Till now I did not like Drew Barrymore too much, but after this movie, where as 9 years old girl she nails leading role, she definitely enters my list of favorite actresses. Drew plays daughter of parents who, in their youth, participated in government experiment, gained some abilities and then got married and brought to world daughter, whose extreme pyrokinetic abilities are just waiting to be triggered. Movie reminds of Carrie a little bit, but while Carrie focuses on horror angle, Firestarter is more of an action drama. Secret government agency is trying to capture this family, they kill mother (Heather Locklear), so father (David Keith) and daughter live on the run, until agents find them, attack them and all hell breaks loose. Movie keeps balance between dramatic display of inner fight between sweet little girl and killing machine, and well directed action scenes with good effects. Legendary Tangerine Dream were in charge of music and their eccentric compositions give weird note to movie atmosphere. Overall, this is one of the best King adaptations I saw so far. I saw all King movies done before this one and several done after and only The Shining, Christine and The Shawshank Redemption are better.8/10

My mission to watch 30 horror movies from the 80's continues with Firestarter (1984). It reminds me of modern shonen anime where the main character rides with overpower.I wouldn't be surprised if this movie had an inspiring effect on such series as Naruto and Code Geass. Our main girl reminds of Naruto who is uncertain, week and quite pitiful character, they both still have a great power in them. Her father on the other hand has power similar to Lelouch, Code Geass's main character.My problem with Firestarter isn't really that it reminds me of originality lacking, lazily written anime that is full of overused tropes and clichés. Even those kind of series can be good on their own right. It is all about the execution and characters anyway. The superpowers are not faithful to their own logic nor consistent. The story is reasoned with a backstory which leads us to events that seem forced and illogical. Seems like most of the writing was just made one-dimensionally to lead the actual use of superpowers and character development of our main girl to the direction our writer wanted. Yet I am not sure if the writer wanted the world to burn or viewers to see how father-daughter relationships work. In a way, it reminds me of Interstellar. The last 15 minutes make me forgive most of these problems and make the movie worth of seeing.All in all very lacking in terms of story, but great fun with fire and visual effects. 4.5/10.

Film versions of Stephen King novels can be a tricky thing. Often they're half assed, clunky miniseries (ever tried to sit down and watch The Langoliers??), and when they're given the lofty cinema treatment, he has famously turned his nose in the face of Kubrick's might. I feel like Firestarter escaped unscathed, and still holds to this day, if a bit achingly retro now. It's a thriller perceived in a childlike manner by its young protagonist, Charlie Mcgee (Drew Barrymore). Charlie can start fires with her mind, and certain shadowy agencies just can't wait to get their hands on her. Her father (David Keith) once participated in some scary drug testing related to telekinesis back in the day, and some of whatever altered his DNA has been passed on to her. He will do anything to protect her, as the two frantically race across the country to safety, pursued by forces working for Hollister (Martin Sheen), a spook with too much power and nasty ideas about what to do with it. Also on their trail is pseudo spiritual whacko John Rainbird, who wants to absorb Charlie's abilities, man what a freak. Rainbird is a native American in King's novel, so white haired yankee boy Scott is an odd choice, but he does a fine job all the same. Two things are what makes this one really stand out in a special way. Tangerine Dream provides yet another ultrasonic, elemental synth score that has since become legendary. It accents the story in an almost fairy tale like way, gilding the danger with a fable style sound, but never stamping out the real menace. Barrymore is the other leg of the table, giving one hell of a fierce and vulnerable performance for such a young girl, her childlike honesty a prism for the audience to see the evil around her through innocent eyes. It's great stuff, and one of the most solid King adaptations out there. Now there is a sequel (not sure if the man wrote a second book?) called Firestarter 2: Rekindled, which pales in comparison and runs about 45 minutes too long (!), but it's worth a look for the casting of Marguerite Moreau as a grown up Charlie, Malcolm McDowell taking over from Scott as Rainbird, and Dennis Hopper as well.

Andrew McGee (David Keith) is on the run with his daughter Charlie (Drew Barrymore) from a secret government agency called 'The Shop'. He has the power of suggestion. She sets fires. Back in college, he was in Dr. Joseph Wanless (Freddie Jones)'s experiment with Vicky Tomlinson (Heather Locklear) taking an injection called Lot 6. They start communicating telepathically. Everybody hallucinates and they are the only two survivors. Later they got married and had Charlie. After they killed Vicky and tried to kidnap Charlie, Andrew goes on the run. Dr. Wanless wants to kill off the family fearing the powers of the little girl. Captain Hollister (Martin Sheen) scoffs at the possibilities with the support of John Rainbird (George C. Scott). They want to experiment and use her as a weapon.This is such a nicely made sci-fi giving child star Drew Barrymore the staring role. It doesn't have the big flash and the sizzle. It's mostly a road movie. There are some nice fire work. The explosions could be more impressive. The flashbacks work well. The acting is generally very good with some terrific actors. Drew does an exceptional job as a child actor. It probably could use more shoot outs and high speed chases. However it works very well without them.