| “ | You eat shit! | „ |
| ~ Chris Hargensen to Carrie. |
| “ | THIS ISN'T OVER, THIS ISN'T OVER BY A LONG SHOT! | „ |
| ~ Chris Hargensen's famous quote. |
| “ | Billy? Billy? Billy? No. | „ |
| ~ Chris Hargensen's last words before she is murdered in a car crash impact by Carrie. |
Christine "Chris" Hargensen is the secondary antagonist of the Stephen King novel Carrie and its film adaptations.
She is a cruel, sadistic popular teenage girl who leads a group of girls and with the group often bullies outcasts, whom they call "Mortimer Snerds". She is also the main perpetrator of the infamous pig's blood prank on one of the girls she bullied, Carrie White, and ultimately, the prom massacre as she angered Carrie White to the point that she could not handle her own emotions and killed everyone with her telekinesis as a tragic result. She is the archenemy of Carrie White and Sue Snell.
She was played by Nancy Allen in the 1976 original, Emilie de Ravin in the 2002 tv movie and Portia Doubleday in the 2013 remake.
Overview[]
Christine is the leader of a clique of teenage girls, and they torment social outcasts constantly. Once, Chris and her clique's bullying severely hurt a girl named Irma Swope. However, when Chris terrorized Carrie White for not knowing what a period was, even the other members of her clique, especially Sue Snell, eventually begin to feel regretful about abusing Carrie (or at the least wanted to leave her be), Christine and her closest friends become increasingly more fixated on causing harm to her out of a genuine hatred and rage of her, with Chris completely refusing to own up to her actions.
Ultimately, Christine accomplished this with the help of her boyfriend Billy Nolan by playing a cruel prank on Carrie during the school prom, dropping a bucket of pig's blood over her - Christine and most of the others took delight in the scene, while the other characters were horrified. However, Carrie, in a maddened state, could no longer function and went insane, killing many students in an infamous massacre with her telekinetic powers. Christine had to watch in horror, because of the unforeseen consequences of the prank she enjoyed doing to Carrie and which killed her friends inside the gym.
Now obsessed with killing her, avenging her friends, and to finish what she started, Christine was ultimately killed when she tried to run Carrie over with her car, only to have it thrown aside by Carrie's telekinetic power - which then blew the car apart with Christine and Billy Nolan still trapped inside it.
Biography[]
1976 film[]
Chris appeared in the 1976 film, played by Nancy Allen. She was similar to her novel counterpart: very rebellious, unfazed by authority figures and manipulative. Still, she is portrayed even more dangerous than her novel counterpart because in this movie she is in every way the driving force behind the evil prank. She initiated the shower incident with Carrie, and when she and the other girls in her class were forced to serve a special kind of "detention" with Miss Collins, she refused to cooperate on all fronts and was banned from the prom. Afterward, it was almost second nature in Chris' eyes to blame Carrie for her new troubles and, looking for any way to destroy her and Miss Collins and turned to her boyfriend Billy Nolan who was in this movie more a follower than a leader.
The pair went out driving one night (neither seemed to be enjoying it anyway) and Chris used this as the perfect opportunity to spin her "noodle-headed" beau around her finger once more and get him to do something for her, bribing him with oral sex. Billy was virtually clueless about the plans Chris had until he heard Chris say, "Billy, I hate Carrie White" and admit she has plans against her.
A couple of nights later, Chris, Billy and two of his friends crept into a pig farm with the intent on pulling a "stunt": that stunt turned out to be one of them killing a helpless pig, draining its blood and pouring it into a bucket. But, there was more to it.Billy and Chris later broke into the Bates High School gym, where the former climbed a ladder up towards the rafters, placed the bucket on one of them and poured the pig´s blood into it. Chris was getting impatient and wanted to go home. Billy told her, that if she kept cool, she would get to pull the rope cord on the bucket when everything was ready. Chris all too happily obliged.
Chris was seen the next day with a friend of Billy's, Freddy talking to the prom committee leader Ernest, Freddy convinced Ernest to allow him to collect the ballots for the prom king and queen, and Ernest agreed. But when he was asked to be at school at 6:30, Freddy did not want any of that, and blurted out that he would arrive at 8:00, Ernest was a bit discouraged but consented nonetheless.
