THE BURNING (1981)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Scores of "Friday the 13th" clones cluttered movie theaters in the early 1980's. "The Burning" is one of those clones that got a very limited release. Is it gory and excruciatingly bloody that it deserves its reputation as a video nasty? Not at all, in fact by the standards set by most of these disposable "Friday the 13th" clones, it is fairly mild exploitation that is a slight cut above the rest - let us boldface that word, slight.
The movie begins with a sadistic, alcoholic caretaker of a camping ground who is accidentally and severely burned by some campers who just wanted to play a prank on the guy (it involves a skull with worms and small candles in it, how very prankster-ish). The caretaker, known as Cropsy (Lou David), survives but his face and body resemble a monster who applied a lot of peanut butter to his face, not the wounds of a burn victim (Tom Savini, the expert makeup artist, didn't have enough time to get it right). Nevertheless, the campers and the camp counselors (including Jason Alexander, in his debut) are clueless to any man walking around with a black hat, black coat and black gloves carrying a pair of garden shears. I would think he would stick out like a sore thumb more so than Jason Voorhees carrying a machete, but then who would suspect a burn victim in black clad seeking murderous revenge at a campsite?
One of the problems with these slasher films is that no clear motive is given. Sure, the caretaker was the victim of third-degree burns by foolish campers who had no intention to do the damage they had done. I understand that, but what is up with the gratuitous murder of a prostitute after he is released from a hospital? Why is she a victim? And since this killer is largely faceless and soulless, then we the audience are left wondering why he is killing all the campers. Why not go after those original pranksters?
For a quickie picture like this (produced by Harvey Weinstein!), the acting is not half-bad and it is a kick to see tough-guy Larry Charles as an obnoxious sleaze who wants to have sex with one of the pretty campers. It is less of a kick to see Holly Hunter in her debut with only one line of dialogue! Jason Alexander is damn good and there are some decent scenes between Brian Matthews as Todd, a counselor, and young wimp Brian Backer as Alfred, a consistently harassed camper. Most of the campers are upbeat and friendly so it is a shame to see half of them slaughtered, especially after enduring another have-sex-and-you-will-die cliche. Basically, "The Burning" is as run-of-the-mill as it gets. False scares, vaseline-covered Cropsy point-of-view shots, a few bloody scenes (the canoe slaughter is not nearly as bad as its reputed) and an awkwardly shot and poorly timed copper mine climax. Not in the list of the bottom-of-the-barrel slasher flicks but not quite a decent flick either. Eat some peanut butter instead.
