Firestarter (2022)

Firestarter (2022) works best when it stops apologizing for being a rowdy, pulpy supernatural thriller and just lights the fuse—and in those moments it’s brisk, nasty fun with a drive-in heartbeat. Keith Thomas keeps the pace moving like a chase movie with a horror streak, building tension around a child’s volatile power and the adults desperate to control it, while Ryan Kiera Armstrong gives Charlie a fierce, wounded intensity that makes the danger feel personal, not just flashy. Zac Efron grounds the mayhem with a protective-dad urgency, and the film delivers a handful of sharp, mean-spirited scares that land because they’re simple and direct. It’s not for viewers who want subtle prestige horror or who are sensitive to brutal burn imagery, but if you’re in the mood for a lean, camp-tinged sci-fi fright ride that knows exactly what kind of movie it is, this one crackles.

Firestarter (2022) is clearly aiming for a tense, modern Stephen King-style chase thriller about a kid with terrifying power and parents trying to keep her human, and the core idea still has juice. The problem is the execution often feels flat and oddly small for a story about mass-destructive fire, with effects and staging that can look cheap and a plot that moves more by convenience than mounting dread. Zac Efron and Ryan Kiera Armstrong do what they can, and there are a few nasty, high-impact bursts of violence, but the movie struggles to build real emotional investment or a memorable sense of menace. If you want a lean, character-driven supernatural thriller with atmosphere, you’ll likely find this bland; if you just want an R-rated pyrokinesis rampage with some grim moments and don’t mind a thin, rushed feel, it may do the job.