The Burning Review

With the weather starting to warm up and many kids heading to camp soon, I decided to review the 80's slasher classic, The Burning.
The movie was produced by the then new company Miramax Films run by Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob Weinstein. Harvey wrote and produced while Bob co-wrote the screenplay. Brad Grey, who later became Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, was another of the film's writers. Called a Friday The 13th ripoff by many critics, true horror fans seem to know better. The film follows Cropsy, an alcoholic, sadistic caretaker for a summer camp called Camp Blackfoot. He is pranked by a group of campers who felt it was necessary to get him back for his cantankerous ways. The prank goes awry and Cropsy is left in a hospital for five years. After many skin graphs and surgeries to no avail, Cropsy goes back out into the world again but this time he is a changed individual inside and out. Cropsy, back in society, feels more than obligated to pay a visit to some individuals at a place called Camp StoneWater, just across the way from his old stomping grounds. If you watch the uncut version, there is an extra scene that leaves the ending ambiguous, making you contemplate if the films events even happened. Aside from a good story, there are a few other things that make this film interesting. One is the cast. We get to see a young Jason Alexander(Seinfeld) in his first feature performance, and albeit in a much smaller role, Holly Hunter. The viewer is also treated to great effects by super guru Tom Savini, who turned down Friday The 13th Part 2 to do this film. If you are a fan of 80's slasher fare including a deranged killer, nudity, sex, and lots of gore The Burning won't let you down. I enjoy this movie every time I watch it.