Firestarter

Overview

A young girl with pyrokinetic powers -- the ability to set fires using only the power of her mind -- is at the center of this horror film. When the girl's power is discovered, government agents set out to attempt to capture and study her, leading to an explosive confrontation.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/02/2014
UPC:	0025192246982
Original Release:	1984
Rating:	R
Source:	UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:55:00
Sales rank:	3,573

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Drew Barrymore	Charlene 'Charlie' McGee
George C. Scott	John Rainbird
David Keith	Andrew 'Andy' McGee
Heather Locklear	Victoria 'Vicky' Tomlinson McGee
Freddie Jones	Doctor Joseph Wanless,Grad Assistant
Martin Sheen	Captain Hollister
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
Richard Warlock	Knowles,Knowles
Jeff Ramsey	Steinowitz
Jack Magner	Young Serviceman
Lisa Anne Barnes	Serviceman's Girlfriend
Larry Sprinkle	Security Guard
Cassandra Ward-Freeman	Woman in Stall
Scott R. Davis	Bearded Student
William Alspaugh	Proprietor
Laurens Moore	Old Man
Anne Fitzgibbon	Old Lady
Steve Boles	Mailman
Stanley Mann	Motel Owner
Robert Miano	Blinded Agent
Leon Rippy	Blinded Agent
Carole Francisco	Joan Dugan
Wendy Womble	Josie
Etan Boritzer	DSI Technician
Joan Foley	DSI Technician
John Sanderford	Albright
Orwin Harvey	DSI Orderly
George P. Wilbur	DSI Orderly
Carey Fox	Agent Hunt
Tangerine Dream	Performer
Tangerine Dream	Composer
Christopher Franke	Composer

Technical Credits

Stanley Mann

Bill Phillips

Bill Lancaster

Mark L. Lester	Director
Frank Capra Jr.	Producer
Jeff Jarvis	Special Effects
Mike Wood	Special Effects
Frank Capra	Producer
Stanley Mann	Screenwriter
Dino De Laurentiis	Producer,Producer
Mike Edmonson	Special Effects
Richard L. Hill	Special Effects
Phil Adams	Stunts
David Hildyard	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer
Bill Phillips	Screenwriter
Johanna Ray	Casting
Bill Lancaster	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

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.