FIRESTARTER

FIRESTARTER (1984)

Featuring: Drew Barrymore; David Keith; Heather Locklear

Director: Mark L Lester

Last year I started looking at some of the films that were based on the novels and short-stories of Stephen King. This is yet another one.

In an effort to make some extra cash, two students volunteer for what seemed to be an innocent medical experiment. But when they later get married and have a baby it soon becomes clear that the experiment was anything but innocent after all. Because as the child grow older she begins to exhibit a strange quality: the ability to make things catch fire by just looking at it. However, when the secret government agency who conducted the experiment in the first place gets wind of it, they start hunting the family down.

This was Drew Barrymore's third outing on the big screen and, although not quite as polished as we grew accustomed to later in her career, she was not half bad. After all she was only eight at the time the movie was shot. Unfortunately, back in the day, reception of the movie was lackluster and it never became a box office hit. Today, of course, it is a cult classic and a must have for any serious DVD collection.

All things considered, I rate it at 3 out of 5 stars.

Trailer:

 Drew Barrymore, David Keith and Heather Locklear