In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Saturday 8 August 2015

The Burning (1981)

In the first release from Miramax Films, the Weinsteins used the basic slasher film structure made popular by such films as Friday the 13th and Halloween and injected the urban legend of Cropsy (a scary story really told around campfires at the time). In this version, a prank gone wrong on a hated camp groundskeeper leaves a man burned beyond recognition and out for revenge. It's very derivative of the genre and even the director admits its cookie-cutter, but with a positive crew and the sfx guru Tom Savini behind the gory mayhem, it works quite well. The director Tony Maylam did a nice job of setting the killer apart with the use of a simple yet unique POV and the iconic wielding of his deadly shears. It's too bad the ample amount of build-up is squandered with a less-than-effective reveal in an abbreviated conclusion.

3 rafting massacres out of 5

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