MIDDLE-AGED MATINEE! #10 - 'Firestarter'

'Firestarter' (1984)

When Andrew McGee (David Keith) and Vicky Tomlinson (Heather Locklear) take part in a secret research project while in college, they are granted fantastic powers. Andrew can force people to do things against their will while Vicky can read minds. They also fall in love and get married before having a daughter named Charlie (Drew Barrymore).

Charlie ends up also having a special ability. She can cause anything to catch on fire. Unfortunately, she’s only a little kid and she can barely control her dangerous power. Eventually, the organization behind the experiments that gave Andrew and Vicky their powers, known as “The Shop”, start to chase after Charlie and Andrew after they kill Vicky.

The only questions that remain is whether or not Charlie can learn to control her power and if she and her father can ever escape from the Shop.

This Stephen King adaptation was originally supposed to be directed by John Carpenter when Universal hired him while he was still directing “The Thing”. Carpenter hired screenwriter Bill Lancaster to write a script that King ultimately approved of as well.

Drew Barrymore's Charlie can create fire, but can she control it?

Unfortunately, “The Thing” underperformed at the box office and this caused Universal to fire Carpenter from the project. The studio then hired director Mark L. Lester to direct the movie with a new screenplay by Stanley Mann.

I wonder what Carpenter’s take on the movie would have been like because I feel it probably would have been a better movie. After all, “The Thing” is now recognized as one of the best horror films ever made while “Firestarter” is often seen as a respectable yet not great King adaptation.

I think King may have liked what Carpenter would have done better as well. While this movie stays pretty true to the original source material, King does not look favorably on this movie having once called it a “flavorless” adaptation.

I also have my own issues with the movie. There is a brief part where Charlie and Andrew end up with a couple of farmers while on the run, played by Art Carney and Louise Fletcher. The farmers are your stereotypical “wholesome” characters and it feels like Charlie and Andrew have stumbled on a set from a melodramatic ‘80s TV series before the chase resumes.

George C. Scott's Rainbird tries to gain Charlie's trust in 'Firestarter'.

This is an example of how the movie has an uneven pace. At first, it’s a chase picture with the father and daughter on the run while flashbacks set up how they got into their predicament in the first place. Then, they’re taking a time out until they end up at the Shop where they must contend with the diabolical James Hollister (Martin Sheen) and the absolutely batshit crazy and rather creepy John Rainbird (George C. Scott).

There are moments here where the movie slows to a snail's pace and I can understand why King called it a flavorless adaptation. If they had edited the movie and cut about 15 minutes out in the middle of the picture, then it could have been way more thrilling.

There is also the dialogue in the movie, which ranges from alright to downright atrocious. If the dialogue was just standard, I wouldn’t even mention it but there are times where it actually took me out of the movie for a moment.

Now, with all that said, I can say that I actually do like this movie in spite of its flaws. First off, the performances are pretty good all around. Particular praise goes out to the young Barrymore as Charlie and her performance is further proof of why she was one of the biggest child stars at the time. Then there is Scott as Rainbird, a truly sinister character that Scott plays to perfection and he works extremely well in the scenes he has with Barrymore.

I also want to give a special shout out to Tangerine Dream. They’re a German band that also created a few soundtracks back in the day. Their score for this movie does help elevate the movie when it plays in the background.

Finally, when the action does take place, the movie does step it up a notch. Despite a relatively low budget, the special-effects for the movie are actually pretty good. The fire effects and stunts are some of the best ever committed to film and the third act is quite thrilling.

“Firestarter” is definitely not King’s best adaptation, but the movie is also far from being the worst adaptation of King’s works as well. It’s a good mid-tier adaptation, so to speak. It has good performances from its lead protagonist and antagonist, it stays pretty true to the source material, and the action is pretty decent. Ultimately, I say check it out but just go in knowing that it is definitely a flawed movie.