View source for Firestarter (soundtrack)



{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{about|the soundtrack to the 2022 film|the soundtrack to the 1984 film|Firestarter (1984 film)#Soundtrack}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = Firestarter (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
| type         = film
| artist       = [[John Carpenter]], [[Cody Carpenter]] and [[Daniel Davies (musician)|Daniel Davies]]
| cover        = Firestarter 2022 soundtrack.jpg
| alt          = <!-- [[WP:ALT]] -->
| released     = {{Start date|2022|5|13}}
| recorded     = 2022
| venue        = [[Back Lot Music]]
| studio       = 
| genre        = 
* [[Electronic music|Electronic]]
* [[film score]]
| length       = 42:56
| label        = [[Sacred Bones Records|Sacred Bones]]
| producer     = [[John Carpenter]], [[Cody Carpenter]], and [[Daniel Davies (musician)|Daniel Davies]]
| misc         = {{Extra chronology
| artist = [[John Carpenter]]
| type = film
| prev_title = [[Halloween Kills (soundtrack)|Halloween Kills]]
| prev_year = 2021
| title = Firestarter
| year = 2022
| next_title = [[Halloween Ends (soundtrack)|Halloween Ends]]
| next_year = 2022
}}
{{Extra chronology
| artist = [[Cody Carpenter]]
| type = film
| prev_title = Balance of Extremes
| prev_year = 2022
| title = Firestarter
| year = 2022
| next_title = Halloween Ends
| next_year = 2022
}}
{{Extra chronology
| artist = [[Daniel Davies (musician)|Daniel Davies]]
| type = film
| prev_title = Lost in Departures
| prev_year = 2021
| title = Firestarter
| year = 2022
| next_title = Halloween Ends
| next_year = 2022
}}
}}
{{Album reviews
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/firestarter-2022-original-motion-picture-soundtrack--mw0003714435|title=John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies: Firestarter|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=January 21, 2025}}</ref>
}}

'''''Firestarter (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)''''' is the soundtrack album to the 2022 horror film ''[[Firestarter (2022 film)|Firestarter]]'', directed by [[Keith Thomas (director)|Keith Thomas]]. [[John Carpenter]], [[Cody Carpenter]] and [[Daniel Davies (musician)|Daniel Davies]] serve as composers.

The album was released by [[Sacred Bones Records]] on May 13, 2022, in conjunction with the film's release.

== Development ==
During filming of ''[[The Thing (1982 film)|The Thing]]'' (1982), Universal offered [[John Carpenter]] to direct the original ''[[Firestarter (1984 film)|Firestarter]]'' film, who hired [[Bill Lancaster]] to adapt the novel into a screenplay, which [[Stephen King]] approved of.<ref name=blumhouse>{{cite web|url=http://www.the13thfloor.tv/2016/02/15/5-stephen-king-adaptations-that-died-in-development-hell/|title=5 Stephen King Adaptations That Died in Development Hell|last=Maddrey|first=Joe|date=February 15, 2016|website=[[Blumhouse Productions|blumhouse.com]]|access-date=January 21, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030095043/http://www.blumhouse.com/2016/02/15/5-stephen-king-adaptations-that-died-in-development-hell/|archive-date=October 30, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Months later, Carpenter hired Bill Phillips to write another version with [[Richard Dreyfuss]] as Andy, but when ''The Thing'' underperformed financially, Universal replaced Carpenter with [[Mark L. Lester]], who brought [[Stanley Mann]] to write a screenplay that stayed closer to the novel than the abandoned screenplays that Carpenter had commissioned.<ref name="pink">{{cite web|url=http://thepinksmoke.com/markllester.htm|website=The Pink Smoke|first=John|last=Cribbs|title=The Films of Mark L Lester|year=2011}}</ref>

