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How Does The Film Adaptation Of Stephen King's Carrie Differ From The Novel?

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There are quite a few differences between the film and the novel. The film adaptation was released in 1976, two years after the novel was released. The film begins with the shower scene, which is similar to the novel. One of the first differences that can be noticed in the film is the character Miss Collins, who is the gym teacher. In the novel, her name is Miss Desjarden. A few other characters also had their names changed in the film.

Another main difference is that in the book, two buckets of pigs blood are placed above the stage at the prom, whereas in the film there is only one. The film also only shows the destruction of the high school, whereas in the novel nearly the whole town was destroyed by Carrie's telekinetic powers, resulting in a lot more deaths.

In the novel, the character Sue Snell is in a different location to where she is in the film when she asks her boyfriend, Tommy, to take Carrie to the prom. She also stays at home during the prom in the novel, whereas in the film she attends the prom and is thrown out by Miss Collins, who believes Sue is trying to cause trouble after Sue notices the bucket of pig's blood. In the novel, Sue speaks to Carrie before Carrie dies, but in the film Sue does not have contact with Carrie after the school is destroyed. Instead, Sue is seen walking towards Carrie's grave at the end of the film. Towards the end of the novel, Sue speaks about the prom and gives her thoughts on Carrie, whereas at the end of the film she approaches Carrie's grave and is grabbed by Carrie, in which she wakes up in hospital screaming.

Carrie's mother dies differently in the film. In the novel, Carrie uses her telekinetic powers to stop her mother's heart from beating. In the film, she uses knives instead, resulting in her mother dying in a manner similar to that of crucifixion. Carrie's mother also has a different appearance in the film. Carrie herself also appears slightly different in the film.

The novel also explored Carrie's telekinetic powers more than the film did. In the novel, there is a section that shows Carrie's powers in action when she is a child. This scene does not appear in the film.

In the novel, Carrie dies in town when she leaves the house after killing her mother. In the film, she dies in the house shortly after her mother when the house collapses.

In 1999, a sequel to the 1976 film was released and was entitled “The Rage: Carrie 2”. This sequel was not based on any novel and was entirely made as a follow up to the film. The sequel, which was set over twenty years after the original film, showed that Carrie shared the same father with Rachel Lang, the protagonist of the sequel. In the novel, there is no mention of Carrie's father having another child. The sequel also featured Sue Snell, who returns as a school counsellor. Sue does not die in the novel, but in this sequel she is killed during the scene where Rachel uses her telekinetic powers for revenge, much like Carrie did.

A 2002 remake of the novel was released for television in 2002. This adaptation was much more true to the novel, keeping the character names the same and seeing characters, such as Carrie's mother, dying in the same way. There were two main differences between the remake and the novel. One was that Carrie died in a different location to where she died in the novel, much like with the 1976 film. Also, in the television remake, Carrie survives. She is taken out of town by Sue, who helps her to escape after the destruction of the school and the town. The remake shows that whilst Carrie has escaped what has happened, she is still haunted by the events, particularly by the death of her mother.

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