by Victoria Potenza, Staff Writer

On August 5th, 2018 I started hosting movie nights at a local dive bar in Philadelphia. I decided that I should kick things off with a summer slasher for my August debut. I picked a film I had only discovered in the last few years and watched a low quality version of on youtube called The Burning. Although I had never seen a decent quality transfer of the film until after I picked it for the movie night, I knew there was something special about this movie and I was dying to show it off to my friends attending that night. Now I have seen the film multiple times and it was an essential film for me to introduce my partner to when we started dating. The Burning is certainly a beloved film in the horror community but still feels like a film that is overshadowed by the franchise that eked out its first film right before this one, Friday the 13th. Jason became a household name while Cropsey was left in the dust. While Friday the 13th and its many sequels and remake have stood the test of time The Burning is probably better than almost every Jason film.

Now it is important to mention that this film was written by and helped launch the career of Harvey Weinstein, a true garbage human that has tainted plenty of films as his crimes have come to light in recent years. While there are plenty of other creatives that worked on this film it still leaves a black mark on this summer slasher. It is an unfortunate fact to grapple with but there is ultimately so much about this film that is enjoyable and makes it a good slasher that I will not waste any more words on this slimeball. 

The Burning was released in 1981 by British director Tony Maylam. The film is based on an urban legend from the upstate New York area about an escaped patient from a mental institution who goes by the name of “Cropsey”. In this story Cropsey is a mean old caretaker that works at a summer camp. Some of the campers decided to play a prank on him which goes terribly wrong and leaves the caretaker burned beyond recognition. Years later Cropsey has recovered and is released back into society but he decides to head back to his old camp and seek revenge on the campers there. While the film may not be as remembered as films like Halloween or Friday the 13th it was able to make a name for itself even at the time. It landed itself on the infamous Video Nasties list of banned films in the U.K. Although this may have affected its distribution it certainly made it live in infamy and sought after by the greedy horror crowd. 

I love a film that has urban legend/folklore roots and the Cropsey story is so memorable that a documentary was released in 2009 about the roots of this legend. Although the film takes many of its own liberties that vary from the stories people have told about the supposed real life Cropsey it does have at its core, the idea of storytelling. Several scenes in the film show the camp counselors telling the story of Cropsey and the evil he enacted on the poor campers. This aspect of the film feels very tied to memories of camp and adolescence and how oral storytelling is something we have relied on for centuries. It elevates the film from a slasher to a film that feels elemental and inevitable. While also being a crazy slasher with plenty of bloodshed .

The film also launched the career of several actors including Jason Alexander, Holly Hunter and Fisher Stevens. In fact this is the first credited role for Jason Alexander who is a fit young man with a full head of hair. While he is almost unrecognizable, his role as the “class clown” of the group makes one see exactly why he becomes a Seinfield staple. In fact many of the characters of the film are fun to watch, even when they are rather unlikable. The meathead Glazer, played by Larry Joshua, is one of the most ridiculous macho New Yorker types that has ever graced Hollywood. The lead counselor couple Todd and Michelle feel like interesting flushed out characters that are actually trying to make smart decisions for the group they are in charge of. While almost everyone is put through the ringer and even the virgins come to die this film leaves the viewer uncertain of what might happen to its cast. Although the kids are goofy and over the top, there are many scenes where they feel like they are being real kids which played against the horrors of the film make it hard to know what will happen. 

One of the main reasons why this film works so well is because Tom Savini is responsible for the make up effects and the multiple scenes of gore. Savini worked on the first Friday the 13th but turned down working on the sequel to do The Burning instead. And I am so pleased he made that choice, the practical effects of this film are one of its strongest aspects. While Savini was supposedly displeased with the end result of Cropsey I think he is one of the more memorable slasher villains. Although he is mostly dressed in black, with the giallo black gloves and hedge clippers, his burns revealed in the final scenes are both hilarious and horrifying. There is also the infamous paddle boat scene which ends in an insane amount of blood shed and gore. If you have the opportunity to watch the behind the scenes footage of how Savini pulled off these stunts. 

There are also other crew members who contributed to this memorable slasher. Harvey Harrison worked on the film as the Director of Photography and this film looks great. Thanks to companies like Shout Factory which have released great blu-ray transfers of the film you can appreciate how great the film looks. Harrison went on to work on films like The Witches, American Gothic, Equilibrium, and V for Vendetta. Something else that always contributes to a great horror film is an excellent score. The Burning has a memorable score that is sometimes jarring and loud in the moments of true terror. Rick Wakeman can be thanked for that as well as the score for Ken Russell’s (The Devils, Altered States) Crimes of Passion starring Kathleen Turner and Anthony Perkins. With great photography, effects, and music this film goes above and beyond to create a memorable slasher. 

While I mostly love this film for how fun and bloody it is, there are a lot of interesting stories with its main characters. This film has a troubled “final boy” similar to A Nightmare on Elm Street 2. It is clearly trying to say something with its many problematic and toxic men. Even Cropsey cannot be a villain one empathizes with when you learn what a sadistic man he was before the burns. There is a reason this film is so beloved by horror fans and as we celebrate its 40th anniversary this year one can hope that more people get to discover what a gem this film is.