Psychological and psychedelic testing produce some amazing results. Now those results are walking and talking and very unhappy with the agency who created it.

Delightfully triumphant, wonderfully destructive forces are about to be tapped, honed and unleashed against the government who has created and now hopes to utilize these frightening powers upon the world.

Charlie McGee (Drew Barrymore at the age of 9) is the product of psychological and psychedelic drug experiments performed by the US government upon her parents before her conception.

After witnessing the murder of her mother, she and her father are on the run from the mysterious bunch of gun-carrying miscreants known only as "the Agency."

Her father (David Keith) is also a telepath as a result of these experiments, who enjoys telekinetic abilities as well. These abilities help, but not well enough.

Will Charlie be able to save her father? Herself? Will they make it through this, or be forever torn apart by the Firestarter?

Excellent movie. Excellent performances by Drew Barrymore (if a little hesitant and deliberate at times),George C. Scott (hated, Hated, HATED his character!! that must mean he played it very very well *lol*),Martin Sheen and David Keith.

The effects were quite good, though in post-StarWars 1984, I had hoped for better; as was the plot and storyline.

As Stephen King adaptations go, it varied from the book just enough to make it one of the FEW adaptations of King's work through which I don't find myself cringing.

It gets a solid 8/10 from...

the Fiend :.

Most Stephen King horror adaptations are entertaining, but the most disturbing ones are the ones dealing with psychic phenomena, like FIRESTARTER and THE DEAD ZONE. For me, the power of the human mind is more horrific than giant alien spiders, vampires, or serial killers. FIRESTARTER is indeed a powerful film, and the power lies in the actors involved, not just the fiery power of the special effects unit. Indeed, the strength of the characterisations are the best thing about this film.

Martin Sheen has much the same power-hungry role as he did in 1983's THE DEAD ZONE, while Freddie Jones has a small role as a nervous doctor. However, it is George C. Scott as the brilliant yet crazed man out to snag Barrymore's powers for himself in the afterlife who has the best role, and he really is totally evil. David Keith is an effective hero, while Heather Locklear has another small role as his wife. Drew Barrymore is also good as the young girl who doesn't want to use her powers but is forced to, and it's a wonder that she didn't use them to destroy the killer in SCREAM.

The story is also a fairly original one, and it's more of a thriller than a conventional horror film. The budget is relatively low until the pyrotechnic ending where just about everything explodes, and things do tend to get a bit talky. However there are some dollops of tension lashed throughout the film and plenty of interest lies within the various machinations of the characters. FIRESTARTER is a thought-provoking ride through the powers of the mind and probably not suitable viewing for those who have tendencies involving pyromania.

Stephen King's writing is starting to grow on me, at first I wasn't so keen, now there are many things like his depiction of fear and his attention to detail that make me appreciate his writing more. As far as adaptations of his work go, Firestarter is not awful, but it is not great either.

There are better movies based on King's work(The Shawshank Redemption, Misery, Stand By Me),but there are also worse(Sleepwalkers, TommyKnockers and DreamCatcher).

My problems with this adaptation start with that I think Firestarter is too rushed. Consequently the effects lack finesse- though they are nowhere near as bad as the ones for The Langoliers-, the storytelling is clunky and the characterisations(excepting Rainbird) awkward.

On the other hand, the story is still very interesting, and Firestarter does have some good photography and directing. What really redeemed the adaptation was the cast. Drew Barrymore shows a lot of talent from an early age and Martin Sheen while deserving of more screen time is effective too. Best of all is fine actor George C.Scott in a brilliant performance as Rainbird, sometimes sympathetic but often terrifying sometimes in sudden shifts.

Overall, I don't think Firestarter is either bad or good, in fact my reaction was rather "meh". 6/10 Bethany Cox