Otherwise, this is a misfire on every level, an inert, dreary-looking, pointless exercise that wastes some good actors (Zac Efron among them) or gets terrible performances out of others.

We’re pleased to report that in the new Blumhouse Films adaptation of Firestarter, that indefensible error has been corrected: John Rainbird is played in the new film by Michael Greyeyes, a First Nation actor who has appeared in Fear the Walking Dead and True Detective, among others.īut sadly, that is just about the only thing that this version of Firestarter, directed by Keith Thomas ( The Vigil), gets right. Scott as a Native American assassin named John Rainbird – casting that didn’t sit well then and would never pass muster now. Most egregious of all, however, is the casting of a scenery-chewing George C. Then there is the casting: while little Drew Barrymore, nine years old at the time and coming off E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, seems perfect for the role of a little girl who can start fires with her mind, she is given no guidance at all, veering from overwrought to whiny in seconds.

The ’84 Firestarter is an utterly mechanical effort, with the director putting the actors through their paces in workmanlike fashion and just jumping from plot point to plot point without any sense of the inner workings of the characters or the larger themes. What it lacks, however, is any kind of soul. Lester (replacing John Carpenter early in development), with a screenplay by Stanley Mann, the ’84 Firestarter is actually very faithful to the book in terms of narrative and incident. Of course there was still the inevitable movie, released in 1984 when it seemed like there was a new King adaptation hitting screens every month.

Firestarter is not often mentioned in lists of Stephen King’s classic novels although it was his sixth published novel (under his own name) and came out during his initial decade of phenomenal success, it’s not exactly held up there with landmarks like The Shining or The Stand.

Firestarter stephen king novel