Review: Peacock's 'Firestarter' Remake Brings New Life to an Old Flame

The remake of the 1984 film Firestarter just debuted on the streaming service Peacock and in theaters. Directed by Keith Thomas (The Vigil) with a screenplay from Scott Teems (Halloween Kills), based on the novel by Stephen King. Starring in the new adaption are Zac Efron (Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile), Ryan Kiera Armstrong (It Chapter Two), Michael Greyeyes (Blood Quantum), and Sydney Lemmon (‘Fear the Walking Dead’).

The original remains a classic due in large part to a very young Drew Barrymore as the main character. But other than the nostalgia and love of the story, the film hasn’t aged very well. This version of Firestarter brings atmosphere, family, growth and acceptance, much like in the original novel.

In the film a young girl, Charlie (Armstrong), tries to understand and control her ability to set things on fire with her mind. Like many other Stephen King stories about the human mind, we see other characters with abilities as well, such as telekinesis, mind control, etc. Naturally, there is a nefarious government agency that wants to find and control those with these special powers. Which leaves Charlie and her family (Efron and Lemmon) constantly moving and avoiding detection.

Firestarter 2022 — Photo Credit: Ken Woroner/Universal Pictures

However, now she feels it changing and becoming unmanageable, something her father doesn’t want to hear. Like every scared parent before him, he suggests that she continue to push it down and hide it. Of course, that plan fails miserably after the government locates them and sends an assassin, Rainbird (Greyeyes), with powers of his own after them.

Charlie is not only a growing child, which is uncomfortable enough, but she is also isolated from her peers and the outside world because of her abilities. We see that she and her parents have been hiding her pyrokinesis since birth. In the original Firestarter, we felt the tug between worlds for the main character, but with this one we feel a somber sense of heaviness that Charlie carries with her throughout the whole film.

With Armstrong at its center, the chemistry between the cast is amazing. The character of Charlie is a girl who is suffering, and she does throughout the whole film. When she accidentally lashes out at a cat (look away cat lovers!), there’s a moment when she realizes the pain she can cause others, reflects back to her. That realization breaks her for a moment with Armstrong reflecting that and the growth that follows.

Efron brings a level of intensity to the character of Andy, that we got a glimpse of in his performance of Ted Bundy. In this film he continues to push his acting abilities and emotional range. I hope he continues to bring that energy to more roles, even if his eyes won’t bleed in everyone of them. Another standout is Greyeyes, who’s portrayal of Rainbird is cold, calculating but also sees something in Charlie that touches him.

From the opening credits the tone and pace are established with help from a score by Cody Carpenter, John Carpenter, & Daniel A. Davies, along with the classic font. But more than just aesthetic this film somehow feels like reading a King story. Which is one of the biggest compliment I have given any King adaption. Constant Readers know that the worlds he builds tend to be incredibly complex. It’s never all horror, but instead a whole range of emotions and feelings, with many focusing on the pain, growth and loss.

On that, Firestarter more than delivers. Even though I was hoping for more horror aspects, the gore/burns effects we did get were incredibly effective, with melted, and gooey flesh. During the finale of the film we see the full might of Charlie’s abilities as she burns down her old life. She now knows what it costs to use her powers to protect herself and with help from her dad she fights her way out. While this film is light on the horror, the heaviness of the story slowly burns throughout. Plus there are a few great kills, who hasn’t wanted to actually set a liar’s pants on fire, right? 4/5

★★★★