Themes: Psychic Abilities, Flight of the Innocent, Experiments Gone Awry
Main Cast: David Keith, Drew Barrymore, George C. Scott, Martin Sheen, Heather Locklear, Art Carney
Release Year: 1984
Country: US
Run Time: 115 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Firestarter is based on a bone-chilling novel by Steven King. Drew Barrymore plays Charlie McGee the young daughter of Andrew (David Keith) and Vicky (Heather Locklear) McGee, who years earlier had been guinea pigs for a top secret experiment. As a result, Charlie has acquired the unenviable ability to start fires simply by thinking about fires. Charlie is pursued over hill and dale by The Shop, a secret government organization bent upon using her skills for nefarious purposes. The special effects are undeniably startling, even when the script and dialogue are straight out of the funny papers (it's hard to keep a straight face during the New York Times final shot!) The high-priced cast--including George C. Scott, Art Carney, Louise Fletcher--seems to be having a grand ole time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
It would be foolish to suggest that working in two straight movies inspired by Stephen King novels, Firestarter and Cat's Eye, would afflict Drew Barrymore with the kind of curse that King himself might have written about. But there's an odd real-world corollary to watching the disturbed preteen light fires with her mind, as Barrymore's own tumultuous world was about to be engulfed by drug and alcohol abuse at barely ten years old. Subtexts aside, Mark Lester's Firestarter is an effective and ominous enough horror story, complete with a final sequence that will be hard for equestrian enthusiasts to watch. As David Keith's Andrew McGee makes a one dollar bill look like a 20, a mental strain that erupts into a bloody nose, all so he can hoodwink a ride out of a cabbie, it suggests interesting things about the telekinetic abilities of this unique family. More strikingly, the film deals with the infant child's inability and unwillingness to control her awful power. If you thought toilet-training a child was hard, just imagine trying to keep her from burning down the house. Where Firestarter starts to turn into a little bit of a joke is its production design, which is hilariously under-budgeted for several key sequences -- perhaps all the money did go to the impressive cast. Still, it makes a decent addition to the King film library. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Louise Fletcher - Norma Manders; Moses Gunn - Dr. Pynchot; Freddie Jones - Dr. Joseph Wanless; Steve Boles - Mailman; Keith Colbert - Mayo; Curtis Credel - Bates; Antonio Fargas - Taxi Driver; Joan Foley - DSI Technican; Robert Miano - Blinded Agent; Laurens Moore - Old Man; Jeff Ramsey - Steinowitz; Leon Rippy - Blinded Agent; John Sanderford - Albright; Drew Snyder - Orville Jamieson; Cassandra Ward-Freeman - Woman in Stall; George Wilbur - DSI Orderly; Orwin Harvey - DSI Orderly; Stanley Mann - Motel Owner; Richard Warlock - Knowles; Jack Magner - Young Serviceman; Larry Sprinkle - Security Guard; Wendy Womble - Josie; William Alspaugh - Proprietor; Carey Fox - Agent Hunt; Nina Jones - Grad Assistant
Credit
Giorgio Postiglione - Art Director, Martha Schumacher - Associate Producer, Martha de Laurentiis - Associate Producer, Johanna Ray - Casting, David Whorf - First Assistant Director, Mark L. Lester - Director, David Rawlins - Editor, Ronald Sanders - Editor, Howard Kunin - Editor, Tangerine Dream - Composer (Music Score), Christopher Franke - Composer (Music Score), William J. Cassidy - Production Designer, Giuseppe Ruzzolini - Cinematographer, Frank Capra, Jr. - Producer, Dino de Laurentiis - Producer, Lynn Wolverten - Set Designer, Michael Wood - Special Effects, Jeff Jarvis - Special Effects, David Hildyard - Sound/Sound Designer, Bill Lancaster - Screenwriter, Stanley Mann - Screenwriter, Bill Phillips - Screenwriter, Stephen King - Book Author
In the book, Rainbird lost his eye in Vietnam, in the movie, he just wore an eyepatch.
In the book, Charlie gets the change from the payphones. In the film, Andy does this.
In the book, Charlie accidentally sets the soldier's boots on fire at the airport while getting the payphone coins. In the film, she plainly concentrates upon him, as if sending out the power to burn him.
The "fire-training" scene from the book is entirely different in the film.
The scene at Manders' farm is much more graphic and detailed in the book.
The Manders' house does not burn down as it does in the book.
In the book, Rainbird has a discussion with Dr. Wanless before killing him. In the film, Rainbird kills him as soon as he wakes him.
In the book, Rainbird suffocates Dr. Wanless, but in the film, he breaks his nose into his brain.
In the book, Charlie is tranquilized by Rainbird at Granther's cabin, while Andy is shot by Jules. In the film, Jules is absent and Rainbird shoots both with the tranquilizer gun.
In the book, Cap only sees Charlie personally when escorting her back to her room. In the film, he comes to her the very first day of her captivity, offering gifts and other such things.
In the book, Pynchot talks with Andy after Andy "pushes" himself out of his Thorazine addiction. In the film, Cap talks with him instead.
In the book, Andy and Pynchot have a discussion out by the lake, where Andy "pushes" him. In the film, the discussion is between Andy and Cap.
In the book, Cap is "pushed" while in his office. In the film, he is "pushed" during a lakeside conversation with Andy - which, in the book, took place between Andy and Pynchot, rather than Cap.
The scenes of Pynchot's "push" and "ricochet" are absent from the film.
In the book, Pynchot commits suicide. In the film, Pynchot is presumably killed while trying to escape one of Charlie's fireballs.
In the book, Andy's note to Charlie warns her about Rainbird's betrayal. In the film, this portion of the note is absent, and Charlie even tells Rainbird about the escape plan the note detailed.
In the film, Charlie's stay at the Manders' farm at the end of the book is absent.
In the book, the Shop shows signs of regrouping (new leader, closing in on Manders' farm, etc). In the film, these scenes are absent, and the Shop may be presumed to be gone once and for all.
In the book, Charlie leaves the Manders' farm alone to tell her story. In the film, Irv Manders accompanies her.
In the book, Charlie chooses Rolling Stone Magazine to hear her story. In the film, it is implied that she will be telling it to the New York Times.
In the film, the mailman was murdered by Rainbird. In the book, the mailman was robbed of his mailbag, and allowed to live.
