January 31, 2008

Carrie Connections

THIS SECTION IS UNDER HEAVY CONSTRUCTION


Since the introduction of the film version of CARRIE in 1976, Stephen King's prom queen has become an indelible part of pop-culture. She's been spoofed, referenced and blatantly ripped-off in everything from stage plays (CARRIE WHITE THE MUSICAL) to well-known films (KNOCKED UP) to obscure television shows ("Life's Work"). In particular, CARRIE's biggest influence seems to be on the slasher movies that exploded in popularity shortly after the film's release -- suddenly it was no longer the leering psychopath out to get random victims, it was teenagers getting slaughtered by the kid who they scorned.

For me to cite every reference would be downright impossible, but I figured I'd put up a section devoted to some of the big ones, and even a few small ones that I know of. Most of what follows is from film and television. On the individual pages, you'll find photos, summaries, video clips and trailers from the projects, as well as information on how they relate to CARRIE.



SEQUEL/REMAKES:
The Rage: Carrie 2
Carrie (2002)
Carrie '06 (Trailer)

STAGE
Carrie the Musical
Carrie (2006)
Carrie's Facts of Life
Carrie Potter at the Half-Blood Prom
Carrie White Story (FORTHCOMING)
Carrie White: The Musical
A Scarrie Carrie Christmas Carol
Scarrie! the Musical


SIMILAR THEMES/RIP-OFFS
(TELEKINETIC/UNPOPULAR KID GETS REVENGE):
BoardingHouse
Evilspeak
Fear No Evil

Firestarter
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
The Fury
The Girl Most Likely To...
Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2
inexchange
The Initiation of Sarah
Jennifer
May
Mirror Mirror
One Dark Night
Prom Night
Rose Red
Slaughter High
Tamara
Terror Train
This House Possessed
To Play or To Die
Valentine

SPOOFS:
American Dad!
Another Gay Movie
Horror Friends
Jawbreaker
Student Bodies
Superstar
Ugly Betty
Zapped!

REFERENCED IN:
Bride of Monster Mania
Eli Stone
Gypsy 83
Knocked Up
Life's Work
The New Adventures of Old Christine
Reservoir Dogs (DVD featurette)
Roseanne
Scream
Terror in the Aisles
Water Power

VARIOUS RELATIONS:
Afternoon Delights
Blow Out
The Craft
The Grass Harp
Halloween
Loveline
Midwives
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Phantom of the Paradise
Phenomena
Ruby
Sisters

REFERENCES:
Psycho
Deliverance











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10 comments:

Vinnie said...

If you know of another reference that's easily obtainable (I'm not paying big bucks for old, out of print VHS releases), let me know.

Anonymous said...

Carrie has left a big impact on film directors. Carrie was one of the first high school "Ridiculed" films at that time, and i believe that it is also a classic, and is the reason why Stephen King a star.

Cameron Metrejean said...

If your still looking for the american dad spoof, you can check whole episodes on veoh.com
They have the episode Haylias which has a scene similar to Carrie, but I don't know if they have the one with the bucket of "Pigs"

Anonymous said...

Another movie that contains multiple Carrie connections is "Never Been Kissed" starring Drew Barrymore as Josie Geller... When she melts down at the prom and storms out, her brother Rob (played by David Arquette) says, "Wow, that was just like 'Carrie'! I thought she was gonna kill us all."
Josie Geller is a newspaper copy editor assigned to research information on social dynamics in high school. She hopes not to repeat her original high school years as a social outcast.
Of course, Drew Barrymore played another lethal Stephen King damsel, Charlie McGee, in "Firestarter."

Anonymous said...

You should also check out Be Kind Rewind. About a third to halfway through the film, there's a montage of Jack Black, Mos Def, et al. remaking all of the movies that they accidentally erased, and they paid tribute to our favorite prom queen. I believe the line was, "Hey! This is ketchup! You told me you were gonna use cherry kool-aid!"

In any case, it was a magical moment.

Anonymous said...

30 Rock this week did a parody of Carrie at Tina Fey's character at her high school reunion. Her ex-classmates decided to "'Carrie' her" by electing her... something, I can't remember, complete with slo-mo, flute music, and Alec Baldwin trying to run to the stage. (It ended with the bucket missing and Tina Fey basically saying "screw you guys!" and leaving.)

It was glorious. :)

Anonymous said...

The movie 'POWDER' is also very similar to 'CARRIE'. I'm surprised that the movie didn't make it in your list.

celticguy said...

I have alot of information on "Stephen Kings Rose Red" if you need it.

Glenn said...

Italian nunsploitation movie The Other Hell was influenced by Carrie, at least towards the end. I won't spoil it. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080362

Amelia said...

Very surprised not to see Richard Franklin's "Patrick" up here! It's a minor Ozploitation classic about a telekinetic youth who falls into a coma after killing his mother and her lover; the fact that he spends the ENTIRE film comatose (pity the poor actor who played him) doesn't stop him from wreaking havoc when he falls for a kindly young nurse. It was featured recently in the excellent documentary, Not Quite Hollywood, and as a result has quite the handsome DVD package to its name: http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/Reviews/Reviews.asp?ID=8645