“Carrie” (1976) [R]

     “Carrie” is still a scary movie, being one of those classics that will hold together through the times. It is a decent adaptation of the Stephen King novel, for there are a few key differences between the two, however it does stand out for itself. It focuses a major part on the characters and their development so that the audience really begins to understand the main character and even begin to feel sympathy for her. It can, to some point, be considered more of a drama than a horror for all the time it spends showing all the torment that Carrie is put through, however the true horror comes out when she finally lashes out at her those who put her through such anxieties.

     At first, the movie is sort of slow, as it puts a lot of focus on character development. Most of them change throughout the movie, especially the protagonist, Carrie. The audience is shown the traits of the characters by their actions. This is a very classic kind of story line, having the better part of the story concentrating on characters and the developments of their personalities and finally bringing on the climax as one big explosion of action or horror. It’s good to know that there are at least some movies that hold true to that style of storytelling, although that is mostly due to the fact that that’s how Stephen King wrote the book.

     From the start of the movie, the audience will begin to understand the situation that Carrie is in, being treated horribly by her classmates, and treated even worse by her over-religious mother. At some point in the film the viewers will start to sympathize with Carrie as well. They will truly feel sorry for her and wish that something would happen to make them feel better about it all. Then as the climax approaches, they get their wish. When Carrie finally lashes out at her tormentors, the audience is completely on her side and hoping she gets the last laugh, so to speak.

     In a way, this film can be considered more of a drama than a horror. It does spend more time on showing how she is treated by the other people at her school and by her mother. The drama almost takes over until she rallies back and takes everything out on everyone around her. That’s when the true horror begins. Just as in King’s book, the climax is more or less when all the horror comes out from hiding, and when it does it is thoroughly shocking. This film is still considered by many to be very scary, which is a feat by itself because of how much the horror genre has changed since this movie originally came out.

          My overall rating: 3.5 out of 5

“The Untouchables” (1987) [R]

     Brian DePalma’s film “The Untouchables” was really quite a break-through for most of its actors, Sean Connery and Robert De Niro being the only actors in it with well-known backgrounds in cinema. It is an incredible period piece, with some of the most exciting drama to be seen to date, and each of the actors gave terrific performances, especially bearing in mind that most of them became famous through this movie. The tale is truly gripping from start to finish, never letting up, and never letting go of the audience.

     The story is that of Eliot Ness’s group of “Untouchables” in the 1930s, whose sole purpose is to catch and incriminate Al Capone. It takes place during the time of Prohibition, and does a great job of showing Chicago during the Prohibition Era. The creators of this movie had sets and appliances on the sets that were around during the ‘30s, such as the styles of cars, guns, house appliances, and many more. This film also has the most mesmerizing drama to date. It rattles and plays with the emotions through the whole tale.

     A majority of the actors in “The Untouchables” weren’t all that well-known before they joined it. However being in this movie was like an instant claim to fame. Sean Connery and Robert De Niro were really the only two actors who had an established background in the industry. Gateways into fame were opened for actors such as Kevin Costner, Andy Garcia, and Charles Martin Smith just because they were in this incredible film and they gave enthralling performances.

     The storyline itself—of Eliot Ness and his fight to put Al Capone behind bars—is a gripping one. It was almost like a legend come to life with the back and forth fights between Ness’s men and Capone’s men. Even with the exciting script, this film wouldn’t be nearly as fascinating without the direction of Brian DePalma. This is one of the best movies of the Crime/Drama genre, and it’s difficult to find anything wrong with any part of this film. The entire production was done beautifully and is a great addition to cinema.

          My overall rating: 4.8 out of 5