45 Years Anniversary Review Of The Burning

I can still remember in late November back in 1992 when i was walking downtown of my home city Uddevalla. Back then we had 2 different cinemas in our city, we had the major cinema called Saga Biografen and we had a smaller one that was located quite far away of the street known as Drottninggatan. Why i remember late November of 1992 specifically was because of the latest cinema release of legendary actor Rutger Hauer´s latest film Split Second. The cinema poster was the most coolest poster i had seen in a long time, and since i had seen a lot of his classics such as Blade Runner, Flesh & Blood, The Hitcher, Wanter Dead Or Alive, Blind Fury and many other titles on VHS, of course i was excited about this film. Especially when i found out Split Second is a futuristic sci fi action horror film combined, set in London in the future. I did not see the film in cinema, even if i wanted to see it on the big screen it just never happened. But i did buy the VHS release and it did turn out to be a great film. Directed by Tony Maylam, Rutger Hauer plays Detective Harley Stone, a man filled with personal struggles and addicted to coffee. He is on the hunt all over London after a serial killer, who leaves pentagram markings on dead bodies. This is no odinary serial killer though, this seems to be a serial killer that is not human. Split Second is not only a cool action film, the horror elements with the monster works as well And i have tto say the costume design of the monster looks great ( considering the budget this film had ). Worth picking ip on physical media. Speaking of director Tony Maylam, many years after i watched the film Split Second i discovered that Tony also directed the 1981 slasher horror classic knoan as The Burning. A film i first saw back in 2002 on a UK full uncut version dvd release. I don´t have that dvd release in my movie collection ( a former working collegue kept it, without permission, he just borrowed it to watch it and never returned it ), but that´s ok because i have the film on a even better blu ray release. Since this film turned 45 years old this year i decided to check out my blu ray copy and do a annivversay review. Is this still a great slasher horror film, or have this film aged a lot over the years and lost some of it´s charm?

An evil summer camp caretaker known as Cropsy ( Lou David ), working at a summer camp known as Camp Blackfoot is accidently severly burned from a prank gone horribly wrong. 5 years have passed since this happended, it´s another summer camp filled with teenagers and children, where everyone tries to fit in and join the summer activities. And it seems that Cropsy is still alive, ready to kill anyone who gets in his way.... 

While the 1980´s was filled with horror slasher movies and a lot of films were similar to Friday The 13th, i would still say that The Burning stood out a little bit from some of the horror films in this category. The fact that this is supposedly a man who was burned inside alive, barely made it and now revenge those who hurt him. that´s still different from Jason Voorhees as an example. I think this was a good choice considering you want the character to be remembered, to be able to make the film feel more effective. Especially if we are talking about a slasher horror film, since in this category we have a lot of forgettable killers that don´t really stand out. The best part of The Burning ( outside of some fun characters ) is actually the brutal killing scenes by practical make up artist legend Tom Savini. Even if these kills are not his best work in his horror career, i think they still look good considering this is such an early film in the 1980´s. There are several really bloody scenes that look quite good, and this is exactly what you want in a film such as this. The mask of the killer may look cheesy today, but i still like the design by make up artist Tom Savini. it has a very 80´s feeling to the design which i find delightful. The acting is actually not bad for a B movie horror film such as this, i have seen some terrible acting in many slasher horror films of the 1980´s, and The Burning actually have some descent acting performances. I especially like the acting performances by Brian Matthews and actress Leah Ayres ( who would later in the 80´s be in the Jean-Claude Van Damme classic Bloodsport ). It´s fun to see Seinfield actor Jason Alexander in a very early acting role, he is quite charming in this film. Anything negative to say? I could probably dive into some smaller issues, but why bother when The Burning is a beloved classic slasher horror film by fans worldwide. I do think this film looks pretty good considering the budget, and director Tony Maylam use the locations quite effectively to the slasher horror story. I still think Split Second is the best film director Tony Maylam made, but in second place i feel that The Burning have a worthy position there. Definetely wirth a watch if you just want a cheesy fun slasher horror film from the 1980´s.

Rating: DDD

If you want a really nice blu ray version of The Burning and live in Scandinavia, you should pick up your physical copy of The Burning here from the official store of Filmvalvet in the following link:

The Burning – Filmvalvet - Studio S & Friends

If you live in Europe and want a Region 2 blu ray of The Burning with great special features, get your physical copy right here on the follow link from Arrow Video:

The Burning Dual Format Blu-ray - Arrow Films UK