Video Nasty #17
The Burning
1981
A LEGEND OF TERROR IS NO CAMPFIRE STORY ANYMORE!
A BRUTAL HORRIFIC ACT MADE HIM KILL AND KILL AND KILL
IT WILL TAKE YOU FURTHER THAN FEAR.
GATHER AROUND THE CAMPFIRE TO DIE!
NTSC Running time: 91:22
Directed by Tony Maylam
Story by Harvey Weinstein, Tony Maylam & Brad Grey
Screenplay by Peter Lawrence & Bob Weinstein
Created and Produced by Harvey Weinstein
Horror Sequence Designer & Special Make-Up Effects by Tom Savini
Horror Sequence Designer & Special Make-Up Effects by Tom Savini
Starring: Brian Matthews, Leah Ayers, Brian Backer, Larry Joshua & Lou David as Cropsy
Body Count: 10
Availability: Uncut Region 1 DVD from MGM
BBFC Status
Why it's a Nasty: Intense sequences of gore! There is at least one shot of blood on breasts, which the BBFC says is a big no-no.
What was cut: The original UK cinema release was cut by 10 seconds during the prostitute murder and the raft massacre. When the film was finally certified 18 for video on October 16, 1992, an additional 9 seconds were removed, cutting more of the raft massacre and removing the bloody boobs as mentioned above.
Current UK status: The uncut version of The Burning was certified 18 on August 14, 2002.
UK Availability: Uncut Region 2 DVD available from Blackhorse Entertainment.
The Burning was successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act, making it one of the DPP39.
A lot of early 1980s slasher films can boast having a future star or two. The Burning probably holds the record.
The very first production from Miramax films (notice those ever-present Weinstein Bros. up there?), it was the feature film debut of Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens and Holly Hunter. One of the co-writers wrote episodes of cartoons from my youth ("Thundercats" and "Silverhawks"). Another became head of Paramount Pictures. The director is still working, but mostly in documentaries. And Tom Savini...well, Tom was already horror royalty when The Burning went before the cameras, having just finished Friday The 13th and Maniac. Savini, in fact, turned down Friday The 13th Part 2 to work on The Burning. (Tom was not happy at the lack of continuity between F13 one and two. I don't blame him.) Praise Jebus that Tom felt that way. The Burning may be his best work...which is saying a lot, considering the man once orchestrated the obliteration of his own head via shotgun. It is Savini's talent and the freedom he was given with his setpieces that landed The Burning on the Video Nasties list, the only film released by a "major" studio to be given the "honor" (the US and UK video releases were distributed by Thorn/EMI, then a major player in the film market...but not for too long afterwards).
The Setup:
Camp Blackfoot, 1976: Five teenage boys, fed up with the cruel treatment meted out by Cropsy, the groundskeeper/caretaker, decide to play a vicious prank to even the score. But it all goes horribly wrong when the shack, the rest of the camp, and Cropsy himself are consumed by flames. Doused by a river, but very much alive, Cropsy spends five years in a burn unit...and picks up a prostitute as soon as he gets out. Too bad she never learned her manners. Cropsy butchers her when she expresses disgust with his malformed face.
1981: Up the river a ways from the ruins of Camp Blackfoot, Todd (Brian Matthews) and Michelle (Leah Ayres) have their hands full, as counselors to a wild group of teens at yet another camp. We meet and get to know several of the kids: Alfred (Brian Backer), a voyeuristic loner; Woodstock (Fisher Stevens), a too-skinny worrywart; Dave (Jason Alexander), the wisecracker who seems to be friends with everyone; Eddie (Ned Eisenberg), self-described ladies' man; Glazer (Larry Joshua), a blustering bully; Sally (Carrick Glenn), Glazer's sort-of girlfriend and the object of Alfred's repressed desire; Karen (Carolyn Houlihan), Eddie's would-be girlfriend.
Unlike a lot of summercamp slasher films, the kids in The Burning are for the most part a likable bunch and they seem to be having a good time at camp (Compare this bunch to the kids in Sleepaway Camp, who are all mean and stupid). But when our group of older kids take a canoe trip downriver, they end up near the ruins of Camp Blackfoot and enter Cropsy's domain...
