military hand him and Lois over to Zod’s second-in-command, Faora, at Zod’s request. Once in their vessel Zod that he plans to terraform earth to suit the climate situations of Krypton and use the codex to bring forth a new generation of Kryptonians. However, the terraforming process would result in the extinction of humanity due to numerous ecological changes, rendering the planet uninhabitable to those native to Earth. With the help of Jor El’s AI Clark & Lois escape from their vessel and Clark defeats Faora and the others while Zod deploys the world engine and initiates the process in Metropolis and over the Indian Ocean, increasing the planet’s mass and atmosphere. After Clark destroys the world engine, the military uses the spacecraft that brought him to Earth in an aerial strike on Zod’s ship over Metropolis, sending Zod’s forces back into the Phantom Zone. Superman destroys the ship that carries the Genesis Chamber, the pivotal technology to restore the Kryptonian race with the codex. With only Zod now remaining, Clark & the general battle it out in the air and on the land and when Zod threatens to kill innocent human bystanders, Clark is forced to kill his enemy by snapping his neck. Having convinced the military that he is a friend, Superman as he is now called warns the government that, if it wants his help, it will be on his terms. The movie ends with Clark creating a false identity of a reporter and joining Lois at the offices of the Daily Planet.

Lots of changes and using the origin story from Superman 1 with the battle against Zod and forces in Superman II, Man Of Steel is an epic exciting run that never lets up. The movie is fast paced and energetic but that also makes it lose some of the charm that we come to know with Superman. The special effects and action sequences are impressive, although I’m not sure I like the fact that Superman’s take off is so powerful that the ground cracks each time he does it. Impressive CGI, space ships and fight scenes are all great but I miss the charm of Christopher Reeve. I’ll give it an 8 outta 10!

Arsenal 4 Norwich City 1

- Roshan

A very good showing for Arsenal with 4 goals just concluded at the Emirates stadium with a hard earned win against Norwich City. Yes, hard earned as despite the 3 goal gap, Norwich was not an easy team to defeat. The Gunners looked lethargic after the international break but Jack Wilshere volleyed in a superb opener in the 18th minute that will surely challenge for goal of the season so far. Norwich tested the Gunners attempting to take advantage of what seemed liked tired players and they went into the half time break at 1-0. The second half saw the visitors taking the game to Arsenal with a spell of some attacking football before Ozil’s header in the 58th minute appeared to settle it. 2-0.

However a spirited Norwich side languishing at the relegation zone came back soundly as Jonny Howson found the bottom corner with 20 minutes left to fray nerves. At 2-1 things did not look settled for Arsenal and they players needed a break. But Aaron Ramsey scored a lovely ninth goal of the season, waltzing through the defense and faking two shots before scoring  to make it 3-1 and Ozil grabbed an easy second. Although Norwich threatened on several occasions, the visitors were caught out by three moments of class as Arsenal warned up for their Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday with a clinical win. Defeat meant Chris Hughton’s Norwich side have lost four of their last five league games and remain in the bottom three.

Arsenal with 8 games  played have 19 goals at sit at the top of the league with Chelsea & Liverpool just 2 points behind. Manchester United drew again and are 8 points behind at the 8th spot.

A Lone Traveler In India

- Roshan

This morning I took an hour’s break in between work and some errands to spend at a Cafe Coffee Day outlet in the city. It’d been about 3 weeks since I visited one and I was missing having some cold coffee and so I went around 11:30 am to one of the 3 outlets they have in city and took my favourite table at the back end of the cafe and ordered my favourite – Kaapi Nirvana. It was a hot morning and I was sweating a bit so it was the perfect choice. I thought I’d just relax and sit back open the current book I am reading and chill for an hour before my next errand. About a few minutes after my coffee arrived and I was sipping the coolness, a rather pretty women entered the cafe and sat at the table on my left. She was a foreigner dressed in an India outfit – a churidhar – and she too was reading a book and drinking coffee. I must have glanced at her for less than a minute – the kind of glance you do when someone passes your general direction – and then went back to my book.

