THE
BURNING (1981)
Directed by Tony Maylam
Thorne/EMI VHS
Reviewed 11.09.04
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
Put your brain to work, just for
a minute. When you try to make a
criteria list for the constitution
of a great slasher (creepy, not
hilarious, mind you), what comes
to mind? The fair game is painfully
obvious: dopey teen stalk ‘n’
sex, gooshy blood, and at least
a few requisite scares. That said,
Miramax’s The Burning
covers all the expected bases. But
there’s more. Quite a bit
more.
Brace yourself, now. About midway
through the film, I became so wrapped
up in the characters’ happenings
that I forgot I was watching a slasher.
It’s true! Granted, we’re
not talking high art here, but The
Burning patches up the technical
holes that usually plague these
nostalgic thrill-fests. In other
words, this is a smart, fleshed
out, and well acted creeper that
actually manages to rifle up some
scares. Really.
Let’s take things a little
differently. Going in, I knew next
to nothing about this film. The
jolts and plot turns were some of
the most successful aspects, so
I’m going to keep things loose.
Ok? At Camp Blackfoot, a group of
five dorky 80s dudes decide to play
a trick on Cropsy, the camp caretaker.
Apparently, he’s one mean
s.o.b., always harassing the kids
for no good reason. The prank leads
to an accident, sending dear Cropsies
into a flaming mess. Five years
later, Cropsy’s burns still
haven’t healed and he’s
released from the hospital. Order
up one set of razor sharp hedge
clippers, lineup the kids ‘n’
counselors in the woods (including
Jason Alexander and Holly Hunter
in debut roles), and make reservations
for revenge. Cropsy is all set for
the real world and he’s really
mad. But like I said, there’s
more to it than that.
Before the blood flows, The
Burning unexpectedly hits you
with a rarity in the slasher world:
likable character development. Sure,
most of the male characters are
sex-obsessed clichés (mongoloid
“Glazer” is particularly
hilarious), but the interaction
between the kids has a “real”
quality to it. Never too weird or
ridiculous, which places one foot
in reality and suggests a coming-of-age
feel. There’s also a great
denseness to the woods; certain
shots linger on while the soundtrack
goes dead and we have a few moments
to reflect. The blood hits hard
and heavy about halfway through,
utilizing insanely quick edits and
Tom Savini’s top notch gore.
Although some biggie plot missteps
appear and the direction isn’t
particularly stylish, things wrap
up nicely with the very scary and
claustrophobic finale.
Basically, this is an 80s horror
film that still holds up for reasons
that were originally intended, despite
its familiar settings. Given the
glut of 80s slashers that are downright
hilarious when viewed today, that’s
saying a lot.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Pretty bad, but most likely due
to the age of this ex-rental tape.
The picture had a layer of haze
over it, looking like a copy of
an original, eventhough it wasn’t.
There were a few speckles here and
there, as well as some split-second
black blemishes. The mono sound
was a little low, but fine.
EXTRAS
Not a thing. Oh wait! Thorne/EMI’s
logo, sporting prismatic lasers
and cheap solar flares.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Make room on your shelf, right next
to Black Christmas and
Just Before Dawn,‘cause
The Burning is one fantastic
slasher. Rumor has it that a DVD
will appear sometime in 2005 and
I can’t believe it hasn’t
happened sooner. |
Right face, familiar?
Bloody rafts & stuff
Kitty corner choke
Scissor kicks
|
