Firestarter

Written by the novelist who never ceases to amaze, Stephen King, Firestarter is a movie which is not so much about "monster scary" as it is about "reality horror".

The subject matter in this film could very well be true; supernatural events hidden from us by our own government. More probable than far-fetched, director Mark L. Lester and producer Dino DeLaurentiis take us on an intimate journey into the lives of a man named Andy McGee and his daughter Charlie, who look to the outside world like your average suburban family.

Average, though, they are not. Charlie and Andy are on the run from the government because of something that happened to Charlie's parents before she was born. Andy (David Keith) and his wife-to-be Vicki (Heather Locklear) took a dose of a chemical called "Lot 6" in a voluntary college experiment. It gave Vicki the ability to read minds, Andy the ability to make people do what he wants, and their 8-year old child Charlie (Drew Barrymore) the ability to cause things and people, to shoot up in flames (a condition also known as Pyrokenesis).

A secret government agency called "The Shop" have been after Andy and Charlie for a long time, and Charlie feels subconsciously that she deserves it. She is totally distraught over her condition and blames herself everytime her pyrokenesis "gets away" from her. However, she doesn't deserve what "The Shop" has in store for her and her father. They plan to use Charlie for warfare, and plan to kill Andy altogether.

"The Shop" even went so far as to leave a message to Andy that they were serious through torturing the beautiful blonde Vicki by ripping her fingernails off and smothering her.

From that moment on, Andy and Charlie have been on the run, but are eventually taken over by "The Shop". "The Shop" puts Charlie through a bunch of experiments and fellow government agent John Rainbird(George C.Scott) deceives Charlie into thinking he wants to help her father and befriend her.

The climax of this film is the most exciting. Charlie's father is shot and killed in front of her eyes and Charlie is no longer willing to show mercy on "The Shop". Incredible fireballs burst through the air, killing hundreds, and the youthful Charlie is now free to out "The Shop" by giving her story to The New York Times.

Thought-provoking and intriguing, Firestarter is one of the best Stephen King films and a must-see for Drew fans. Even as a young girl Drew Barrymore is a great actress, and is successful in making the viewer commiserate with the lives of these extraordinary people, the very likes of which could be living hidden in our own world.