A while later she caught my attention as she politely apologized for disturbing me (not at all, it’s not everyday that a pretty young woman like you disturbs me) but she wanted to ask directions & suggestion to a couple of places in town which she planned to visit and could I offer her some help? Ofcourse I could, so i joined her at her table shook her hand and introduced myself before providing the information to the places she wanted to go to.  She was sweet and nice and I was glad to strike up a conversation with Dublin Ireland raised French girl, Nicole. As she told me about the places she has been to in India, she also told me about the bad experiences. She had wanted to visit India from when she was a child as this is where her parents honeymooned 30 odd years ago. Since she learned of it, Nicole has wanted to visit but was only able to do it this year. Her father died 7 years ago and her mother is in a wheelchair so she put off her visit to India for several years as she wanted to be there for her mother. She has been in India for almost 4 months and will spend another 2 or 3 more if possible before returning back to France and get back to her life there.

Although she loves the country she has a lot of criticisms about the people and the men in particular. She says that she has been propositioned more times than she can count, by men of all ages, many old enough to be her father. This is nothing new to me but to hear it from a person who is sitting right in front of me, is another thing altogether. Not that India is the only country where foreign women, and Caucasian women at that, are groped, proposition, leered at, have rude & disgraceful comments said to them. Far from it; but for a country that supposedly is full of religious & pious people who ae supposed to treat women folk with respect – it is actually the opposite! And not just to Indian women but to visitors too. I admire the fact that a young woman like Nicole is traveling alone across this large nation of ours but I wish she didn’t. I wish she went about in a group atleast 4 of 5 people strong just so she could avoid these unwanted incidents. I’m not blaming her – I wish she didn’t have to! She says she has been relatively safer and that she has been treated with a lot of kindness & helpfulness in many other places in India but I wish she only had the pleasant experiences to take back home with her to France. I keep hearing all these horror stories of women visiting my country alone or even in pairs and having a torrid time in some places. I wish people would just grow up and learn decency.

Safe travels. I shall look forward to Nicole’s emails when she hits the next places on her itinerary.

Get Your Socks Off!

- Roshan

Most people have this problem – socks! Just how the heck do you sort them out? Why do they keep getting lost? How to keep track of them? Well it’s easier when you are washing them by hand but put them in the washing machine / washer and it’s like – sending them through a vortex to another dimension where socks seem to go but never all come back . If they do come back one of the pair is sure to be missing or misplaced! The curse of the washing machine socks!

A problem I face is that I have many pairs of socks but some of them are similar in both colour & design. Beige, grey, white, brown, blue – similar designs and patterns but still there is some difference in them. When I take clothes that have been recently washed – can’t match the socks! I often pick up sock from the washer or the line used for drying or from my cupboard thinking I have a pair, only to check and see that I indeed do not have a proper pair.

I should just chuck out all my socks and buy a few dozen pairs all that look the same, no fancy designs or anything. Just all white or all black! No more hunting for matching pairs!

Salem’s Lot

- Roshan

Well it took me 3 sittings over 3 days to finish this movie but I have finally done it. Salem’s Lot is a 1979 television adaptation of Stephen King’s 1975 novel of the same name. Directed by Tobe Hooper, the slightly over 3 hour film stars David Soul (Hutch from Starsky & Hutch), James Mason, Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia, Fred Willard & Lew Ayres.

The movie starts off in Guatemala where in a church a man and a young boy are filling small bottles with holy water and one of the bottles begins to glow – the man says “They have found us again!” Two years before author Ben Mears had come to the small town of his birth, Salem’s Lot, to write a book about the Marsten House, an old house on a hilltop that had a reputation for being haunted. Mears asks the local realtor about renting the house but is told that it has been sold. Another new arrival, mysterious Richard Stryker, has bought the home with his yet-to-appear partner Kurt Barlow. Stryker is opening an antique shop in the small town and is busy with preparations. Mears takes a room in a boarding lodge and soon meets and starts a romantic relationship with Susan Norton, a local school teacher. Mears settles in to write his book and also befriends Susan’s father Dr. Bill Norton and renews his old friendship with his former school teacher, Jason Burke. Mears confesses to Burke that he feels that the Marsten house is evil and that as a child, just before he and his family moved away, he felt a presence when near the house.

