• PDI Press

    PDI Press

    BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

    PDI Press
    January 17, 2022 2

    Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Seven)

    PDI Press
    January 16, 2022 1

    Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Six)

    PDI Press
    January 15, 2022 3

    Featured

    BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

    John E. Meredith
    PDI Press
    January 17, 2022 2
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Marvel at the Movies
    • Muppets 101
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • The Psycho Drive-In Podcast
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews

    Reviews

    Superman (2025)

    Movies
    July 10, 2025 95

    Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025)

    Movies
    June 26, 2025 9

    Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)

    Movies
    June 8, 2025 14

    Featured

    Superman (2025)

    Nate Zoebl
    Movies
    July 10, 2025 95
    • Books
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews

    Interviews

    Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

    Interviews
    July 13, 2018 397

    David Black: Carnies, Carnage, and the Creative Chaos of Darkness Visible

    Interviews
    March 7, 2017 223

    Jaiden Kaine joins the Marvel Universe as new Luke Cage baddie, Zip

    Interviews
    September 29, 2016 9

    SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Batman: The Killing Joke

    Interviews
    July 28, 2016 61

    SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Syfy’s Van Helsing

    Interviews
    July 27, 2016 4

    Wondercon Interview: The Cast of Damien

    Interviews
    April 16, 2016 3

    Featured

    Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

    The Final Girl
    Interviews
    July 13, 2018 397
  • News

    News

    Regular Show: The Complete Series DVD is here!

    News
    February 9, 2025 20

    “PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT” UNLEASHES TERRIFYING UNDERGROUND HORROR – A PSYCHEDELIC CULT MOVIE EXPERIENCE COMING SOON!

    News
    November 15, 2023 74

    Breaking Down The Upcoming DC Studios Slate

    Shot for Shot
    February 1, 2023

    Featured

    Regular Show: The Complete Series DVD is here!

    Paul Brian McCoy
    News
    February 9, 2025 20
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Shop
Breaking
  • Superman (2025)
  • Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025)
  • Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)
  • From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (2025)
  • RSS
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Who We Be
  • Contact
    Home
    Columns
    Classic Film/New Blu

    The Burning (1981)

    Adam Barraclough
    Classic Film/New BluColumnsDVD/Blu-rayMoviesReviews
    October 25, 2013 21

    In an alternate universe very much like our own, few people have ever heard of Jason Voorhees but everybody knows horribly burned summer camp killer Cropsy!  There have been twelve The Burning films, a TV series, tons of merchandise and even a crossover flick co-starring Freddy Kreuger, the similarly singed star of theNightmare on Elm Street series.  In this alternate reality, the mangled visage of Cropsy is one of the most widely recognized icons in horror.

    Burning_Cropsy

    Alas, in our reality poor Cropsy is barely known and Jason Voorhees is the international celebrity.  Things might have been different had fledgling producers the Weinsteins and their newly minted production company Miramax rushed The Burning into production when the project was first pitched and beaten Friday the 13th to the punch.  Or so the story goes.  Watching The Burning it’s difficult to imagine that any of it was written without cribbing directly from Friday the 13th and meant entirely to capitalize on the then red-hot 80s slasher film trend.

    The formula is pretty damned transparent:  Summer camp kids play a prank on the much-maligned camp caretaker, a notorious booze-hound named Cropsy, and he ends up engulfed in flame.  (Perhaps he’d doused himself in hi-octane hooch before taking a nap?)  Five years of painful reconstructive surgery later, and remembered now only as a camp legend, Cropsy returns to Camp Blackfoot to seek revenge on those horny troublemaking teens!

    Burning_Burning

    So what makes this film worth holding on to?  Why the deluxe reissue by Shout! Factory?  There are multiple reasons that The Burning stands out, but what it boils down to is that though it may not be innovative in terms of concept, it is often very creative in terms of presentation and execution thanks in large part to the involvement of effects legend Tom Savini.  And it likely doesn’t hurt that The Burning features the first big-screen roles of Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens and Holly Hunter.