The original UK video release was not based on the UK X-certified version. Nor the US R-rated cut. Thorn/EMI's original UK video release was "accidentally" unrated and uncut. And seeing as the violence is exceptionally brutal (compare The Burning to Friday The 13th, there is almost no gore in the latter), it's not surprising that notice was taken. The film's centerpiece is the "Raft Massacre", a bravura sequence in which FIVE kids meet their ends at the hands of Cropsy and his bigass garden shears in the space of thirty seconds. I can't think of another slasher film that even attempts such a thing - for the most part, slasher killers wait until their victims are by themselves, or occupied with an attractive member of the opposite sex and oblivious to who might be sneaking up behind them. It's an amazing sequence, and the main reason why the film is held in high regard by horror fans who have seen it. Savini held nothing back on this film: He created some of his bloodiest and most memorable effects sequences for this production, and the Raft Massacre is the pinnacle of them all.
And since we've covered dead teenagers, let's move on to the other staple of the slasher film, gratuitous nudity! Almost all of the boy's asses are seen at one point or another (you might even spy some between-the-legs balls!). Early in the film, one girl steps into an outdoor shower, always an ominous fixture in horror films since 1960's Psycho. Our view is strictly shoulders and up at first, holding long enough to make us think this will be a G-rated shower...until the camera zooms out for no reason other than to put the girl's breasts on the screen, then zooms back in before anything actually happens. Now that's gratuitous! There's something so charming about that kind of cinematic behaviour. The only thing I can think of to improve it would be to do the same with the male characters as well, even out that playing field a bit.
The Burning also has something most slasher films lack: at least one strong male figure. The slasher film is usually focused on a female character who is left to defeat the villain. In this case, it is a male who delves into the monster's lair to wage the final battle...which leads to a jarringly clumsy moment. In what is intended to be a standard slasher moment - the final reel "reveal" of a corpse as yet undiscovered by anyone in the film - our hero turns to see what is meant to be the dead body of a girl killed off by Cropsy halfway through the picture. What's wrong is that the character wasn't meant to be making any kind of discovery at that point. It was decided in postproduction that he should encounter the corpse. So what he sees is a freezeframe taken from the murder setpiece, poorly cropped with a black matte. You can still see the trees behind her, even though her "body" is supposedly underground. A shoddy, inept moment in what is otherwise a very well-executed piece of horror cinema.
For best results, kill the lights, cuddle up under a blanket with someone attractive, and turn up the volume as you watch this one. Keep a window open, too, so the ambient sounds of the night intrude. It will keep you on edge. You never know if Cropsy might be lurking outside, garden shears at the ready. Don't say I didn't warn you.
It's been almost a year since I started this endeavour, and I must say that I'm a bit disappointed with my pace. That's okay, though, because I also like savouring the experience. And if you find yourself in upstate New York, avoid the ruins of burned-out summer camps. There might be a burned-up madman lying in wait. Heed my warning. I sure will. Because my name's Justin. JustinCase.
The very first production from Miramax films (notice those ever-present Weinstein Bros. up there?), it was the feature film debut of Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens and Holly Hunter. One of the co-writers wrote episodes of cartoons from my youth ("Thundercats" and "Silverhawks"). Another became head of Paramount Pictures. The director is still working, but mostly in documentaries. And Tom Savini...well, Tom was already horror royalty when The Burning went before the cameras, having just finished Friday The 13th and Maniac. Savini, in fact, turned down Friday The 13th Part 2 to work on The Burning. (Tom was not happy at the lack of continuity between F13 one and two. I don't blame him.) Praise Jebus that Tom felt that way. The Burning may be his best work...which is saying a lot, considering the man once orchestrated the obliteration of his own head via shotgun. It is Savini's talent and the freedom he was given with his setpieces that landed The Burning on the Video Nasties list, the only film released by a "major" studio to be given the "honor" (the US and UK video releases were distributed by Thorn/EMI, then a major player in the film market...but not for too long afterwards).
The Setup:
Camp Blackfoot, 1976: Five teenage boys, fed up with the cruel treatment meted out by Cropsy, the groundskeeper/caretaker, decide to play a vicious prank to even the score. But it all goes horribly wrong when the shack, the rest of the camp, and Cropsy himself are consumed by flames. Doused by a river, but very much alive, Cropsy spends five years in a burn unit...and picks up a prostitute as soon as he gets out. Too bad she never learned her manners. Cropsy butchers her when she expresses disgust with his malformed face.
