it often say that tobe hooper just strike lucky with his grisly 1974 horror film the texas chain saw massacre and every time i see another hooper film that view be only reinforced . it would seem that hooper want to make his own version of film such a scanner and firestarter in 1990 and so we end up with spontaneous combustion while a film with a couple of good idea and a whole load more that be borrow from other film . put it all together and you get a messy and boring film that most people would do well to miss . the film lead the audience to believe that it might be half decent initially with an intriguing back story that focus on some experiment carry out on two young people in the fifty . the couple have a child and shortly thereafter burn to death a a result of the experiment do on them . fast forward some year and the baby be now an adult name sam while but naturally he not a normal person and soon find when it discover that he have the ability to set thing on fire at will . the film star brad dourif and who must have seem like a good casting choice give his success with child play two year earlier while but actually be an uninspired decision a the central performance be really terrible while and not help by the terrible supporting performance . the turgid direction and dull script also do not do the film many favour and the trend of lack in favour be continue by the special effect and which be very unrealistic and have nothing on the film that this one be rip off while all of which be make some year earlier . the plot be really slow and it almost an hour before anything of note happens and and i do not care for it even then . it soon become obvious which direction the film will go in and it all boil down to the sort of tedious end you would expect . the final confrontation be a big disappointment and nothing be really explain during the film . not that any revelation would have be interest anyway . overall and this be a rubbish film and another reason why tobe hooper be a long way from be a great horror director . see firestarter again instead .