Movie Review: Firestarter
What We Liked
What We Didn't Like
Firestarter doesn’t exactly have a legacy to uphold. Stephen King’s 1980 novel is not considered one of his signature works. Derivative of Carrie (1974), but without its emotional depth and horror, the novel is a pulpy and fitfully entertaining mess. But its pyrokinetic heroine and the suspenseful chase structure could lend themselves to a gripping film adaptation. And maybe one day, they will.
The latest adaptation of Firestarter, however, isn’t it. Both an adaptation of the novel and a remake of the largely derided 1984 film, the movie is a disappointing endeavor hampered by a weak script, lifeless acting, and unconvincing special effects. A few atmospheric and technical flourishes keep it from being a total dumpster fire, but the spark just isn’t there.
The film starts with an intriguing credits sequence, observing young Andy McGee (Zac Efron) and his wife, Vicky (Sydney Lemmon), as they volunteer for a medical experiment in college run by The Shop, a nefarious government organization that regularly cropped up in King’s early work. Andy and Vicky are peppered with questions about drug use, medical conditions and psychic experiences, which are intercut with disturbing images of test subjects writhing, screaming, and ripping their eyes out. It’s a haunting and horrifying scene, but the film never approaches that level of terror again.
The story then catches up with Andy and Vicky years later, on the run from The Shop to keep their young daughter, Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), safe. Since infancy, Charlie has had the ability to start fires when she gets upset, a psychic trait that The Shop believes makes her an ideal weapon. When a bully prompts Charlie to start a fire at school, The Shop is alerted to the family’s whereabouts, and it reactivates retired assassin Rainbird (Michael Greyeyes). The film then becomes a race to keep Charlie from falling into the hands of Rainbird and The Shop’s villainous director (Gloria Reuben).
King’s story could lend itself to a suspenseful thrill ride, a powerful horror allegory about parenting and adolescence, or an explosive action movie, but director Keith Thomas (The Vigil [2019]) never explores any of those angles. Scott Teems’ anemic script tosses off a few weak comments about parenting and the dangers of burying emotion, but the film never engages them. However, it’s also not interested in being thrilling, pulpy or fun, saddling the cast with dour line readings. The film, a Blumhouse production, is clearly operating from a tight budget, meaning it lacks much in the way of big action set pieces; a few impressive practical effects are undercut by the film’s wide use of atrocious CGI fireballs. Thomas resorts to tight shots and closeups throughout, likely to disguise the budget limitations, and that, coupled with its flat cinematography, give it an aesthetic more in line with an early 2000s basic cable movie than a studio release.
The cast largely fumbles. Armstrong might age into a strong actor, but she spends half the film acting naïve and innocent and then feels utterly unconvincing in the scenes where Charlie must embrace her darker impulses (that she’s forced to say “liar, liar pants on fire” before starting someone’s trousers ablaze doesn’t help). Efron does what he can, but the film never truly commits to an interesting idea touched upon in first act: that Charlie is dangerous and her father might be afraid of his own child. If the movie had allowed Armstrong and Efron to explore that dynamic, it may have found an interesting take, but its “use your powers for good” theme just makes this feel like a direct-to-video X-Men ripoff.
Greyeyes is the standout, with Rainbird as a killer who also knows he’s a tool of The Shop, and conflicted by his past actions. It’s a nuanced performance, threatening and sad, in a film of one-note work. Reuben strives for sinister and plays evil so over the top it approaches camp, but the film can’t support the tone. Kurtwood Smith and John Beasley also show up briefly to collect a paycheck, but both appear largely bored.
Ryan Kiera Armstrong in “Firestarter.” Photo Credit: Ken Woroner/Univeral – © 2022 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS. All Rights Reserved.
There are a few artistic flourishes that keep Firestarter from totally going up in smoke. John Carpenter, who was originally scheduled to direct the 1984 film, teams with his son, Cody, and Daniel Davies to compose the film’s score. The driving synths are easily the highlight of this incarnation of Firestarter, suggesting something more horrifying and sinister than the story ever truly delivers; it may be the first time a film should have promoted its composer to director.
In the film’s final 15 minutes, set at The Shop’s bunker-like headquarters, the film finally turns to Carpenter for aesthetic inspiration, and its climactic blaze in the fluorescent-lit hallways of The Shop has a few moments of powerful, eerie atmosphere. It’s the closest the film gets to burrowing under the skin, which it then undercuts with a baffling final shot that suggests a sequel that will likely never happen.
Firestarter isn’t the first Stephen King adaptation to be a whiff, and it’s not a complete train wreck. But it’s never good enough to justify its existence, and it will soon vanish from audience memories like a wisp of smoke.
