It took place yesterday, October 18, in all The Space Cinemas, the Stephen King's Night, the horror marathon dedicated to Stephen King. During the event, the first and last (to date) film adaptations of Stephen King's famous novels were screened viz. Carrie - The Look of Satan (1976) by Brian De Palma and, premiering, It (2017) by Andres Muschietti.
Lots of excitement and trepidation at The Space in Surbo (in the province of Lecce) in anticipation of the two big, must-see movies on the big screen. Upon entering Room 1, the crowd was faced with hundreds of red balloons (with the promotional inscription "IT - At the cinema from October 19") positioned between the seats.
The cinemarathon was kicked off at 10 p.m. with the undisputed masterpiece Carrie - The Look of Satan, a 1976 cult film directed by Brian De Palma and starring Oscar-winning actress Sissy Spacek. After an intermission of about 15 minutes at the end of the first film, it was followed a few minutes after midnight by the screening of the new It (film debuting in all Italian theaters on October 19, 2017) that saw a full house.
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Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is a girl who has always been subservient to her mother's extreme religious fanaticism and to the tasteless jokes of her schoolmates who constantly taunt her. Life is cruel to Carrie, a teenager who has grown up amid complexes and deep traumas, yet the girl is not as helpless as she might let on because she is endowed with telekinetic powers of which she begins to be increasingly aware.
During the shower that follows gymnastics class, Carrie is unexpectedly caught by the arrival of her first menstrual period, an event that upsets her because she is unprepared and, for this very reason, provokes taunts from her classmates who will later be harshly punished by the physical education teacher.
When Sue (Amy Irving), one of the classmates, realizes the seriousness of the situation, she decides to make up for her indelicacy by asking Tommy Ross (William Katt), her boyfriend, to be Carrie's date for the classic prom. Chris, however, Carrie's meaner companion, wants revenge for the punishment she suffered because of White. In fact, the girl organizes the sabotage of the stundent prom by ridiculing Carrie in public with a vile prank.
Based on the novel "Carrie" by the King of Thrills Stephen King, Carrie - The Look of Satan represents the first real commercial success of Brian De Palma, a great director until then far from sensational box office. Watching the film, the social denunciation veiled in the story immediately becomes clear: that aimed at a society too closely linked to religious orthodoxy and, on the other hand, at that slice of society that is content to show the "perfect façade" by camouflaging and concealing problems and dangers.
The whole thing is narrated by highlighting, excellently, a clear glimpse into youthful discomfort. Glaring is the highlight of the film, the prom night, a typical scene about the happiness and carefreeness of American society and being annihilated by those monsters she herself has created without realizing it.
Carrie - The Look of Satan is a great film, unmatched and convincing in every respect. An excellent performance by De Palma seasoned, no doubt, by commendable performances. Indeed, the acting evidence of Sissy Spacek but also that of Piper Laurie, who plays the protagonist's disturbing mother in the film, remains imprinted.
Among the various film transpositions of King's novels, this is one that stands out the most.
In 2013, Kimberly Peirce directed a new adaptation of the aforementioned novel viz. The Look of Satan - Carrie, a lousy film that falls far short of the overall beauty of De Palma's grandiose work.
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Surprising new transposition of It, the well-known horror novel written by Stephen King in 1986 and delivers an engaging and breathtaking performance. Merit certainly goes to the direction of Andrés Muschietti, who has already made his mark with the highly successful The Mother and of Bill Skarsgård's (Hemlock Grove) extraordinary and spellbinding performance, which certainly does not pale in comparison to that of Tim Curry (the Pennywise of the two-episode miniseries that came to TV in 1990).
It by Andres Muschietti engages the audience from the very first minutes, bewitching the viewer right from the opening sequence that captures little Georgie and the paper boat and his encounter with the dangerous clown. This is the first of the memorable moments that punctuate this highly successful new adaptation where the curse that blights the small town of Derry becomes more and more penetrating.
Against this backdrop of mystery and death, the curtain is pulled back on the lives of the little protagonists whose extraordinary performances positively influenced the success of the film. With its history, its fear, its discomfort, the group of losers remains in the viewer's heart because It brings to the stage not only unreal monsters but also the dangers of reality, those that lurk silently within the walls of the home or, worse, in the heart of every victim.
It offers insight into weakness and injustice, laying bare and then confronting inner fears as they materialize. A journey of pitfalls and suffering ensues at the end of which there is full self-knowledge that rewards with full control of one's life.
Andres Muschietti's film is also packed with powerful special effects, aided by incredible CGI. Plenty of jumpscare that jolt the most sensitive viewers as well as abundant are the disturbing sequences that aim to entangle the audience's emotions.
In addition to Bill Skarsgård, the cast includes Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jackson Robert Scott, Jack Dylan Grazer (Tales of Halloween), Wyatt Oleff, and Nicholas Hamilton.
In the town of Derry, Maine, children begin to disappear. Bill, a member of the Losers Club along with his other friends, decides to investigate the disappearance of his little brother Georgie. In addition to coping with the everyday problems associated with adolescence (such as bullying), the group will be terrorized by some chilling paranormal phenomena. The search will lead the kids to confront an evil monster who takes the form of a clown named Pennywise, who will begin to torment them by confronting them with their greatest fears.
