Firestarter (1984)

A couple who participated in a potent medical experiment gain telekinetic ability and then have a child who is pyrokinetic.

Director:

Mark L. Lester

Writers:

Stephen King (novel), Stanley Mann

Stars:

David Keith, Drew Barrymore, Freddie Jones

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Keith	...	Andrew 'Andy' McGee
Drew Barrymore	...	Charlene 'Charlie' McGee
Freddie Jones	...	Doctor Joseph Wanless
Heather Locklear	...	Victoria 'Vicky' Tomlinson McGee
Martin Sheen	...	Captain Hollister
George C. Scott	...	John Rainbird
Art Carney	...	Irv Manders
Louise Fletcher	...	Norma Manders
Moses Gunn	...	Doctor Pynchot
Antonio Fargas	...	Taxi Driver
Drew Snyder	...	Orville Jamieson
Curtis Credel	...	Bates
Keith Colbert	...	Mayo
Dick Warlock	...	Knowles (as Richard Warlock)
Jeff Ramsey	...	Steinowitz

Storyline

Andrew and Vicky McGee met while earning money as guinea pigs for an experiment at college. The experiment was shrouded in suspicion and mystery, and seemed to be related to psychic abilities. The two were married and had a daughter Charile, who has the ability to start fires by merely thinking about it. Naturally, the government takes a great interest in Charlie, and operatives from the secret department known as "The Shop" want to quarrantine and study her.

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Plot Keywords:

experiment | fire | government | doctor | psychic | 

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Taglines:

Charlie McGee is a happy, healthy eight-year-old little girl. Normal in every way but one. She has the power to set objects afire with just one glance. It's a power she does not want. It's a power she can't control. And, each night, Charlie prays to be just like every other child. But there are those who will do everything in their power to find her... or destroy her.

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Genres:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 May 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Charlie

Filming Locations:

Elwell Ferry Plantation - 1190 N Elwell Ferry Rd, Carvers Creek, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$15,100,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Charlie McGee character was modeled on Stephen King's daughter Naomi.

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Goofs

When he first visits Charlie in quarantine, Captain Hollister removes his code-key badge twice as he prepares to leave the room.

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Quotes

Charlie McGee: [to the agent after he escorts her to the stables] Get out of here, you bastard! I'll burn you up! I'll fry you!

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Connections

Referenced in Ban the Sadist Videos! Part 2 (2006)

User Reviews

Not The Greatest Stephen King Adaptation

A lot of Stephen King's stories have been adapted for the screen. Many of them have actually been pretty good adaptations - some of them excellent. This, unfortunately, is one of the weaker adaptations of a Stephen King story. I suppose the first problem is that it's largely unoriginal. I've noticed that in a lot of Stephen King's work, actually. He tends to repeat the same basic themes and use the same basic structure over and over again. This is very similar to "Carrie" - a young girl who's able to start fires with her mind. Here, the ability stems from some government experiments done on her parents, who pass some of the abilities they developed in those experiments onto their daughter, who in turn takes those abilities one step farther. The story is pushed along by having young Charlie and her father pursued by government agents.

One of the interesting things about this movie is the very strong and high profile supporting cast that backs up the leads - who are the then very young Drew Barrymore who plays Charlie, and the lesser known David Keith who plays her father. That supporting cast features the likes of George C. Scott and Martin Sheen and Art Carney among others. The movie revolved around Keith and Barrymore, though, and their desperate attempts to escape from the agents pursuing them. In all honesty, I didn't find either of them to be particularly convincing. Their performances didn't seem natural; sometimes Barrymore especially seemed rather forced. The supporting cast really didn't have enough to do to compensate for that weakness, although Scott was pretty good in his role.

The movie ended on a rather silly note, to be honest. The final confrontation between Charlie and - well - basically everybody went way overboard. It was pretty exciting for maybe two minutes. Then it became quite uninteresting because it was just so predictable and yet it seems to go on for about ten minutes during which we see little but Charlie starting fires and blowing things up. After that over-excess of excitement, the final scene goes in exactly the opposite direction - it was anti- climactic in the extreme, in a way too jarring an emotional shift after the excessive mayhem. I guess it was intended to make the point that Charlie was about to blow the government's cover.

To be blunt, this is rather a weak story. Stephen King fans might watch this out of curiosity, but there are many better Stephen King adaptations out there. (3/10)