#had to stop myself bc i could write 20 pages on it lolol

[susandsnell]

What’s your favorite scary movie?

Horror movie asks

Thank you so much for sending this classic question! (And bringing a little Ghostface to my inbox, haha!) Although I do find this one a bit of a challenge since there's so many subgenres and different eras of horror, my go-to answer, as is made fairly evident by my icon/posts, is Brian De Palma's Carrie. It's by no means the scariest, but it's a spectacular adaptation of an already great novel that really brings the themes and fears explored to new levels. It's made an instant horror classic by the absolute powerhouse performances across the board, especially from Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie. Even where the casting diverges from the book's descriptions, the spirit of the characters is alive and well in this one. The movie is at times hilarious, at times heartbreaking, and always engaging.

With Brian De Palma's signature camp stylings making it a bit of a '70s time capsule, it still manages to genre blend between teen comedy, Cinderella story, unadulterated horror and tragedy. The set pieces are incredible, and the imagery is unforgettable, a lot of which is of the film's own invention rather than the book (Margaret's crucifixion!!! St. Sebastian's eyes!!!!). The buildup to the bucket drop is one of the most perfect tension builds in not just horror, but in any film period, and the film just builds and builds from there. It's a three-part climax, arguably (the prom, the car chase, and then the White homestead), and you're along for the entire ride. And it pioneered one of the earliest last-scene scares!

As for my personal attachment to the film, I saw it at a very challenging point in my teen years, aka the perfect timing for a lot of reasons, and it was one of the first horror movies that sort of served as a punctuation mark on a lot of things and feelings I was experiencing but couldn't articulate. It's a tragedy that's at once providing a place for safe catharsis. It's a movie I'll never tire of, and will always come back to time and again, any time of the year.

Thanks so much for asking!!