The first “Firestarter” (1984) starred not yet 10-year-old Drew Barrymore as a girl who can start fires – with her mind, which is all the difference. It was based on a Stephen King novel that paired “Carrie”-evoking telekinesis with the kind of paranoia of “Three Days of the Condor.” The power of the little girl and the powers of her parents were the result of obscure experiments by government agencies.
That’s true here, too, in a remake directed by Keith Thomas from a screenplay by Scott Teems. But the theme of paranoia, which has the daughter, Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), and her family living off the grid at the start of the film, is quickly ignored. This film leaves a lot of stuff out – the most shocking thing about it is how non-committal it is.
Zac Efron pays Andy, Charlie’s father, and he has powers too – with a jerk of his neck he can cloud people’s minds. Only this action makes him suffer and make his eyes bleed like Ray Milland at the end of “X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes”. Charlie inherited his power (minus the bleed).
You would think that would add punch to the proceedings, but no. The final showdown between Charlie and a haughty military villain (Gloria Reuben) is surprisingly underwhelming, and the ensuing coda when kids kill is downright soft. It’s also one of those movies where you can’t really tell if the special effects are on purpose.
The best thing about this film is the tense electronic score, concocted by Daniel Davies, Cody Carpenter and his father, John Carpenter. Yes, this John Carpenter – one of the great American directors, and one who almost exclusively makes genre films. As old magazine puzzles asked, what’s wrong with this image?
Fire starter
Rated R for fire, curse. Duration: 1h34. In theaters and on Peacock.