    That pool of talent also contributes to one of the film’s problems.  As we get to know this cast of goofy kids, they are actually pretty likeable.  Particularly Jason Alexander, who expresses the same quick wit and snappy humor that brought him success later in his career on Seinfeld.  There’s a bully character that you can’t wait to see filleted, but for the most part you really don’t want to watch any of these kids die.  They may smoke a little pot and a couple of them end up fucking in the woods, but these aren’t the empty soulless sin-filled whiny assholes offered up for sacrifice in other slasher pics of the era.  They’ve got heart, they’re funny and their friendship seems genuine.

    Burning_Buddies

    It helps then that the kills are spectacular, quick and brutal.  Cropsy’s weapon of choice is a pair of long-bladed garden shears and he makes good use of them; chopping, stabbing and slicing his prey to death.  Savini’s innovation shines here and he describes in an included interview how he tried to make each effect more bloody and outrageous than the last.  One scene in which Cropsy dispatches five campers in quick succession is so rapid-fire that it makes Voorhees and Myers seem positively shambling and sluggish by comparison.

    For the era, The Burning is shockingly graphic, a fact which led to it making the notorious UK “video nasty” list.  Fans of the film have long savored Savini’s artful practical effects, including a scene in which a character’s fingers are sliced off in a spray of blood and flying digits, another in which a teen is speared through the throat by Cropsy’s blades, then hoisted off the ground as the point of the shears are driven deep into the wood of a nearby tree, and yet another in which he opens a young woman’s forehead to the bone with a single powerful slice.  Cropsy is never seen as supernatural per se, but he does possess a certain measure of very determined strength and he pursues his vengeance with zeal.

    Burning_Shadow

    As for the look of Cropsy himself, Savini is said to have crafted the fiend’s melty visage in only three days, perhaps explaining why he looks more like a wax museum figure that got a little too close to the radiator than an actual burn victim.  That said, Cropsy does look horrifying, and thanks to a multi-layered makeup process the effect is sufficiently creepy and unsettling.  Played by Lou David, Cropsy looks just as intimidating and hulking as his slasher-film brethren, moreso given that his own warped visage serves in place of any hockey mask.

    It’s not entirely clear why The Burning never spawned a sequel.  Friday the 13th Part II was filmed and released around the same time, as were a flood of other slasher flicks, so perhaps it was simply buried.  Still, it would seem there was enough here to warrant further interest and I’m happy to have a pristine HD release of a film I fondly recall from my first forays into slasher horror.

    The print is solid, though what you expect from something of this budget and era when transferred to Blu-Ray.  There are a few “Cropsy POV” scenes in which the lens has been smudged around the edges, and though it’s a bit of a cliché it makes a little more sense here given the burn damage to his face and eyes.  It’s occasionally apparent that certain scenes were shot day-for-night as the Blu-Ray makes it easier to spot the filter, but nothing is too terribly distracting.

    Burning_Careful

    Extras

    Commentary Track 1:  Director and co-writer Tony Maylam, moderated by Alan Jones.  These two Brits have a dry-witted good time discussing various aspects of the film.  Though Maylam lets a few pokes at the Weinsteins slip by, it’s not quite the confessional of their down-and-dirty antics that it feels like it could be, given what’s hinted at; Maylam is too loyal to dish much.  Thankfully he’s also wonderfully self-deprecating, often admitting how cookie-cutter and by-the-numbers the whole production is.

    Commentary Track 2:  Stars Shelley Bruce and Bonnie Deroski, moderated by Edwin Samuelson.  Through fun recollections of their time spent filming, the ladies provide some insight into the filming process — which closely mirrored the summer camp experience being brought to the screen.  You get a feel for the camaraderie and fellowship that influenced the performances and made the characters so damn likeable.

