Film

Firestarter

Other titles called Firestarter: the 1984 film.

A girl with pyrokinetic powers tries to evade a government agency that wants to weaponise her abilities. This 2022 adaptation of Stephen King's novel is a straightforward sci-fi thriller about parental protection and childhood rage, anchored by strong performances but undermined by workmanlike direction. It's for King fans and people who want a tense, efficient seventy minutes of genre entertainment without complications.

TMDb rating2.7

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like a lean, pulpy chase where a family's fear does the heavy lifting and the central child's power feels more like menace than mystery.

Skip it if the drama leans on blunt, heavy-handed emotion, and if you want subtle character work or a slower build, the pace will feel rushed.

What it asks of you: Ninety-four minutes, it moves at a sprint, rarely pausing to breathe, and it keeps its darkness close, so give it your full attention through the chase.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Stranger Things2016

A young girl with supernatural powers hunted by shadowy authorities; the same mood of children in danger, families protecting them, and small-town terror. The production design and tension are pristine.

But Four seasons is a long commitment, and the back half gets tangled. Some people find the nostalgia wearying.

Stranger Things poster

The Hunger Games2012

A young protagonist with a dangerous gift becomes a reluctant symbol while authorities try to control her. Sharp action, moral complexity, and a girl learning her own power. Jennifer Lawrence carries it entirely.

But The sequels dilute the core idea. The first film is excellent; the others are very long and increasingly unfocused.

The Hunger Games poster

Carrie1976

Teenage telekinesis, bullying, rage, and a girl destroying everything around her when she breaks. De Palma's direction is fluid and cruel. The template for every gifted-kid horror story that followed, and still the best.

But The prom scene has not aged well visually. Some find the religious hysteria subplot dated or heavy-handed.

Carrie poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Firestarter

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Matilda1996

Both centre a girl whose gift is framed as a curse until she recognises it as her own survival tool. One ends in liberation; one ends in immolation. They ask the same question from opposite angles.

A girl with telekinetic powers; a nightmare family and a cruel system; escape through intelligence and fury. Danny DeVito's film is warm where Firestarter is cold, funny where it's grim, but both are about a child learning that she is not the problem—the world is. Matilda finds grace in her power; Charlie finds only fire.

But It's a children's film. If you want darkness and threat, this will feel gentle. The whimsy will read as saccharine if you are not open to it.

Matilda poster
More like this (8)

Akira1988

A child with uncontrollable psychic powers, a government desperate to weaponise him, and a sprawling city that pays the price. Animated, visually astonishing, a complete masterpiece. The scope and strangeness will remake how you think about adaptation.

But Subtitled, dense with lore, deliberately paced. It does not explain everything. Anime is not everyone's entry point.

Akira poster

Looper2012

A tense, clever thriller about a child with dangerous abilities and the adults willing to kill to control her. Rian Johnson's best work: smart action, genuine stakes, and a final act that earns its emotional weight.

But The time-travel logic requires patience. The violence toward the child is real and difficult.

Looper poster

Brightburn2019

A Superman-shaped premise twisted into horror: a boy with incredible powers, no moral compass, and no one able to stop him. Genuinely unsettling, beautifully shot, and a clever deconstruction of the gifted-child myth.

But Graphic violence. The film is bleak and offers no comfort or redemption. It's stylish nihilism.

Brightburn poster

The Invisible Man2020

A hunted woman, relentless pursuit, and someone invisible but undeniably there. Leigh Whannell's direction transforms a classic premise into a modern survival thriller with genuine terror and propulsion.

But Claustrophobic and brutal. The isolation is oppressive. It's a breakup story filtered through horror, and some find the domestic violence subtext difficult.

The Invisible Man poster

The Maze Runner2014

Young people with hidden gifts trapped in a deadly system run by authorities who claim to have their interests at heart. Fast, inventive action with a real mystery underneath. Dylan O'Brien is excellent.

But The trilogy sprawls and loses focus. The first film stands alone beautifully; the sequels are franchise machinery.

The Maze Runner poster

Dark Phoenix2019

A young mutant woman with a planet-destroying power, hunted by multiple factions, learning to reclaim her autonomy. Messy and uneven, but earnest about the girl at its centre and what it means to be weaponised.

But Narratively confused. Shifts tone without clarity. Many X-Men films are better. This one is sincere but scattered.

Dark Phoenix poster

Midnight Special2016

Both are chase narratives about a child with abilities being hunted by people who want to use or understand them. Midnight Special refuses to make you comfortable; it sits in the strangeness rather than resolving it.

A boy with inexplicable supernatural properties, pursued across America by authorities and believers. Jeff Nichols' film is meditative, strange, and visually gorgeous—science fiction as mood rather than mechanics. It moves like a fever dream and trusts the audience to sit with mystery.

But Deliberately slow and unexplained. No action sequences. It prioritises atmosphere over plot. If you want things spelled out, this will frustrate you.

Midnight Special poster

Destroyer2018

Both trace the cost of parental protection and the impossibility of keeping a child safe. Firestarter asks it from the child's view; Destroyer asks it from the parent's, and the answer is devastation either way.

Nicole Kidman as a woman destroying herself to protect her daughter. Not supernatural—grounded, brutal, a mother's rage and failure. The inverse of Firestarter's narrative: what happens to the parent whose whole life has been defined by running and guarding a child.

But Grim. Kidman is deliberately ugly and unglamorous. The film is slow and offers no redemption. A lot of people find it unpleasant to watch.

Destroyer poster

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