Movies - TV
Carrie's Shower Scene Terrified Sissy Spacek
By MICHAEL BOYLE
One thing that author Stephen King understands and reflects in his books is just how awful teenagers can be to one another. The 1976 adaptation of “Carrie” highlighted this truth, as the story begins with the titular character being bullied by her classmates. The experience only worsens during the locker room shower scene when Carrie gets her first period.
While the sequence firmly places the character in the viewer’s sympathies, Sissy Spacek, who portrayed Carrie, revealed that filming the scene wasn’t easy for her. Spacek shared, “It was terrifying. I went to [director] Brian De Palma and said: ‘Tell me about this scene, what is it like?’ And he turns to me and he says: ‘It’s like getting hit by a Mack truck.’”
It turns out that Spacek’s husband had been hit by a car as a child while looking at Christmas lights, so the actress used his experience to help with her performance. Carrie’s reaction is remarkably fitting, with Spacek explaining, “When Carrie’s in the shower, I’m seeing those Christmas lights, and then the horror of the blood … Ain’t it bizarre that something like that could work?”