‘Firestarter’ remake fails to ignite

For a movie about a girl with pyrokinetic powers, “Firestarter “is lacking a certain spark.

This new adaptation of Stephen King's 1980 novel is not scary or thrilling, nor is it emotionally resonant or particularly moving. No, this outing is a dull slog, even with its cool, synthy John Carpenter score and the should've-been-inspired decision to cast Zac Efron as the father of the flamethrowing preteen.

But “Firestarter” might not have had much to live up to in the first place. The 1984 film, which starred Drew Barrymore and David Keith as the daughter-father pair, was not exactly well-received. Roger Ebert wrote that its “crucial flaw is the lack of a strong point to the story. A little girl has her dangerous power, some government agents want to examine her, others want to destroy her, and things catch on fire. That's about it.” The original source material isn't one of King's most beloved either.

Why anyone would want to resurrect this particular property is a bit of a mystery,