Meanwhile Stryker has a large crate delivered to the house – he arranges it with a truck & delivery man but the latter in turn delegates it to two other man as he himself is staking his own house, suspecting his wife who works for the realtor is cheating him. The men deliver the crate, which they find to be too cold to the touch, and leave the house. That night Stryker kidnaps a young boy who strayed away from his brother as they were returning home and leaves him to the crate. The boy  is declared missing but appears to his older brother Danny having been turned into a vampire and bites his brother and drains him of his blood. Initially both Mears and Straker are the main suspects as they are new in town but it is soon clear that some other force is at work here – the crate contains a master vampire Kurt Barlow! With the younger boy missing and the older one dead, the town has a funeral for Danny but he vamps and attacks the undertaker. The realtor is also attacked by Barlow. Danny then tries to attack his friend Mark Petrie; however, Mark is a horror film buff who manages to repel Danny with a crucifix. Slowly people start dying as more vampire are being made and only Mears & Burke try to find out what is happening. Jason Burke, however, falls prey to a heart attack following an encounter with the newly vampirised undertaker. Mears & Dr. Norton are attacked by Danny’s mother who was presumed dead and Mears uses a make shift crucifix to vanquish her.

Mark’s parents and the local priest Father Callahan are killed in Mark’s home but the boy escapes vowing to get revenge. Ben makes Susan promise to leave town with her mother the next day but she follows Mark into the Marsten house and both are caught by Stryker. While Mark is tied up Susan is taken to meet Barlow. Mears and Dr. Norton head over to the house to destroy Barlow when they run into Mark who has managed to escape. Inside the house, Dr. Norton is killed by Straker, who is himself then killed by Mears using a pistol. Afterwards, Mears and Petrie find Barlow’s coffin in the cellar and destroy him by driving a stake through his heart. They then lock up all the remaining vampires in a large room and set the house on fire but Susan is no where to be found. As the house burns, the wind begins to carry the fire towards the town itself. Mears and Petrie then flee Salem’s Lot knowing that the fire will drive all the other vampires from their hiding places and purify the town from the evil that has engulfed it but fear that some vampire might survive and want revenge and hence they leave to Guatemala. Then story then moves to the church where Mears & Mark are collecting holy water. The glow alerts them that a vampire in nearby and as they return to their lodgings, Ben finds Susan lying in his bed. Now a vampire, she prepares to bite him as he leans down to kiss her, but he drives a stake through her heart. Filled with grief, he and Petrie leave, knowing that vampires are still hunting them.

Although most consider this to be a classic I found it boring and severely lacking. The scenes in the house are eerie and good but I can’t say that I enjoyed this movie and the vampire was a joke. I had to only watch an hour at a time and took 3 days to watch it completely. 5 outta 10!

If I Had To Give Away $1000000

- Roshan

You have been given $1,000,000.00 to use as you wish, however you can not keep any of it. Who would you give the money to?

Damn! I get all that money and I can’t keep any of it? Well the best way to use that 1 million dollars or Rs. 61,750,000 is to give it to charity – but the right charities. Secular run charities that can take care of the orphaned children, the poor, the ill and the handicapped. Not to a temple or church or any religious run organization but to a genuine one. Or if I can get a few like minded people together I’ll try and arrange it so that the money is directly given to a volunteer run charity that will ensure that the money goes to taking care of the poor and needy.

What about dogs & cats? I’d like to do something for them too. A safe shelter for the abused and homeless animals so that they can be treated in a humane way. With people who care for them. Keep them safe, feed and clean and give them proper check ups. Do the right thing and keep them off the streets where they can cause trouble for both themselves and people.

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Junk!

- Roshan

Is there “junk” in your life? What kind? How do you get rid of it?

