I've mentioned in previous reviews that slasher films aren't my favorite sub-genre of horror movies, as I prefer the gialli and supernatural horror films from the 1970s that influenced them. Or maybe I just prefer movies from the 1970s in general because even my favorite slasher films were made before 1980. That isn't to say that I dislike '80s slashers, I just usually prefer to watch films which belong to other sub-genres of exploitation and horror. Having said that, The Burning is probably one of the better slashers that I've seen which came out after Friday the 13th. But I'm no connoisseur.
This movie is kind of like Friday the 13th (1980) meets A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) meets the Weinstein brothers - even though The Burning came out several years before Wes Craven's movie and Bob Weinstein claims he helped write the script for this movie before Friday the 13th came out. Anyway, Harvey Weinstein produced the film and Bob was one of the writers and they eventually went on to establish a movie making empire with Miramax Films and then The Weinstein Company. Tom Savini also did the special effects for The Burning so, you know, it has that going for it. It also features a young George Costanza a.k.a. Jason Alexander.
A group of kids at summer camp play a prank on the crusty old janitor but it goes horribly wrong. His cabin catches fire, he's engulfed in flames and he becomes a disfigured, murderous monster known as Cropsy. Years later, Cropsy is released from whatever institution he had been staying at and returns to the camp to do some killin'. With a pair of hedge clippers he starts hacking up of all of those damn teenagers... with their long hair and their make-out parties. It is a slasher after all so there really isn't much of a plot, and there doesn't need to be.
In my opinion, the two hallmarks of a good slasher film are quality boobies and lots of blood and The Burning has an ample amount of sweet teenage funbags, and some of Cropsy's kills are simultaneously gruesome and entertaining. The raft scene, for instance, put a smile on my face. So overall, I give this movie a thumbs up even though I'm not the biggest of slasher fans. Just make sure you get the uncut version.
Violence Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Booby Rating: 3 out of 5
Watch this trailer and see if it reminds you of a certain fake one from Grindhouse (2007).
"Well, the Jerk Store called, and they're running out of you."
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