    Burning_Surprise

    Blood ‘n’ Fire Memories Featurette:   Tom Savini gives the scoop on his role in The Burning in the standout of this release’s specially produced featurettes.  Savini is a cocky asshole, but he’s one amazingly talented cocky asshole and it’s great to hear him reminiscing about this shoot.  He also drops the juicy tidbit that he passed up working on Friday the 13th Part II to do The Burning and though this may not have set him off on much of an altered career trajectory, it’s interesting to speculate about how that may have changed either film.

    Slash & Cut Featurette:   Editor Jack Sholder discusses the challenges of editing the effects for as much realism as possible, focusing mostly on the infamous raft scene.

    Cropsy Speaks! Featurette:  Lou David is a strange, strange man and though he is delighted to share his thoughts on playing Cropsy, he waxes sentimental about the birth of his son and needing to make a tough career choice going to work on the film the day after his son was born.

    Burning_Flames

    Summer Camp Nightmare Featurette:  We hear from Leah Ayers (Bloodsport) who gives more background on the groovy summer camp vibe of the film.  She mentions the Weinsteins (who were still very much in the concert promoter game at the time, hauling all of the young cast further upstate to see George Benson in concert.

    Behind-the-Scenes Footage:  Some nice chunks of handheld behind-the-camera footage of the effects sequences.  It’s odd that this wasn’t simply spliced together with Savini’s interview as he discusses much of it without it being shown, and when it is shown here it isn’t given much context.  Still, it’s neat to see, especially having already heard Savini’s take on these clips.

    Still Gallery:  Vintage posters and stills, some nice effects shots

    Original Trailer

    And as with all the recent spate of Shout! Factory reissues, The Burning comes with new cover artwork courtesy of Nathan Thomas Milliner.  It’s one of my favorites of the crop, and as with the others is reversible should you want to display the original poster art.

    APPIP ERROR: amazonproducts[
    AccessDeniedAwsUsers|The Access Key Id AKIAIIK4RQAHE2XK6RNA is not enabled for accessing this version of Product Advertising API. Please migrate your credentials as referred here https://webservices.amazon.com/paapi5/documentation/migrating-your-product-advertising-api-account-from-your-aws-account.html.
    ]
    (Visited 819 times, 1 visits today)

    Related

    Adam BarracloughBlu-rayclassic film new bluthe burning

    FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
    Previous The Vampire Diaries 5.03 “Original Sin”
    Next 31 Days of Halloween: Day 25 – V/H/S 2
    monsterid
    Adam Barraclough
    Gentleman of Sin / Guiding Light
    Adam Barraclough is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Hi-Fructose magazine as well as at crowndozen.com One of his earliest movie memories is going to the drive-in with his parents when he was seven and staying awake in the back seat for the second feature to see The Road Warrior. When asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he replied "Godzilla".  This still remains his life-goal. Obsessions include sci-fi, horror, toy culture and lowbrow art. He can be found tweeting acerbically @GentlemanSin

    Related Posts

    Babylon 5 Complete Series Blu-ray Review

    Paul Brian McCoy
    DVD/Blu-ray
    December 9, 2023 393

    Alien Day Retrospective

    psychodr
    Shot for Shot
    April 26, 2021 2

    Daily Top Ten

    • i-spit-on-your-grave-09The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
    • guinea-pig-devils-experiment-headerSick Flix: Guinea Pig – Devil’s Experiment (1985) by Corin Totin
    • Starlost-06Lost in Translation 389: Remaking The Starlost (1973) by Scott Delahunt
    • babylon-5-blu-ray-04Babylon 5 Complete Series Blu-ray Review by Paul Brian McCoy
    • superman-headerSuperman (2025) by Nate Zoebl
    • airwolf-01Lost in Translation 362: Remaking Airwolf by Scott Delahunt
    • MacbethShakespeare’s Macbeth (2010) by Paul Brian McCoy
    • MadS-headerCahiers du Horror 16: Director Roundup March 2025 by Fred L. Taulbee Jr.
    • muppetmadness-headerMuppet Madness: You’re the Director by Jessica Sowards
    • The BodyResurrecting and Redeeming The Dead Girl in… by Thom V. Young
    400x400 GI Joe Funko Banner

