Video Nasty: The Burning (1981)

We continue with the Video Nasty reviews. Way overdue of course but it is what it is. Today's pick is nothing less than a Slasher classic. I've seen this one hundreds of times, but it's only right to watch again when reviewing and I suggest you do the same. Lock the doors, close the windows, lights off, and volume up loud. Don't move or you're DEAD! Light some candles or better yet make a skull and put some lit candles in it for decoration cause hey, that's exactly how The Burning starts.

Plot:
Summer camp, I must admit I loved it in junior high, and like me, the kids at Camp Blackfoot knows how to have fun, meaning pranks with a big P! Most of them quite innocent though like the camp bully, Glazer, about to get glazed by the trusty old airgun, and that shit hurts when it hits, trust me.

As much fun as summer camp is there's usually a kid or employee who ruins the fun, and The Burning is no exception as the camp caretaker Cropsy isn't exactly what you'd call popular among the kids, havin' a rep for being quite a bit of an asshole, so the kids decides to do the right thing, and get more than even on his ass.

Short story short, they sneak into his cabin at night while he sleeps, with the aforementioned homemade skull filled with maggots and lit candles for good measure. They place it by Cropsy's bed, sneak back outside, and starts bangin' his window to wake him up. Well he does, sees the skull, and has a heavy panic attack. Unfortunately for him he bumps the skull over, lighting fire to his own bed, and yes you guessed it, not only does the bed catch on fire but so does the whole cabin with Cropsy inside. Now I've done some heavy pranks in my days but they never turned out quite as bad as this one...

But!...Cropsy survives, and ends up in a hospital with n'th degree burns all over his body. There he's known as the hospital monster. The freak that's burnt so bad that it is what the new doctors needs to see. It's where it's at, and Cropsy is by now a fuckin' Big Mac!...Overdone!

However, not for long, as the Big Mac escapes the hospital, and goes on a killing rampage revenge spree for the kids who were responsible for turning man into monster, so back to the old camp he goes, and that is when the slicing and dicing slasher fun starts, and The Burning has plenty of it. Cropsy stabs, chops, axes, and more than anything, hacks, and he doesn't settle for only the kids who turned him into a monster but any kid that comes in his way gets the Cropsy treatment. He's literally on fire!

What's good:
This is one of the few films that manages to mix comedy with horror without it becoming too silly. The kill and gore scenes are heavy which is why it was banned, thanks to fx master Tom Savini who actually turned down working on Friday The 13th. part 2 in favor of The Burning, but the comedy somewhat lightens up the mood in between the blood and guts.

If you ever went to summer camp this is as real as it gets and brings back fond memories, well, except for a murdering maniac being about, as that was of course mostly campfire tales, and The Burning was based on a real such tale about the Cropsy Maniac. Then there's the incredible musical score! Rick Wakeman's synth score just might be the greatest of all time for a slasher movie, only rivaled by Carpenter/Howarth's original Halloween score in my opinion. All the characters or just about, are likeable too so we don't want em to die, well maybe except for the bully, "You got that!", but even he is a good guy at the end of his days.

What's bad:
For the first time I can't find much bad things to say when reviewing a movie. To some it might be that this film's from the 80's so it's slower than modern films, and a bit outdated, but that's just the way I like em, especially since I grew up in the 80's, and there never was or will be a better time to grow up in. There's also a scene early on where Cropsy kills a prostitute which doesn't make much sense as there were no prostitutes at Camp Blackfoot, no? However that scene looks great in a very Dario Argento type way, but it's out of place considering the revenge type plot.

The verdict:
This is the perfect slasher movie, once again only rivaled by the original Halloween, perfect cast of quite a few who became famous later like Holly Hunter and that guy from Seinfeld, direction by Tony Maylam is superb, villain, plot, musical score, I could go on and on. One of my favorite slashers and one of the very best video nasties that really wasn't nasty enough to be one, but it still delivers on the gore, and the fun, and that means repeated viewings, and plenty of 'em. They truly don't make em like this no more, and it's rep hasn't been ruined by sequels or god forbid, a remake, and if you plan on doing a remake beware that Cropsy's still out there...waiting...watching.

The Burning, you're never gonna forget this man, as long as you live, so for the first time on this blog it will have to be a...

Score:
6 (out of 6)