Yes there is junk in my life. And I need to get rid of some of it if not all of it.

I always seem to have old clothes, ones that won’t fit anymore (like from 8 or 10 year ago and even older) or have torn in places. A pair of jeans or two that are long past their wearability dates. Old shirts, underwear and socks. A ripped and torn belt that I bought almost 15 years ago! I dunno why I find it hard to clear out all this crap.

Books, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets and even sections of newspapers – all gathering dust and lying and taking up space in the bottom shelf of my built in cupboard. I have a ton of books and magazines in several places that I haven’t read in a long time and may never read again…ever! Then there is my large steal almirah which has a ton of my cds (I never play them but rip them into mp3 format as soon as I buy them and then save them on my laptop and an external hard drive) which are collecting dust. I took a look at them today and it’s a huge mess down there. I have some dvds too, old ones that I never watch anymore.

I’d be happy if I can either get a proper book shelf or two so neatly store my stuff and get rid of the junk in the process. I’m working on getting things organized soon.

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What Makes A Teacher Great?

- Roshan

What makes a teacher great?

I wonder what you think about your teachers as an adult. My experience is that as you grow older you tend to remember most of your teachers in a very fond way, forgetting all the bad things and disagreements and focusing only on the positive ones and being very respectful and appreciative of the teachers in general. Well that’s the case with me save for my grades 6 to 10 high school principal (back then in India most schools except for the Central Board run schools were only upto 10th grade and then you did your 11 & 12th or Pre-degree in a college) and a couple of others. The rest of the teachers were all great to good – some of them were awesome. I think me and my old classmates really do appreciate just how lucky we were to have such genuinely wonderful teachers.

So what makes a teacher great? Several things that a teacher can do that is unique to him or her. Teaching styles differ from person to person. I think a great teacher had both a good understand of the subject matter at hand as well as good communication skills. They should be able to open the minds of the students and make them grasp the details of the lessons. They should be able to instill the aimed for learnings as well as elicit wonder & imagination from each and every student. The words and way that the teacher speaks should make the children in her/his class view the topics in their mind. The should engage in debate and discussions and encourage the students to participate in them and encourage them to ask questions, voice their opinions and suggestions. All of these will make the teacher great.

A teacher should not be interested in completing the 45 minute or 50 minute class and then go back to her/his desk at the teacher’s hall. They should not just parrot the lessons and then go home at the end of the day. They should be interested in enriching the students and ensuring that the students do learn the lessons.

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Carrie (1976)

- Roshan

Carrie is a 1976 horror/supernatural movie based on the 1974 horror of the same name by Stephen King. Directed by Brian De Palma and written by Lawrence D. Cohen the movie stars Cissy Spacek, Amy Irving, Piper Laurie, William Katt, Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley and a young John Travolta in his first significant movie role!

Most of you know the story. Carrie White is a lonely 17 year old kid, the weirdo as labelled by the rest of her classmates at her high school. Shy and friendless she is abused by her religious Catholic fundamentalist mother Margaret White and often locked in a small closet to pray as atonement for her “sins”. The girls at Bates High School also harass Carrie about her appearance and shyness, with Chris Hargensen being especially cruel. One morning at school after a gym class while the girls are in the showers Carrie experiences her first period. Shocked and afraid, not having told or taught what to expect, she approaches her friends for help. The rest of the girls not knowing what the big deal was, start making fun of her and the reaction to her late onset of menstruation. They throw tampons and sanitary pads at her and taunt her until Miss Collins, the gym teacher, intervenes and chastises the girls. She has to slap Carrie to make the hysterical girl calm; not before her outburt makes a light bulb bursts in the gym, although it is mistaken as a broken one.