    Weekly Top Ten

    • i-spit-on-your-grave-09The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
    • superman-headerSuperman (2025) by Nate Zoebl
    • star-wars-headerLost in Translation: The History of Adaptations, 1970-79 by Scott Delahunt
    • babylon-5-blu-ray-04Babylon 5 Complete Series Blu-ray Review by Paul Brian McCoy
    • belladonna-03Big Eyes Smart Mouth: Belladonna of Sadness by Serdar Yegulalp
    • 80s-headerLost in Translation: The History of Adaptations, 1980-89 by Scott Delahunt
    • 2001Lost in Translation: The History of Adaptations, 1960-69 by Scott Delahunt
    • goldfinger-headerLost in Translation: The Bond Project – Goldfinger by Scott Delahunt
    • mary-shelleys-frankenstein-headerEZMM 2024 Day 4: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994) by Paul Brian McCoy
    • men-in-blackLost in Translation: The History of Adaptations, 1990-99 by Scott Delahunt

    psychodrivein

    We came here to chew bubblegum and write intelligent reviews and commentary on cult TV and movies! And we're all out of bubblegum!

    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S02E30 - Jaren Gets A Comic Grail

In this episode of ANYTHING JOES, Jaren scores a long-time comic grail and we’re celebrating! 
—
Watch the @AnythingJoesPod guys at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoe #MarvelComics
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: ZARTAN UNBOXED! | Hiya Toys 1:18 G.I. Joe Figure Review & Comparison 

In this video, Greg cracks open the Hiya Toys 1:18 scale ZARTAN figure and takes a detailed look at his design, articulation, and accessories.
—
Watch Greg at the link in our profile!

@AnythingJoesPod #AnythingJoes #Zartan #HiyaToys #GIJoe
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com The Psycho Dri Today at https://psychodrivein.com

The Psycho Drive-In Podcast 07: Superman (2025)

Join Paul and John on the Psycho Drive-In Podcast as they delve into the first official DC Universe live-action film release, Superman!
—
Listen to the boys at the link in our profile!

#PsychoDriveIn #PsychoDriveInPodcast #Podcast #Superman #JamesGunn #DavidCorenswet #RachelBrosnahan #NicholasHoult #DCU #DC
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 483: One More Trailer

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a period piece set in the 60s, around the time the comic was first published.
—
Read more of Scott’s article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #FantasticFour #FantasticFourFirstSteps #MarvelStudios #MCU
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Superman (2025 Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Superman (2025)

Superman is proof that the DC film universe might actually have the perfect person in charge of charting their cross-franchise courses.
—
Read more of Nate’s review at the link in our profile!

#Superman #JamesGunn #DavidCorenswet #RachelBrosnahan #NicholasHoult #DC #DCU
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 482: Examining Recent Trailers

Two new trailers dropped that are of interest to Lost in Translation: Spaceballs 2 and The Naked Gun!
—
Read more of Scott’s article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #Spaceballs2 #TheNakedGun #Trailers
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Final Destinat Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025)

FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES is a return to form for a franchise that never should have been on the brink of death.
—
Read more of Nate’s review at the link in our profile!

#FinalDestination #FinalDestinationBloodlines #AdamBStein #ZachLipovsky #KaitlynSantaJuana #TonyTodd
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S02E29 - File Card Focus: Big Boa
 
Greg and Jaren return to take a hard look at Cobra’s one-man trainer: Big Boa! 
—
Watch the @AnythingJoesPod gang at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoe #Cobra #BigBoa #FileCardFocus
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com The Psycho Dri Today at https://psychodrivein.com

The Psycho Drive-In Podcast: 28 Years Later

Paul and John are back with a new PSYCHO DRIVE-IN PODCAST with a brand-new review of 28 YEARS LATER plus a look back at the franchise, its themes, its innovations, and its impact on the genre!
—
Listen to the guys at the link in our profile!