Later, during the prom, Chris and Billy spent most of their time hiding under the stage, looking for Carrie and her date Tommy Ross. The two were also looking around for Freddy and Norma (Chris "right-hand woman") to see if they were collecting the ballots for prom king and queen. They were...until Norma and Freddy retired to the other side of the stage, where Norma kicked the real ballots behind her and pulled another set of "ballots" from Freddy's coat. She gave these to the small king/queen committee, who were counting the polls and then headed over to the stage's stairwell, and gave it a small tap.
Chris and Billy peeked their heads out to acknowledge the "signal."
Chris continued tugging restlessly at the rope all while Carrie and Tommy were heading to the stage to be crowned the prom king and queen. Later, she watched as Sue was dragged from out of the gym by Ms. Collins. As soon as the doors were closed again, Chris pulled the rope tied to the bucket of blood. The applause and cheers were silenced... and soon many of the kids began laughing at what they had seen.
Their "work" done, Billy and Chris quickly and happily found the nearest exit and fled out of it. Of course, they had a window-side view through, which to see the results of the actions: Carrie had suddenly gone into a trance-like state and began destroying the gym and everyone inside (much to Chris's and Billy's shock). The pair then ran off feeling as though their plan had backfired. Chris also saw Miss Collins die and looked horrified (because deep down, she didn't really want that to happen).
Later, Chris and Billy chanced upon Carrie, as she was apparently walking home. Chris was horrified about what happened at prom, and devastated about the death of her best friend Norma, and planned to avenge her.
Chris revved up the car and footed the gas pedal, heading straight towards Carrie. It seemed as though she would finally strike down her "enemy" and have to avenge everyone, but it was Carrie who struck the final blow—with her telekinesis. She took away control of the car from Chris and sent it rolling into a clearing for a few yards. After a while, the vehicle exploded, undoubtedly killing Chris and Billy.
2002 TV film[]
Chris was portrayed by Emilie de Ravin and was more similar to the "novels" Chris than Nancy Allen's version, showing more characteristics. At one point she attempted to convince Carrie that Sue was the "enemy", thus, making her an evil character.
In this film, Chris is presented as a cruel, wicked and manipulative girl; however, she does have some remorse in herself for having bullied people.
Chris was first introduced in the movie, annoyed because of Carrie missing the ball. She runs up to her after the game saying "You suck". When Tina notices Carrie having her period, Chris laughs and she throws tampons at her along with the rest of the Ultras.
Earlier, after she was banned from the prom because of testing Ms. Desjarden and saying that she won't take place in detention, her father, the "big-time lawyer" John Hargensen (Michael Kopsa) threatened to have the gym teacher fired and take the school to court if her prom privileges were not restored.
However, Principal Morton did not cave in and countered by saying that he would battle Hargensen's suit on all fronts. He further stated that Chris belonged in either military school or jail for her countless acts of cruelty against the "reject" student population.
Unlike the other versions, however, Chris is shown having a certain tendency of changing her heart, changing from the person she was before to a good-hearted, caring, compassionate person when seeing how happy Carrie was and was reluctant to drench pig's blood over Carrie as she was thinking of redeeming herself for what she did to her. But Billy pressured her to go along with the plot, making Chris uncomfortable, but she still did it which caused Tommy's death on the way.
Billy attempted to run over Carrie during the rampage when they found her in the street and Chris half-heartedly pleads for him to stop (showing some remorse). But he doesn't, and Carrie ends up stopping the car before sending it smashing into a tree, which instantly kills her and Billy.
2013 film[]
In the 2013 version of the movie, Chris is played by Portia Doubleday. She is the head leader of the Ultras, a clique of popular girls. She recorded Carrie panicking over getting her period via Chris' cell phone. While initially trying to help a hysterical Carrie, telling her the reason why she was bleeding and handing her a tampon, Carrie is too frightened to listen and unintentionally covers Chris's hand with menstrual blood. From there, the situation escalates. The girls, mostly led by Chris, start pelting a crying, cowering Carrie with tampons and sanitary napkins. In a deleted scene, Chris tells Carrie, "Wipe that smile off your face" after seeing her smiling at Tommy which causes her to give Carrie a dirty look.
Later, at Chris's house, Chris, Tina, and Billy upload the shower scene on Youtube. The video goes viral. By the next day, everyone in school has seen it. This is most likely how Miss Desjardin found out about it.
