Admirers of revered horror author Stephen King can now watch his first, and one of his most famous, movie adaptations completely free of charge. Since the start of the New Year, 1976’s Carrie has been streaming for free on Tubi, Pluto TV, and The Roku Channel. Based on King’s 1974 novel of the same name, Carrie‘s terrifying tale revolves around a timid teenager who possesses secret, psychic powers and subsequently uses them against her bullies at school. The 1976 film was directed by Brian De Palma and stars Sissy Spacek as the main character, Carrie White. Piper Laurie portrays Carrie’s religiously strict mother Margaret White, while John Travolta, Amy Irving, William Katt, and Nancy Allen play Carrie’s various high school classmates.
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Today, the original Carrie exists as a classic in the horror genre. Scoring a 94% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes and earning a rating of 86 on Metacritic, De Palma’s film has consistently thrilled its viewers. Known for its shocking violence, gore, and the iconic image of Spacek’s Carrie covered in blood at her high school’s senior prom, the original 1976 Carrie movie has inspired multiple follow-up projects and remakes in the decades since its release. A semi-sequel to Carrie, titled The Rage: Carrie 2, was released in 1999, directed by Katt Shea and with Irving reprising her role as Sue Snell. The film told a similar story with different characters, however, it did not garner the same critical praise. In 2002, David Carson directed a TV movie rendition of Carrie, starring Angela Bettis and Patricia Clarkson.
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The most recent Carrie remake came out in 2013, and it was directed by Kimberly Pierce. Chloë Grace Moretz appears in the lead role, while Julianne Moore portrays Carrie’s mother. Ansel Elgort, Gabriella Wilde, Portia Doubleday, Zoë Belkin, Samantha Weinstein, Karissa Strain, and Katie Strain are also featured in the retelling. Film critics were divided on 2013’s Carrie, as it received a score of 53 on Metacritic and a 51% Rotten Tomatoes approval rating.
King has been largely considered one of the most prominent faces of the horror genre over several decades, as so many of his works have acquired movie and TV adaptations. Titles such as 1980’s The Shining, 1994’s The Shawshank Redemption, 2007’s The Mist, 2017’s IT, its 2019 sequel IT CHAPTER TWO, and 2020’s The Outsider stand out as fan and critic favorites. Concerning future Stephen King projects, the IT prequel series Welcome to Derry will premiere on Max this year, though an exact release date is yet to be announced. At this point, it’s safe to say that as long as King continues to write first-rate horror stories, studios and filmmakers will continue to line up to produce adaptations of his work.
Carrie remains one of the writer’s most eminent novels to appear on the big screen, and fans should profit from the opportunity to see it for free.
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Images courtesy of Netflix
