It never seems to find its comfort zone with its attempt to mix cheesy horror from a distant time and a modern ethos that favours arresting visual effects. What we get is underwhelming imagery that more singes than burns and actors that are left out in the cold.

TV actor Ryan Kiera Armstrong reprises Barrymore’s role of Charlie McGee, the girl with flames at her fingertips with some effectiveness. She starts the innocent but things quickly get out of hand as her and father Andy (Zac Efron) go on the run from evil government forces.

With so many projects hitting the big screen, the folks at Blumhouse seem to be riding on the coattails of earlier successes like Get Out and Creep 1 and 2. It’s a great idea to give new directors the chance to say something fresh but they need to ensure the scripts and budgets will allow them the opportunity to shine.

Rob Hudson
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For more than a decade, parents Andy (Zac Efron; Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile; The Greatest Showman) and Vicky (Sydney Lemmon; Fear the Walking Dead, Succession) have been on the run, desperate to hide their daughter Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong; American Horror Story: Double Feature, The Tomorrow War) from a shadowy federal agency that wants to harness her unprecedented gift for creating fire into a weapon of mass destruction.

Andy has taught Charlie how to defuse her power, which is triggered by anger or pain. But as Charlie turns 11, the fire becomes harder and harder to control. After an incident reveals the family’s location, a mysterious operative (Michael Greyeyes; Wild Indian, Rutherford Falls) is deployed to hunt down the family and seize Charlie once and for all. Charlie has other plans.

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Firestarter marks Bangarra Dance Theatre’s 30th anniversary.

Taking us through Bangarra’s birth and spectacular growth, the film recognises Bangarra’s founders and tells the story of how three young Aboriginal brothers — Stephen, David and Russell Page — turned the newly born dance group into a First Nations cultural powerhouse.

Through the eyes of the brothers and company alumni, Firestarter explores the loss and reclaiming of culture, the burden of intergenerational trauma, and – crucially – the power of art as a messenger for social change and healing.

Firestarter will be released in Australian cinemas February 18!
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Firestarter Competition

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Competition will be drawn February 16, winners will be notified by email.