Hey, that little girl from E.T. everyone likes? Let's put her in a Stephen King horror movie! Well, Firestarter is one of the adaptations that shows how easy it is to miss the terror mark on the writer's material. When he's writing about people with super-powers, it might depend on the director. De Palma certainly succeeded with Carrie, Kubrick with The Shining (but with many changes). Firestarter, in different hands, might have used the notion that children can be creepy, but Drew Barrymore never is this. She's cute and sympathetic and it's only a horror movie for nameless government agents who kidnap little girls, so it's hard to empathize with them. Very cool fire effects, certainly, but it works more as a sci-fi story than a horror tale. It comes closest with George C. Scott's intentions for the girl, but not quite. With its psionics on the run, it could happen in the Scannerverse, but since the book predates Cronenberg's take on the concept, it's probably more true that this is the Dr. Sleepverse and that firebug Drew might one day rub elbows with Danny from the Shining.
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Siskoid
Hey, that little girl from E.T. everyone likes? Let's put her in a Stephen King horror movie! Well, Firestarter is one of the adaptations that shows how easy it is to miss the terror mark on the writer's material. When he's writing about people with super-powers, it might depend on the director. De Palma certainly succeeded with Carrie, Kubrick with The Shining (but with many changes). Firestarter, in different hands, might have used the notion that children can be creepy, but Drew Barrymore never is this. She's cute and sympathetic and it's only a horror movie for nameless government agents who kidnap little girls, so it's hard to empathize with them. Very cool fire effects, certainly, but it works more as a sci-fi story than a horror tale. It comes closest with George C. Scott's intentions for the girl, but not quite. With its psionics on the run, it could happen in the Scannerverse, but since the book predates Cronenberg's take on the concept, it's probably more true that this is the Dr. Sleepverse and that firebug Drew might one day rub elbows with Danny from the Shining.dianeorbetty
Awesome.trees
Great for children.