Stephen King's Firestarter remake: will ESP come back in fashion?

12 January 2011

John Howell

Remember the 1984 horror fantasy / SF film called Firestarter based on the Stephen King novel of the same name? The novel and film told the story of a couple who gain extra sensory abilities after a special government medical program. Their abilities included telepathy and auto-hypnotic mind domination (referred to as "the Push"). While their powers are mild, their daughter Charlie develops a frightening pyrokinetic ability, the ability to set people and objects on fire with the power of her mind.

Firestarter was part of a Hollywood obsession with Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) in the late 70s and early 80s which resulted in classic fantasy / SF films like Carrie (1976), Scanners in 1981 (who could forget the exploding heads?), The Dead Zone (1983) and Phenomena (1985). I've always taken a keen interest in ESP related films - it's a fascinating area. With Firestarter and new X-Men movies on the horizon, perhaps Hollywood will return to the subject matter in a big way. I'd love to see more tales of ordinary people dabbling with ESP though, rather than superhero figures who turn out to be aliens or mutants. Tales of normal people developing extra sensory powers are far more engaging. It's a lot easier to suspend your disbelief.

Interestingly, a recent scientific study claims to provide evidence for ESP, in particular the ability to predict the future (Precognition). The study has ruffled feathers in the scientific community. According to Daryl J. Bem, a professor at Cornell University and author of the study, experiments indicate the presence of extra-sensory perception in some college students. Bem's experiments analyzed over 1,000 students attempting to accurately sense random events, like on which side of a computer screen a photograph would flash. Participants beat chance by 53 to 50 percent.

The study was published in the prestigious Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The New York Times reports that the reaction of some of Bem's peers has been less than complimentary. The publishing alone is an issue.

"It's craziness, pure craziness," said Ray Hymana, a  University of Oregon psychology professor and longtime ESP critic. "I can't believe a major journal is allowing this work in. I think it's just an embarrassment for the entire field."

Perhaps a resurgence of scientific exploration in ESP will result in a complimentary increase in mainstream Hollywood films like Firestarter?

Universal studios and Dino De Laurentiis Co. have teamed up to reignite Firestarter, with Mark L. Smith writing the script (Dino De Laurentiis Co. and Universal produced the original too). According to Variety, they hope to turn the film into the first of a franchise.

The 1984 Firestarter starred Drew Barrymore and made US$17 million in America. The remake is expected to be loosely based on the original Stephen King book, but the main character will have "more edge" according to Variety's report.

The reboot was one of the last projects that Dino De Laurentiis worked on before his death in November at age 91.

"We see this as a unique, character-driven thriller with a supernatural edge, based on a timeless concept and enhanced by recent visual effects advances," Martha De Laurentiis said.

"'Firestarter has a great mythology and with Martha and Lorenzo's vision we believe the franchise can be extended in a new and exciting direction," said Debbie Liebling, a spokeswomen for Universal.

De Laurentiis Co. are also working on the cult classic Barbarella, another King Kong adaptation (not again!) and, disturbingly, a film based on the 1980s TV show MacGyver (I won't be rushing out to see that one).

Syfy created a made for television film called Firestarter 2: Rekindled in 2002.