Carrie ending explained · Cinespective

What happens

After the prom massacre, Carrie goes home, where her mother stabs her and she kills her back, and the house collapses on them both. Sue, the one classmate who tried to help, visits the ruins and is grabbed by a bloody hand.

The last image

Sue wakes screaming in her bed, still trapped in the nightmare of Carrie's grave.

What it says

The ending refuses relief. Violence frees no one: Carrie dies, her mother dies, and Sue, who only wanted to make amends, is left haunted. The final jolt is a scare, but it also says survivors never really escape.