Stephen King: Ranking His Films From Worst To Best

17. Firestarter

One of King's earlier novels (which wasn't too far removed from Carrie) got adapted into this 1984 film (which wasn't too far removed from the Carrie film). In this case, the young girl at the centre of it all is about half of Carrie's age, and her telekinetic abilities manifest in her power to, well, start fires. Obviously. It's a pretty literal title. In the Snakes On A Plane-vein. Firestarter is mostly notable for being one of the few films Drew Barrymore made during her early career as a child actor worth watching. Before she went off the deep end and emerged as a Charlie's Angel, Barrymore did pretty well as the nine-year-old whose powers make her the target of a shadowy government agency. It's not a masterpiece by any stretch, but a pretty impressive ensemble is what makes Firestarter. Barrymore has that same early star power seen in E.T., and she's surrounded by stars of the age like Martin Sheen, Heather Locklear and George C Scott. Another fun B-movie, with a great Tangerine Dream synthy score.