In February 2022, he, along with [[Cody Carpenter]] and [[Daniel Davies (musician)|Daniel Davies]], were hired to score the [[Firestarter (2022 film)|remake]] for [[Blumhouse Productions]], having previously collaborated with the studio on ''[[Halloween (2018 soundtrack)|Halloween]]'' (2018) and ''[[Halloween Kills (soundtrack)|Halloween Kills]]'' (2021).<ref>{{cite web|title=John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter & Daniel Davies Scoring Keith Thomas' ''Firestarter''|website=Film Music Reporter|url=http://filmmusicreporter.com/2022/02/09/john-carpenter-cody-carpenter-daniel-davies-scoring-keith-thomas-firestarter/|date=February 9, 2022|access-date=January 21, 2025|language=en-US|archive-date=February 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209180453/https://filmmusicreporter.com/2022/02/09/john-carpenter-cody-carpenter-daniel-davies-scoring-keith-thomas-firestarter/|url-status=live}}</ref> The score was digitally released on May 13, 2022, by Back Lot Music and on LP/CD and Cassette on October 14, 2022, by [[Sacred Bones Records]].<ref name="AllMusic" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://filmmusicreporter.com/2022/04/20/blumhouse-firestarter-2022-soundtrack-album-details/|title=''Firestarter'' Soundtrack Album Details|website=filmmusicreporter.com|date=April 20, 2022|access-date=January 21, 2025|archive-date=April 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420195408/https://filmmusicreporter.com/2022/04/20/blumhouse-firestarter-2022-soundtrack-album-details/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/album/5xV4QPhMXZjNbwM05Ng9gX|title=Firestarter (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Album by John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies|publisher=[[Spotify]]|access-date=January 21, 2025}}</ref>

== Track listing ==
{{Track listing
| all_music = [[John Carpenter]], [[Cody Carpenter]] and [[Daniel Davies (musician)|Daniel Davies]].
| headline = ''Firestarter'' (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
| title1 = Mother's Love
| length1 = 3:08
| title2 = Lot 6 (Main Titles)
| length2 = 2:58
| title3 = Are You Scared of Me?
| length3 = 1:00
| title4 = Dodge Ball Heats Up
| length4 = 2:16
| title5 = Corporate Menace
| length5 = 1:36
| title6 = Burned Hands
| length6 = 2:50
| title7 = Rainbird Fights Vicky
| length7 = 1:48
| title8 = Bless Mommy
| length8 = 1:21
| title9 = Flashback Kills
| length9 = 2:51
| title10 = Police Arrive
| length10 = 2:22
| title11 = Sniper Attack
| length11 = 3:44
| title12 = Charlie Alone
| length12 = 0:36
| title13 = Charlie's Powers
| length13 = 1:53
| title14 = I'll Find You
| length14 = 3:03
| title15 = Charlie's Rampage
| length15 = 4:42
| title16 = Rampage Ends
| length16 = 2:52
| title17 = Firestarter (End Titles)
| length17 = 3:46
| total_length = 42:56
}}

==Personnel==
* [[John Carpenter]] – [[Record producer|production]], keyboards
* [[Cody Carpenter]] – production, keyboards
* [[Daniel Davies (musician)|Daniel Davies]] – production, keyboards

== Reception ==
[[Frank Scheck]] of ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' complimented the score, summarizing "in a nicely poetic touch, Carpenter, along with his musical collaborators Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, has provided a terrifically spooky electronic music score for this effort — perhaps its most distinguished element."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scheck |first=Frank |date=May 13, 2022 |title=Zac Efron in 'Firestarter': Film Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/zac-efron-firestarter-1235145897/ |access-date=January 21, 2025 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> Benjamin Lee of ''[[The Guardian]]'' also wrote "[[Scott Teems]]{{'}}s drearily perfunctory script is at least not as howlingly bad as his script for ''[[Halloween Kills]]'', a small mercy, although both films bizarrely share John Carpenter in charge of the music, his throwback synth score working at odds with Thomas's pedestrian aesthetic".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Benjamin |date=May 13, 2022 |title=Firestarter review – soggy Stephen King remake struggles to ignite |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/may/13/firestarter-review-stephen-king-zac-efron-sydney-lemmon-ryan-kiera-armstrong |access-date=January 21, 2025 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

== Accolades ==
The soundtrack was nominated at the 2023 Golden Scythe Horror Awards for "Best Original Score".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.instagram.com/goldenscythehorrorawards/ |title=Golden Scythe Horror Awards |website=Instagram |access-date=January 21, 2025}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{John Carpenter}}
{{Firestarter (franchise)}}

[[Category:2020s film soundtrack albums]]
[[Category:2022 soundtrack albums]]
[[Category:Back Lot Music soundtracks]]
[[Category:Cody Carpenter soundtracks]]
[[Category:Daniel Davies (musician) soundtracks]]
[[Category:Film scores]]
[[Category:Firestarter (franchise)|Soundtrack]]
[[Category:Horror film soundtracks]]
[[Category:John Carpenter soundtracks]]
[[Category:Sacred Bones Records soundtracks]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Firestarter (soundtrack)|access_date=2026-03-03}}