Firestarter: John Carpenter Releases First Track From Stephen King Reboot Score
As if a new adaptation of Stephen King's Firestarter isn't already an exciting enough event for fans, John Carpenter is composing the music for the project with Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, with the first track from the album being released online. The past decade has seen the filmmaker focusing more on music, releasing not only original tunes with his Lost Themes albums, but also crafted the scores for both Halloween and Halloween Kills. Interestingly, this new Firestarter marks the rare collaboration in which he didn't work directly on adapting the film itself, whereas he served as a producer on recent Michael Myers films. You can listen to the first track below before the soundtrack is released digitally on May 13th, the same day Firestarter lands in theaters and on Peacock. You can also pre-order vinyl, CD, and cassette versions of the soundtrack at Sacred Bones Records.
The label describes the release, "The horror master John Carpenter is back with his Halloween franchise collaborators Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter for their infectious new soundtrack to the 2022 adaptation of Stephen King's Firestarter. This marks the first official soundtrack that the team has composed together outside of the Halloween franchise and their inspiration and evolution as a creative team is on full display.
"The film is a new take on the thriller examining a girl with extraordinary pyrokinetic powers and her fight to protect her family and herself from sinister forces that seek to capture and control her. The film releases theatrically on May 13th and stars Zac Efron, Sydney Lemmon, Ryan Kiera, is directed by Keith Thomas (The Vigil) and created by the producers of The Invisible Man. The story has become a classic and the intense nature of the film creates a canvas for a dynamic soundtrack.
"The Firestarter soundtrack utilizes some of the best elements of Carpenter's famous musical repertoire and charts exciting new territory. The tracks range from fist-pumping sci-fi anthems to slow, reverb-drenched piano ballads and each utilizes a variety of sonic applications. Skulking beats, skittering synths, crushing guitars, and an ever-lurking echo come together to create an album that is atmospheric and also deeply melodic, cohesive, and eclectic. These three musicians are all working in the peak of their individual and collaborative creativity and this soundtrack further solidifies them as masters of the craft."
Adding another layer of significance to this album is that Carpenter was attached to adapt the novel years ago, though that project ultimately fell apart due to budgetary restraints.
Firestarter lands in theaters and on Peacock on May 13th.
Will you be grabbing a copy of the album? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!