#ThePsychoDriveInPodcast #28YearsLater #28WeeksLater #28DaysLater #DannyBoyle #AlexGarland #AlfieWilliams
 #AaronTaylorJohnson #JodieComer #RalphFiennes
    Follow on Instagram

    Look Who's Talking

    Shawn EH
    Shawn EH - 5/4/2025
    Thunderbolts* (2025)
    Yep, very well done; avoiding the big flashy battle that these heroes (can any of you fly?)...
    Ideonova
    Ideonova - 12/26/2024
    Page to Screen: F. Paul Wilson’s The Keep
    Not living up to the source material? What source material? The book is a predictable, at times...
    Fred L. Taulbee Jr.
    Fred L. Taulbee Jr. - 8/17/2024
    Cahiers du Horror 03: Frank Henenlotter and The Brain that Wouldn’t Die
    I need to see that again. Maybe make it a double feature with All of Me. Steve Martin is someone you...
    RSSTwitterFacebookinstagramtumblr

    Archives

    Large_rectangle_336X280
    • PDI Press
      • PDI Press Catalog
      • PDI Press Writers
        • Fiction
    • Columns A-D
      • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
      • ABCs of Horror
      • All Binge… No Purge
      • Anything Joes
      • Beautiful Creatures
      • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
      • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
      • Cahiers du Horror
      • Dispatches From the Field
      • Drive-In Saturday
      • Dungeons & D-Listers
    • Columns F-P
      • The Final Girl
      • First Looks… Second Thoughts
      • The Flesh is Weak
      • Innocence and Experience
      • Lost in Translation
      • Marvel at the Movies
      • Muppets 101
      • Page to Screen
      • Popcorn Cinema
      • The Psycho Drive-In Podcast
      • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
    • Columns S-Z
      • Schlock & Awe
      • Shakespeare on Film
      • Shot for Shot
      • Sick Flix
      • Unnatural Selections
      • Versus
      • Video Word Made Flesh
      • We Got Lists
      • Women in Horror
      • The Xeno File
      • Zombies 101
    • Reviews
      • Books
      • Comics
      • DVD/Blu-ray
      • Movies
      • TV
      • Series
    • Interviews
    • News
      • Trailers
    • Psychos
    • Shop
    • PDI Press
      • PDI Press Catalog
      • PDI Press Writers
        • Fiction
    • Columns A-D
      • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
      • ABCs of Horror
      • All Binge… No Purge
      • Anything Joes
      • Beautiful Creatures
      • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
      • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
      • Cahiers du Horror
      • Dispatches From the Field
      • Drive-In Saturday
      • Dungeons & D-Listers
    • Columns F-P
      • The Final Girl
      • First Looks… Second Thoughts
      • The Flesh is Weak
      • Innocence and Experience
      • Lost in Translation
      • Marvel at the Movies
      • Muppets 101
      • Page to Screen
      • Popcorn Cinema
      • The Psycho Drive-In Podcast
      • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
    • Columns S-Z
      • Schlock & Awe
      • Shakespeare on Film
      • Shot for Shot
      • Sick Flix
      • Unnatural Selections
      • Versus
      • Video Word Made Flesh
      • We Got Lists
      • Women in Horror
      • The Xeno File
      • Zombies 101
    • Reviews
      • Books
      • Comics
      • DVD/Blu-ray
      • Movies
      • TV
      • Series
    • Interviews
    • News
      • Trailers
    • Psychos
    • Shop
    Type to search or hit ESC to close
    See all results
    Username
    Password
    Remember Me
    Lost password?
    Create an account
    Username
    Email
    Cancel
    Enter username or email
    Cancel