1981: Up the river a ways from the ruins of Camp Blackfoot, Todd (Brian Matthews) and Michelle (Leah Ayres) have their hands full, as counselors to a wild group of teens at yet another camp. We meet and get to know several of the kids: Alfred (Brian Backer), a voyeuristic loner; Woodstock (Fisher Stevens), a too-skinny worrywart; Dave (Jason Alexander), the wisecracker who seems to be friends with everyone; Eddie (Ned Eisenberg), self-described ladies' man; Glazer (Larry Joshua), a blustering bully; Sally (Carrick Glenn), Glazer's sort-of girlfriend and the object of Alfred's repressed desire; Karen (Carolyn Houlihan), Eddie's would-be girlfriend.
Unlike a lot of summercamp slasher films, the kids in The Burning are for the most part a likable bunch and they seem to be having a good time at camp (Compare this bunch to the kids in Sleepaway Camp, who are all mean and stupid). But when our group of older kids take a canoe trip downriver, they end up near the ruins of Camp Blackfoot and enter Cropsy's domain...
The original UK video release was not based on the UK X-certified version. Nor the US R-rated cut. Thorn/EMI's original UK video release was "accidentally" unrated and uncut. And seeing as the violence is exceptionally brutal (compare The Burning to Friday The 13th, there is almost no gore in the latter), it's not surprising that notice was taken. The film's centerpiece is the "Raft Massacre", a bravura sequence in which FIVE kids meet their ends at the hands of Cropsy and his bigass garden shears in the space of thirty seconds. I can't think of another slasher film that even attempts such a thing - for the most part, slasher killers wait until their victims are by themselves, or occupied with an attractive member of the opposite sex and oblivious to who might be sneaking up behind them. It's an amazing sequence, and the main reason why the film is held in high regard by horror fans who have seen it. Savini held nothing back on this film: He created some of his bloodiest and most memorable effects sequences for this production, and the Raft Massacre is the pinnacle of them all.
And since we've covered dead teenagers, let's move on to the other staple of the slasher film, gratuitous nudity! Almost all of the boy's asses are seen at one point or another (you might even spy some between-the-legs balls!). Early in the film, one girl steps into an outdoor shower, always an ominous fixture in horror films since 1960's Psycho. Our view is strictly shoulders and up at first, holding long enough to make us think this will be a G-rated shower...until the camera zooms out for no reason other than to put the girl's breasts on the screen, then zooms back in before anything actually happens. Now that's gratuitous! There's something so charming about that kind of cinematic behaviour. The only thing I can think of to improve it would be to do the same with the male characters as well, even out that playing field a bit.
The Burning also has something most slasher films lack: at least one strong male figure. The slasher film is usually focused on a female character who is left to defeat the villain. In this case, it is a male who delves into the monster's lair to wage the final battle...which leads to a jarringly clumsy moment. In what is intended to be a standard slasher moment - the final reel "reveal" of a corpse as yet undiscovered by anyone in the film - our hero turns to see what is meant to be the dead body of a girl killed off by Cropsy halfway through the picture. What's wrong is that the character wasn't meant to be making any kind of discovery at that point. It was decided in postproduction that he should encounter the corpse. So what he sees is a freezeframe taken from the murder setpiece, poorly cropped with a black matte. You can still see the trees behind her, even though her "body" is supposedly underground. A shoddy, inept moment in what is otherwise a very well-executed piece of horror cinema.
For best results, kill the lights, cuddle up under a blanket with someone attractive, and turn up the volume as you watch this one. Keep a window open, too, so the ambient sounds of the night intrude. It will keep you on edge. You never know if Cropsy might be lurking outside, garden shears at the ready. Don't say I didn't warn you.
It's been almost a year since I started this endeavour, and I must say that I'm a bit disappointed with my pace. That's okay, though, because I also like savouring the experience. And if you find yourself in upstate New York, avoid the ruins of burned-out summer camps. There might be a burned-up madman lying in wait. Heed my warning. I sure will. Because my name's Justin. JustinCase.
Killer movie, killer score = all that is essential to my formative 80s nasty years.
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