Editor Reviews:

Amazon.com:
Oh, those crazy days of slasher films, when every summer camp became a potential slaughterhouse. The Burning was one of the flood of movies that followed the success of Friday the 13th, and it's more notable today for an unexpected roster of talent than for its success as a horror movie. You will note that the opening titles feature the unusual credit of "Created and Produced by Harvey Weinstein," and sure enough, this is the first feature film bearing the name of the future Hollywood mogul. Let's acknowledge that Weinstein's instincts were shrewd, since this junky thing fit right into the kill-the-teenagers trend after Friday the 13th, and thus a safe way to get a return on investment. We're at Camp Blackstone, where a disfigured loony, still sizzling after getting burned by unhappy campers years earlier, exacts his revenge on the empty-headed current crop. Among the campers are future Seinfeld star Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens, and (in a smaller part) Holly Hunter. There's a vintage early-'80s synthesizer score by Rick Wakeman, but the real star of the movie is effects whiz Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead), who does his bloody best with the murders. We don't care much about the teenagers, but students of gore will savor the throat-cuttings and the finger-loppings. --Robert Horton

Rating : - Arts, crafts, rafting and gardening with Cropsy
Though the economy has since tanked, throwing us into a global recession, in 2007 the prayers of the crazed and few Burning fans were finally answered, when this thing finally got a US DVD release after being released everywhere except its country of origin (naturally).

The Burning is a 1980 slasher, part of the crop of 'classics' now being remade (and this will will be remade). It's not dissimilar to Friday the 13th, mega-hit of the same year. Seems that some dastardly kids want to play a prank on nasty old coot Cropsy, the alcoholic caretaker of a summer camp. The prank ends up with Cropsy doing the walk of fire, toasted and left for dead.

Five years later, Cropsy unofficially takes up his old job of camp caretaker and begins bumping off a new crew of camp counselors, including Holly Hunter, Jason 'Costanza' Alexander, and Fisher Stevens. It's an oddly semi-celebrity early reunion going on here in between Tom Savini's very bloody work. And that work is left intact in this version, including the infamous raft massacre where Cropsy works those trademark hedge clippers with fury.

Some good effects, one or two creepy uses of the woods, but overall...for all of its 1980-ness and 'classic' slasher elements, this actually could have been much, much better. They don't really show much of Cropsy, and not that they should...but still, they really don't do anything with him. Not enough to warrant a sequel then, either. And the fiery ending, there's something strange about it, like the director forgot to tell them he was actually filming that scene---it's a muted slasher climax. And isn't 'Cropsy' an old legend told at every summer camp? They don't play that angle up, either...there's nothing supernatural going on here, just Cropsy, really irate, with a pretty nasty face (how can he see to wield those blades?) knocking off fools. I can definitely see a remake...in 3D, maybe depending on the success of My Bloody Valentine 3D.

But for this price, and the fact that they finally, finally released the damn thing in the US, it's certainly recommended to genre fans. And Costanza is still Costanza, thought he is spared Cropsy's shears.

ALSO of note---in a sure sign that the world may soon end, not only did they finally release this on DVD, but around the same time, the Rick Wakeman soundtrack finally appeared on CD (which is probably still available). Sought by fanatics and hedge clipper fans, it was out of print since the original vinyl. Eventually, someone listens in the Burning archives. If Anchor Bay is not preparing a box set, complete with mini hedge clippers for the 30th anniversary release, they're crazy.