So, since it is new trailer Thursday I saved this for today even though the Firestarter trailer was released yesterday. And as always I have thoughts. First in case you haven’t seen it take a look after the jump.
In a new adaptation of Stephen King’s classic thriller from the producers of The Invisible Man, a girl with extraordinary pyrokinetic powers fights to protect her family and herself from sinister forces that seek to capture and control her.
For more than a decade, parents Andy (Zac Efron; Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile; The Greatest Showman) and Vicky (Sydney Lemmon; Fear the Walking Dead, Succession) have been on the run, desperate to hide their daughter Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong; American Horror Story: Double Feature, The Tomorrow War) from a shadowy federal agency that wants to harness her unprecedented gift for creating fire into a weapon of mass destruction.
Andy has taught Charlie how to defuse her power, which is triggered by anger or pain. But as Charlie turns 11, the fire becomes harder and harder to control. After an incident reveals the family’s location, a mysterious operative (Michael Greyeyes; Wild Indian, Rutherford Falls) is deployed to hunt down the family and seize Charlie once and for all. Charlie has other plans.
First, I realize that this is a remake, so I guess I shouldn’t point out they put a lot of the plot in this trailer, but damn they put a lot of the plot in this trailer. I also have to admit, the original Firestarter wasn’t one of the films that I watched repeatedly throughout the years. I only watched it sparingly because Drew Barrymore (from the original) was a kid actor from my generation. But, I do remember liking it well enough. This trailer and the information above has made me interested, because for one special effects and practical makeup has come so far in the 30+ years since the original debuted. (Damn, I’m old AF.) It’s going to probably look cool as shit, if they had the budget. It’s a Blumhouse, so they had the budget. And, it’s really nice to see Efron finally keep his shirt on and actually act. Did I just type that? (Damn, I’m old AF.)
The film also stars Kurtwood Smith (Amityville: The Awakening, Hitchcock), John Beasley (The Purge: Anarchy, The Sum of All Fears) and Gloria Reuben (Lincoln, Mr. Robot). The Firestarter score is composed by the legendary John Carpenter (Halloween, Christine, The Fog) and his fellow Halloween franchise composers Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies.
Directed by Keith Thomas (The Vigil), from a screenplay by Scott Teems (Halloween Kills) based on the novel by Stephen King.
Firestarter is in theaters and streaming only on Peacock May 13th.