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Reviewed by:
Ian Jane on September 17, 2007.

The plot of The Burning isn’t all that original. Nor are the performances particularly amazing. The direction is mediocre and the sets are unoriginal – while the filmmakers claim they had the idea before Sean Cunningham made Friday The 13^th, the film still feels like a rip-off. So why does this little slice and dice opus from 1981 hold such a special place in the hearts of so many genre fans? 

The story begins when Cropsy (Lou David), the janitor at a summer camp that oddly resembles Camp Crystal Lake, is severely burned by some of the campers when their prank goes horribly wrong (on a trivial note, those who pay close attention will notice that the stuntman on fire in this scene is noticeably wearing a big helmet). The janitor eventually receives a whole lot of treatment at the hospital and is released back into the general population, but he’s scarred for life and just isn’t really too normal anymore. 

A few years later a new batch of kids show up at the camp for the summer. The camp counselor's are all randy and promiscuous and most of the kids are dopey and annoying but nobody, save for Todd (soap opera star Brian Matthews), had anything to do with the burning years back. Sadly, the crispy janitor returns and goes on a pretty rampant killing spree which of course, ends up back at the camp that caused him so much distress in the first place. Initially the only one who figures this is really happening is a quirky kid named Alfred (Brian Backer of Fast Times At Ridgemont High and Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol!) but once the bodies start piling up it doesn’t take long before the others realize that Alfred is right. Soon a whole new generation of kids are going to learn the hard way that you shouldn’t burn janitors in while they sleep or they’ll return and chop off somebody else’s fingers with a pair of garden sheers. 

As stated, The Burning isn’t terribly unique and the script is fairly clichéd but what does make the film work are the gore effects by Tom Savini who really delivers the goods this time out. Campers are chopped up and wasted in all sorts of creative ways and there is no shortage of onscreen carnage to keep the gore-hounds happy (highlighter by a sheers through the throat and into a tree scene that still packs a punch). In the film’s most infamous moment, five separate teens on raft are killed in under a minute. The film was subject to quite a few cuts over the years and, thankfully, MGM’s spiffy new DVD presents the film intact and uncut on this release. 

In addition to the gore, the film also marks the acting debuts of Jason Alexander of Seinfeld fame, who oddly enough, plays a character that almost resembles a young George Costanza not only in looks but in personality as well. Holly Hunter also makes her debut here, but if you blink you’ll miss her as she’s only in it briefly. 

Harvey and Bob Weinstein got their start on this one as well, and as we all know, they would go on to inflict much evil upon the cinematic world and start Miramax. Harvey co-wrote the film as well as co-produced. Rick Wakeman, of Yes fame, provides a typically eighties sounding synth-rock score to complete the package nicely.

Brian Matthews, Brian Backer, Lou David, Leah Ayres, Larry Joshua, Jason Alexander