Chris, along with the rest of the girls who tormented Carrie, is forced to attend Ms. Desjardin's boot-camp style detention. However, she quickly loses her temper, telling Ms. Desjardin, "f--you." and stating "I'm not gonna run another god-damn/god damn/goddamn inch because Carrie White had her period and was too stupid to know what it was.". She refuses to stay in detention and looks for support from her friends, convinced that they did nothing wrong. When none of her friends back her up, Chris feels hurt and betrayed. In an unseen scene, Chris tells her dad that she was banned from the prom due to her bad behavior. Chris and Mr. Hargensen speak with Mr. Morton. Mr. Hargensen tells Chris to give him the phone in order to prove that she didn't post the video, but a furious Chris, knowing that the video was indeed on her phone, refuses to comply and storms out.
Later on, Chris and her boyfriend Billy Nolan, along with a group of his friends, go to a farm. Billy tells her to pick a pig that resembles Carrie, stating, "pig's blood for a pig." They soon select and slaughter a pig. Chris slits the pig's throat and is shown with a trickle of blood on her face. As Chris, Billy, and his friends are setting up the bucket, a drop of blood lands on Chris, but she wipes it off with her nail.
On the night of the prom, Chris texts Sue saying, "Your girl looks good. She won't for long" which causes Sue to rush over to the school where she sees Billy pull the rope.
After Billy pulls the rope and blood pours all over Carrie, Chris laughs with excitement and glee. As Billy tries to take her away, Chris yells out, "Freak, freak." As she and Billy run out the door, the bucket falls on Tommy's head which worries her, but Billy pulls her out of the gymnasium. After seeing the massacre from outside the gym, Chris tries to text her father and pleading him to pick her up. Billy notices snaps at her and takes her phone away. They discuss how they're going to escape before attempting to leave. They spot Carrie and Billy attempts to run her over, but when she unleashes her telekinetic powers on the car, Chris' head goes back as Billy goes head-first into the steering wheel which cracks his nose and kills him. A frightened Chris shakes Billy, not knowing what happened. She tries to get out of the car, but Carrie locks her inside. Carrie attempts to hold Chris with the seatbelt, but Chris pulls it off. As Carrie lifts up the car, Chris looks shocked. The two girls share a final cold stare.
As Chris tries to run Carrie over again (uselessly, as she's levitating in the air), Carrie sends the car down the parking lot, which causes Chris to go face-first into the windshield. Chris is shown bleeding with open wounds and glass sticking out of her cheeks.
Chris tries to take her head out of the windshield with her hands, shown struggling. She silently begs Carrie to help her, but Carrie refuses. She dies from her injuries immediately afterward. After Chris dies, Carrie causes the car to explode with her and Billy inside it.
Personality[]
Chris Hargensen was an extremely cruel, sadistic, spoiled, manipulative and ruthless bully - nothing short of a sociopath. She was something of a misanthrope and took to callously bullying both her henchmen and her targets alike. She would go so far as to target the supremely weak individuals in a group - namely Carrie White - and to lead vicious gang attacks on said persons. She had a very long history of bullying misfit and outcast kids. In the novel, it is revealed that in junior high, she was once suspended from school for planting a firecracker in the shoe of a girl named Irma Swope, a "prank" which caused Irma (Who was targeted by Chris merely because she had a harelip) to nearly lose two toes.
Chris was also extremely arrogant, egotistical, narcissistic, sanctimonious and self-righteous: a spoiled brat, Chris would never see the wrong in anything she did, shown when she bullied Carrie White during her period, but in her own eyes had done nothing wrong and violently insisted so. She also believed that the fact that her father was a rather prominent local attorney ensured that nobody had the right to stand up to her or criticize her in any way. She was heartless, remorseless and unsympathetic for any of her actions. Even when her fellow henchmen are slightly remorseful of their cruel actions towards Carrie, Chris appears to distance from them (even to the point of shaming them as seen in the recent remake) and will do anything to make Carrie's life a living hell as the lone wolf member of the group.
