Firestarter (2022) * 1/2

 

Directed by:  Keith Thomas

Starring:  Zac Efron, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Sydney Lemmon, Gloria Reuben, Michael Greyeyes, Kurtwood Smith

Having never seen the 1984 Firestarter starring Drew Barrymore as a young girl who can start fires with her mind, I entered the 2022 version with a fresh set of eyes.   The credit titles remind us of a 1984 movie with a score co-written by John Carpenter playing over them.   This could be retro fun.  Alas, there isn't much fun to be had with Firestarter.   The young girl named Charlie (Armstrong) has parents named Andrew (Efron) and Vicky (Lemmon) who are both psychic and were apparently experimented on by a sinister corporation.   Is Charlie the byproduct of the experiments or is she the byproduct of having two psychic parents?   Andrew is able to use his mind to change other people's minds, but it causes his eyes to hemorrhage and drains him of his energy.   The more he does this, the worse the side effects become.  Vicky is afraid of her daughter's rage and her inability to control the fires she starts.   Her fears become realized when Charlie sets Vicky on fire and causes severe burns on her arms.

Andrew and family are forever on the run from the corporation's handler (Reuben) who dispatches a retired tracker (Greyeyes), himself a psychic with great powers, to find Andrew, Vicky, and Charlie.  Vicky is soon out of the picture, and Andrew and Charlie are on the lam from the corporation and trying to harness Charlie's power.   Andrew and Charlie are eventually captured and taken to headquarters, while Charlie soon is able to set anyone on fire she pleases after screaming first.   This isn't thrilling cinema.   Once you see one person explode into flames, you've seen them all.   It's a case of anger-fire-repeat.  

I can't fault the performances from actors trying their best to work with substandard horror material.  Based on Stephen King's 1980 novel, Firestarter is lifeless and dreary.   There isn't much to it and the fact that we don't care much about the plight of the heroes doesn't help.   If you're a fan of intense shrieking and watching people engulfed in flames, this is your movie.