Attempting to cash in on the early 80's slasher in the woods craze started by Friday The 13th, writer/producer Harvey Weinstein unleashed upon the world a film that not only lived up to the standards set by F13th, but surpasses them.
The film opens by showing us a group of spoiled teenage campers pulling a prank on their drunken caretaker. Somewhere they dig up a worm covered skull, fill it with candles and carefully place it next to the caretakers bed as he sleeps. In what amounts to the funniest two minutes in horror film history. The pimply-faced youths gleefully pound their well-lotioned fist against the window waking the confused drunk, causing him to shriek with terror as he knocks over the flaming skull onto some chemicals. For nearly a minute we watch as this man catches fire, runs around in circles and rolls violently down a cliff before landing in a nearby pond.
After five years of intensive burn treatment our now permanently disfigured caretaker is released back into society and ready for revenge. In what now seems like a fitting tribute to the types of theatres and neighborhoods a film like The Burning would have originally played in upon its release. Our caretaker dressed in a hat and trenchcoat (presumably naked underneith) walks along a glorious street inhabited by sleezy peep shows, grindhouse theatres and hookers galore. One such hooker has the misfortune of luring the caretaker into her room where he filets her with a pair of scissors leaving the entire room completely soaked with blood.
Wisely choosing to work on The Burning over a sequel to Friday The 13th, f/x guru Tom Savini is given the perfect canvas to display the genius of his work. The most notorious of which is the infamous raft scene. When a group of campers take to the river in search of some missing friends they are greeted by a canoe filled with bloodied limbs and a pissed-off caretaker. Sliced off fingers, stabbed through the throat, and slashed along the forehead. Each camper is dismembered gruesomly one by one with a pair of garden shears. I imagine this film played incredibly well amongst teachers, counselers or anyone having to work with annoying teens.
Most reviewers would take a moment to gloat over all of the future stars this film deservedly hacks to pieces. I'm not going to do that. Instead I'd like to throw out the name Ned Eisenberg. Having also had a small role in the cult favorite The Exterminator, Eisenberg would later pay tribute to fanboys everywhere in the role of Wink Barnes in 1985's underrated comedy gem Moving Violations. Sadly, Eisenbergs career as a favorite amongst genre fans never panned out as he was basically lost in obscurity following tiny parts in a bunch of mainstream films nobody liked.
For fans who appreciate their teenage massacres bloody and in bulk, I strongly recommend The Burning.
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