MOVIE REVIEW: Firestarter

From pyrokinesis, to telekinesis (and even a little bit of technokinesis), the latest film to be adapted from the Stephen King library stretches the limitations of individuals who possess the shinning, while allowing itself to gracefully pay homage to fuzzy late 80’s horror schlock and early 2000’s stylized violence.

Starring Zac Efron, Ryan Kierra Armstrong, and Sydney Lemmon with a score curated by horror legend John Carpenter, Firestarter follows the narrative of films like Carrie and Doctor Sleep: a child comes into her own with the destructive power of the shinning which allows her to emit blasts of kinetic energy. Except there is a slight twist – in where her parents also shared similar Shining abilities and were experimented on by a secret cabal, that ultimately hunts down the family to control their potentially catastrophic abilities.

(from left) Andy (Zac Efron) and Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) in Firestarter, directed by Keith Thomas.

I was nervous the minute that I saw that this was a film produced by Blumhouse, given their losing hit or miss track record. But after seeing “Firestarter” for myself, this could be tacked on as a film in their hit section. The goofiness is kept to a minimum, but there is enough humor in there to get crowds to burst out in elation. There isn’t any overtly gory scenes, but there is enough to make Smoky The Bear want to hang up his hat and make any pyromaniac reconsider playing with matches.

Overall, Keith Thomas can add himself to the pantheon of other directors before him who have successfully adapted King’s works to theaters. And though there is nothing more memorable in the film than a baby bursting into flames in the first sequence, “Firestarter” still burnt bright throughout it’s runtime, and will keep screens lit as it is played in the background on cable T.V.’s in hotels and hospital waiting rooms for years to come.

Score : 3/5

Director: Keith Thomas

Adapted from: Firestarter

Distributed by: Universal Pictures