Firestarter
Never play with fire.
2022 | 94m | English
Popularity: 3 (history)
| Director: | Keith Thomas |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Stephen King, Scott Teems |
| Staring: |
| For more than a decade, parents Andy and Vicky have been on the run, desperate to hide their daughter Charlie 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 is deployed to hunt down the family and seize Charlie once and for all. Charlie has other plans. | |
| Release Date: | May 12, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Keith Thomas |
| Writer: | Stephen King, Scott Teems |
| Genres: | Science Fiction, Horror |
| Keywords | fire, based on novel or book, telepathy, psychic power, psychic, female magician, supernatural power, secret government agency, psychic force, pyrokinesis |
| Production Companies | Universal Pictures, Weed Road Pictures, Blumhouse Productions |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $15,000,000
Budget: $12,000,000 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 10, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Ryan Kiera Armstrong | Charlie McGee |
| Zac Efron | Andy McGee |
| Sydney Lemmon | Vicky Tomlinson-McGee |
| Kurtwood Smith | Dr. Joseph Wanless |
| Michael Greyeyes | John Rainbird |
| Gloria Reuben | Captain Jane Hollister |
| John Beasley | Irv Manders |
| Tina Jung | Ms. Gardner |
| Hannan Younis | Darla Gurney |
| Gavin MacIver-Wright | Gavin |
| Jeremy Ferdman | Eyes Man |
| Jamillah Ross | Officer Pierce |
| Morrissa Nicole | Young Nurse |
| Sheila Boyd | Esmerelda 'Essi' Manders |
| Darrin Maharaj | News Reporter |
| Danny Waugh | Sheriff Perry |
| Lanette Ware | Principal Lewis |
| Hunter Smalley | First Kid |
| Isaac Murray | Second Kid |
| Nicholas Vilord | Third Kid |
| Vas Saranga | Agent Jules |
| Shane Marriott | Control Room Guard |
| Moses Nyarko | Man in Street Clothes |
| Claire Armstrong | Agent Gail |
| Xavier Lopez | Research Assistant |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Cody Carpenter | Original Music Composer |
| Daniel Davies | Original Music Composer |
| Keith Thomas | Director |
| Stephen King | Novel |
| Karim Hussain | Director of Photography, Cinematography |
| Zosia Mackenzie | Production Design |
| Ruth Chiang | Stunts |
| Terri Taylor | Casting |
| Bernadette Couture | Stunts |
| Trevor Smale | Set Designer |
| Timothy Alverson | Editor |
| John O'Regan | Art Direction |
| Aline Gilmore | Costume Design |
| Lilly Tyson | Casting Assistant |
| Ally Conover | Casting Associate |
| Daryl Patchett | Stunt Coordinator |
| Mike Leandro | Set Decoration |
| Dan Martin | Prosthetics |
| Morgyn Johnston | Casting Associate |
| Lyndsay Pollard | Stunts |
| Jessica Metcalf | Stunt Double |
| Mimi Côté | Stunt Double |
| Christopher Minos | Animation |
| Marie-Ève Beckers | Stunts |
| Sarah Domeier Lindo | Casting |
| John Carpenter | Original Music Composer |
| Jason Gosbee | Stunt Double |
| Jon Romano | Head of Production |
| Scott Teems | Screenplay |
| Haley Pigman | Executive Producer's Assistant |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Jennifer Scudder Trent | Co-Producer |
| Jason Blum | Producer |
| Ryan Turek | Executive Producer |
| Martha De Laurentiis | Executive Producer |
| Gregory Lessans | Executive Producer |
| Akiva Goldsman | Producer |
| Jon Romano | Co-Producer |
| Scott Teems | Executive Producer |
| J.D. Lifshitz | Executive Producer |
| Raphael Margules | Executive Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 41 | 66 | 14 |
| 2024 | 5 | 36 | 46 | 24 |
| 2024 | 6 | 27 | 47 | 18 |
| 2024 | 7 | 27 | 73 | 15 |
| 2024 | 8 | 23 | 48 | 12 |
| 2024 | 9 | 14 | 22 | 9 |
| 2024 | 10 | 21 | 40 | 12 |
| 2024 | 11 | 16 | 24 | 12 |
| 2024 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 10 |
| 2025 | 1 | 21 | 58 | 10 |
| 2025 | 2 | 13 | 20 | 4 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| 2025 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Trending Position
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | 926 | 926 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 | 482 | 556 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 982 | 982 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 10 | 786 | 870 |
He might look good in a white T-shirt but the thing is, as Zac Efron gets older he looks more and more like an automaton. When he was younger, he had a charm about him - now he just looks like his life consists of nothing but the gym, the manscapists and a bath in yesterday's excess kale smoothie mi ... x! Add to that really lacklustre performance some screaming from a competent youngster in Ryan Kiera Armstrong ("Charlie") and we are left with a very mediocre adaptation of this pretty lightweight Stephen King story that is big on pyrotechnic effects, certainly, but on very little else. There is a story: the youngster can cause things to combust at will when she gets stressed or annoyed; her father can bend people to his will making his eyes bleed in the process - quite an effective cure for smokers who want to give up; and her mother - Sidney Lemmon, well she too has a quirk - but I cannot remember what it was (but it definitely wasn't firefighting). Anyway, those who scientifically enhanced this family are hot on their trail - and it's all a question of who will prevail. Well it would be if you were still remotely bothered but after half an hour I just wasn't. For a movie about conflagration - it's sadly all a bit of a damp squib.
Eh, just another pointless remake/re-adaptation, although I don't mind it since the 1984 version wasn't great either. Nothing terrible but not anything special either. Performances were bland and not even the pyrotechnics weren't all that impressive. I guess it's fine to watch for free on Peakcock P ... remium but even so, you're really not missing anything. **2.25/5**
**Ironically, this fire never got going—total dud.** What? How? I didn't expect to be blown away, but I also didn't expect to be bored. I love Blumhouse flicks, and their fresh take on The Invisible Man had my expectations high for their version of Firestarter. Unfortunately, this was as straight ... to streaming as a movie could feel. Think Push (2009) but much more mediocre.
Add it to the “passible movies that are adaptations of Stephen King novels” pile, which is getting concerning-ly large. Regardless, I got to see the NOPE trailer on the big screen! ...