When Miss Collins makes her run suicides for the incident, she childishly bites back by swearing at Miss Collins, thinking that she (Chris) had done nothing wrong. When she tried to get the other girls to join her in protest to the punishment - which would result in their suspension from school and the refusal of their prom tickets- she suffered a villainous breakdown and vowed revenge, believing unshakably that they would support her, narcissistically disregarding the fact that prom was as important to them as it was to her, and her lack of a certain morality or restraint disturbed and repelled them. She got her father to try to have Miss Collins fired for her "abuse" of Chris with the threat of a lawsuit against the school otherwise, but the principal was unfazed by Mr. Hargensen's threat and responded by threatening to file an in loco parentis countersuit against him for Chris's mistreatment of Carrie. Mr. Hargensen backed off at this, infuriating Chris. She was very homicidal, personally gutting a pig and pouring the blood over Carrie White - as part of an elaborately sadistic campaign against the latter in the prom. In the remake, she decides to kill a pig that resembles Carrie the most and ruthlessly slits its throat as she is pretending that the pig is Carrie.
Especially in the most recent remake, Chris is also shown to be extremely obsessive: she was intensely obsessed with tormenting Carrie White in a delusional recognition of putting her in detention and later suspension - both of which were entirely Chris's fault, ironically. Even when Carrie had the complete upper hand in their final confrontation, Chris proceeded to try and murder her, leading to Carrie fighting back. Interestingly, Chris tried to beg Carrie for her life when she was on the edge of her life, in the belief that - in spite of everything Chris had done - she would be worth saving to everyone.
Film Adaptations[]
Chris Hargensen was portrayed by Nancy Allen in the original Carrie film and later played by Emilie de Ravin in the made-for-television remake.
Of course, in the made-for-television remake, Chris does appear to have small, limited, and redeeming qualities, as when she sees how happy Carrie is to be prom queen, she feels incapable of pulling the prank, but Billy pressures her into it, she also begs Billy not to run Carrie over but he does not listen her and she and Billy are both killed by carrie as a result.
In the 2013 remake, Chris is played by Portia Doubleday, who played Angela Moss in USA Network hit TV series Mr. Robot. She is more of a social villain (shown when she uploads a video of Carrie being assaulted by tampons). Chris is also shown to be less redeemable when she willingly slices a pig's throat open (slicing not seen), and commands Billy to run over Carrie with her car. Her death is slower and more confrontational with Carrie in the remake than in any other version, where she shows an obsession in wanting to kill her.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- She is the polar opposite of Carrie; Chris is a spoiled brat and, unlike Carrie, possesses only a faint moral or ethical center, and is generally considered strikingly attractive.
- She is one of the most cruel and sadistic villains in Stephen King's books. As well as one of the most hated by fans.
- Some fans consider Chris to be even worse than Margaret White as Chris wanted to torment Carrie relentlessly, despite the fact she knew what the consequences would be (while Margaret suffered from a mental illness which caused her to be deluded into thinking that her abuse towards Carrie was justified). Even worse, Chris is technically the one who started the horrendous prom massacre as she drove Carrie insane, who was happy and cheerful before the event, after dumping pig's blood on her. It is highly likely that she didn't know (or even care) that her friends were killed as a result of her cruel actions, as she was too focused on taking down Carrie completely — even to the point of attempting to murder her.
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Carrie Salem's Lot Children of the Corn Trucks Jerusalem's Lot The Mangler Quitter's Inc. The Boogeyman The Shining The Stand Rage The Long Walk Roadwork The Running Man The Dark Tower Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption Apt Pupil The Body Christine Cujo Cycle of the Werewolf The Dead Zone Firestarter It Creepshow Creepshow 2 Creepshow 3 Cat's Eye Thinner The Tailsman The Mist The Monkey Cain Rose Up The Raft Word Processor of the Gods Maximum Overdrive Misery Pet Sematary The Tommyknockers The Langoliers Secret Window, Secret Garden The Dark Half Dolores Claiborne Gerald's Game Needful Things Gramma Crouch End Dolan's Cadillac The Green Mile Sleepwalkers Storm of the Century Dreamcatcher Bag of Bones Rose Red Insomnia Rose Madder Desperation The Regulators Lunch at the Gotham Café From a Buick 8 Cell Lisey's Story Black House Duma Key Under the Dome 11/22/63 A Good Marriage Big Driver Blind Willie Mr. Mercedes Doctor Sleep Gwendy's Button Box In The Tall Grass Locke & Key The Crate The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer The Gingerbread Girl The Ledge The Night Flier The Outsider Why We're In Vietnam 1922 | ||