She is excused for the day and told to go home and rest as Miss Collins feels sorry for the traumatic experience Carrie has just had. At the principle’s office Miss Collins also recommends that she be excused from gym for the next week as well in order to recover. When the principal keeps referring to Carrie as Cassie, despite repeated corrections by Miss Collins, Carrie gets agitated and an ashtray on his desk flips onto the floor. It is apparent that she has telekinetic powers, probably brought forth by the onset of her late blooming. At home however Margaret, who receives a call from Miss Collins about the locker room incident, tells Carrie that the “curse of blood” was divine punishment for lustful thoughts and locks her into a prayer closet. That night, a miserable Carrie stares at her bedroom mirror until it shatters. The next day Miss Collins makes all the tormentors gather in the gym and doles out the punishment – they are to get 50 minutes of detention for a week with boot-camp style exercises. Failure to do so will get them 3 days suspension and refusal to admit them to the senior prom. Chris refuses to continue and earns a suspension and is denied her ticket to the prom. Carrie meanwhile reads up on telekenisis in the library as she suspects that it’s what causes her powers. Sue Snell, another of the students, who feels bad for the incident decides to get her boyfriend Tommy Ross to invite Carrie to the prom. Carrie seems to have a crush on Tommy and likes his poetry.

Carrie fearing that it is a trick refuses Tommy’s invitation but on Sue’s urging Tommy goes to the White’s residence and invites Carrie again and she finally agrees. However Margaret declares the prom a sinful activity and forbids her to go and Carrie reveals her telekinetic powers, upon which he mother calls her a witch. Carrie puts her foot down and says that Tommy is a good boy and says that she is going to the prom and stitches herself a nice dress. Wanting revenge for being denied the prom ticket Chris gets her delinquent boyfriend and a couple of other friends to kill a pig and drain it’s blood into a bucket.  Billy then sneaks into the school and places the bucket above the school’s stage. Carrie readies herself on the  night of the prom against her mother’s protests and is picked up at by Tommy. At the prom, the others are surprised to see Carrie and finally treat her as an equal. She has a nice time and even agrees to vote for her & Tommy in the vote for “Prom king & queen”. Sue, who was unable to attend due to lacking a date, sneaks into the prom to ensure everything goes well for Carrie. Chris’s friend Norma collects the students’ ballots for prom king and queen, but, at Chris’s request, replaces the majority with votes nominating Tommy and Carrie. The announcement is made and to Carrie’s surprised every applauds as she & Tommy are named queen & king of the prom! They to the stage and are cheered on – that’s when Chris & Billy drop the bucket full of blood on her!  Before Sue can warn Carrie, Miss Collins forces her out, believing she is there for mischief. Drenched in pig’s blood, Carrie is shocked and barely notices that Tommy is knocked unconscious as the metal bucket falls and hits him on the head.

As Carrie looks around the room she sees everyone mocking and laughing at her; it only appears to her to be so and in reality only Chris and her friends are laughing at her. She goes into a fit of rage  uses her telekinesis to seal the exits and manipulate a fire hose, which blasts the student body with water. The water makes contact with the electrical wiring and ignites a fire that consumes the gym. The students and faculty, including Miss Collins, are killed. Chris and Billy witness the carnage from a high window. Carrie leaves the gym and walks home covered in blood. Chris and Billy attempt to run Carrie over with Billy’s car, but Carrie telekinetically flips the car over and causes it to explode, killing both of them. Carrie returns home and washes herself off the blood and on seeing her mother sees solace in her arms. In the middle of the prayer, Margaret, being a fanatic and delusional, believing that Carrie is the new Satan, stabs Carrie in the back. Carrie defends herself by crucifying her mother in the kitchen doorway with numerous blades and knives into her hands, chest and abdomen. Overcome with grief, Carrie unhooks her mother just as the house begins to collapse on the two of them, before ultimately burning to the ground. In the closing minutes Sue, who was the sole survivor having been outside, has a nightmare of going to which she visits the plot where Carrie’s house stood and while placing flowers, Carrie’s bloodies hands grabs hers. As she screams in her bed, Sue’s mother tries to comfort her.

Simply tragic and made well. For 1976 it’s a great movie which stands the test of time and is favourite of horror fans and Stephen King’s fans. You can’t help but have your heart go out to Carrie and Cissy Spacek did a terrific job. 8.5 outta 10!