Zac Efron takes a dramatic turn in Firestarter, a 2022 horror-thriller adaptation of Stephen King's novel about a child whose abilities defy explanation.
What is Firestarter about?
The story centers on a young girl whose mysterious ability to start fires with her mind puts her and her family under threat from forces eager to understand - and exploit - what she can do. As the girl grows more aware of her own power, the film follows her attempt to make sense of an ability she never asked for, while the adults around her, including her father, are forced to protect her from people who see her as a weapon rather than a child. Tension builds around how much control anyone, including the girl herself, actually has over what she can do.
About the cast
Ryan Kiera Armstrong takes the central role, with Zac Efron, Sydney Lemmon, Kurtwood Smith, Michael Greyeyes and Gloria Reuben rounding out the cast under Keith Thomas's direction. The ensemble spans family drama and the shadowy institutional side of the story in roughly equal measure.
Context & significance
Firestarter belongs to a long line of Stephen King adaptations that use a child protagonist with an extraordinary ability to explore fear, control and family loyalty. At 94 minutes, the film moves at a brisk pace across drama, horror, sci-fi and thriller registers, keeping its focus tight on the central family rather than expanding into a larger mythology. Its 2022 release places it alongside a broader wave of King adaptations reaching streaming audiences, following a novel that has stayed in print since its original publication decades earlier.
Watching Firestarter on Ktime
Firestarter is available on K-Time with both Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles, giving Farsi-speaking viewers the choice of how they want to watch. A free K-Time account login unlocks playback, the film's page can be read without signing in, and the K-Time interface stays in Farsi from browsing through to watching.