After a prank goes horribly wrong, burning a camp caretaker to a disfiguring degree and five years of recovery, the caretaker takes his vengeance on an unsuspecting camp full of kids.
It’s as simple as that. Just good, bloody, fun.
You’ll recognize Jason Alexander pretty quickly, he’s the guy who still looks 40 hanging out with a bunch of teenagers. It also has a very young Fisher Stevens and Holly Hunter. The Weinsteins have writing credits on this thing, too, and who can pass up a movie including Tom Savini’s famous and gruesome makeup and effects?
One of the best things about these cult horror classics is the over the top gore, illogical reasoning behind everything, and the gratuitous nudity throughout. You’ve come to the right place, folks, this has it all.
The caretaker, Cropsy, is out to get the kids that disfigured him. That’s fine and all, but 99% of the people he kills had nothing to do with that. In these types of movies, you look forward to the kills, or maybe that’s just me and I need professional help. But, needless to say, we watch these for that reason, but there has to be some sort of reasoning behind the killer’s choice in victims. If not, we are just watching people die, and that can be a little disconcerting.
The first half of the film is a little slow. We focus on the current kids we will be watching die horribly. We watch them play jokes on one another, fight with one another, even watch them shower. Occasionally Cropsy is watching from an impossibly low angle like he’s lying on the ground. You’ll know it when the camera gets all hazy, supposedly from the ‘damage’ to his eyes I’m guessing.
The second half picks up the pace very quickly when the group of kids goes canoeing on the river. The infamous raft scene is well known. Most know it for the gore. I know it as the scene that embodies everything illogical about the genre.
Spoilers ahead, but we all know that most of the kids will die anyway, right?
If you refer to my diagram below:
Cropsy is somehow hiding in a canoe. Okay, if lying flat on his back I guess he can be out of sight.
He immediately stands. Standing in a canoe is dangerous, no matter how disfigured and hell-bent on revenge you are.
He brings down his pruning shears and kills kid #1. Wait, what? The kid all the way in the back? Let’s say that Cropsy is 6 feet tall. I’ll even say 6’5 to be safe. To hold five teenagers that thing is going to have to be 6-8 feet long if not longer. Standing in a canoe, ignoring the first two rows of teenagers, and reaching all the way to the back is impossible.
He then proceeds to work backward, killing the kids in the back first, then making his way to the front. It’s hilariously bad, but that’s what I love about it.
I can get past most of the things that don’t make sense, the eye rolling acting, and the often cheesy effects. One thing that bothered me though was the lack of any type of rules that normal horror films follow. Fans of the genre know these, and if you weren’t aware of them, Jamie Kennedy gives you a rundown in Scream. You want to root for the killer in this. He has been wronged, and is seeking revenge. The fact that he seemingly targets people at random is really what bothered me. He kills a prostitute for no reason, then, even kills a teenager who was almost raped but escapes. What happened to the rule that states the virgins live? I forgive this only because the Weinstein’s claim this was written before Friday the 13th, making this one of the first ‘teens in the woods’ type slasher films. I think that if they had Cropsy target all the kids that caused his suffering, it would have been much more gratifying. As it stands, it all just seems too random.
Extras
Blood ‘N’ Fire Memories: A Detailed Look at the Creation of the Film’s Make-Up Effects with Special Effects Artist Tom Savini
Tom Savini shares his memories from The Burning. He has some fascinating insights including the making of the film, the makeup, some of the politics that went on with the film. It is a must watch if you’re a fan of the film or Tom Savini.
Slash & Cut: An Interview with Editor Jack Sholder
Editor Jack Sholder talks about how he came to work on the film.
Cropsy Speaks: An Interview with Actor Lou David
Lou David talks about his work on the film and a little about his past. It’s pretty interesting to get to hear him speak about it, since you never really get to see much of his face in the film.
Summer Camp Nightmare: An Interview with Actress Leah Ayres
Leah Ayres talks about how she got into acting and her work on the film.
Behind the Scenes Footage
Theatrical Trailer
Make-Up Effects Still Gallery
Poster & Still Gallery
Audio Commentary with Director Tony Maylam and International Film Journalist Alan Jones
This was a very interesting commentary. Maylam has a lot to say about the film, and includes several stories about the Weinsteins, which I think makes the commentary worth a listen in itself.
Audio Commentary with Stars Shelley Bruce and Bonnie Deroski
Bruce and Deroski talk about their work on the film, it’s interesting, but not as much so as the previous commentary.
Video
The video is presented in 1080p with a 1.85:1 transfer. Despite the age of the film, the quality holds up fairly well. There are a few minor scratches, noticeable specks and grain, and some of the shots have a fuzzy quality to them. However, the overall quality is impressive simply due to the age of this film.
Audio
The audio includes a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track. It sounds very well, despite the limited range. Sounds are very strong, the screams are all very intense, as well as the chilling score and sound effects.
Summary
Scream Factory gives The Burning a well-deserved treatment. It’s loaded with extras, and gives a new generation a look at one of the first camp slasher films. It’s a shame the film didn’t spawn any sequels, as I would love to see more of Cropsy.
I had a lot of fun with this film, especially sharing it with others who haven’t seen it. Pick it up, watch it with your friends. Anyone who is a fan horror films will absolutely love its ridiculousness.