Stephen King is rightly considered one of the best contemporary writers, and as such, he comfortably shares his thoughts on any of the adaptations of his works. King has had fewer adaptations of his books than William Shakespeare, yet even the most successful ones have not always been among the writer's favorites.
For instance, everyone knows how much King dislikes Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, but there’s another film that has become the leader in the amount of hate King has directed toward it.
Stephen King Hates Firestarter Even More Than The Shining
The film based on King's novel was released in 1984, starring a young Drew Barrymore in the lead role. While the movie didn’t leave a significant impact on critics or audiences, it most deeply bothered King — so much so that he called Firestarter the worst adaptation of his books up until that point.
According to the author, the movie felt like mashed potatoes from a cafeteria — bland and tasteless, despite sticking closely to the novel's plot. King also noted that while the film may have been accurate in terms of the storyline, many elements in Firestarter made no sense, such as its visual effects.
Firestarter Had a Remake — Equally Disastrous
Perhaps a couple of years ago, King’s opinion changed slightly, and the worst film in his list was no longer Firestarter, but its 2022 remake again called Firestarter. The modern adaptation didn’t benefit from new technologies — the critics’ reviews plummeted even further, with some even ranking the remake as one of the lowest in the long list of King’s movie adaptations.
