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The Burning (1981) DVD Review
The Burning (1981) DVD Credits:
The Burning (1981) Directed by:
Tony Maylam
The Burning (1981) Written by:
Not available at this time
The Burning (1981) Cast:
Brian Matthews, Jason Alexander
The Burning (1981) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
The Burning (1981) DVD Release Date:
10th September 2007
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The Burning (1981) Synopsis:

The Burning (1981) DVD Review:

Jason began his slaughtering in the woods to avenge his mother, who began avenging neglectful counselors and it was constant teasing that caused the gender confused killer in Sleepaway Camp to kill. The Burning, which follows the summer camp tradition, sets up a situation in which the kids are responsible for the horrific burning of a camp caretaker when a prank goes terribly wrong. Vengeance always seems to be reason enough to destroy a summer camp and go on a killing spree of horny young teenagers, and The Burning is only too happy to continue this tradition.

Camp Stonewater may as well be any number of camps. The kids in the camp are as generic and unimportant as any of the countless Friday the 13th films, and even after years have passed since the accident this is the area the caretaker naturally chooses to begin his slaughter. After years in the hospital attempting to recover from the awful burns caused by the prank, he is finally released, covered from head to toe in dark black clothing to cover his disfigurements. As generic as the kids are, a few of the actors playing them may stick out for fans. Hard as it may be to imagine, Jason Alexander has a full head of hair, which makes him much more believable as a camper in danger.

For a while campers and counselors became nearly indistinguishable in these horror movies. Wanting enough attractive females for the killer as well as a more acceptable target to kill, the kids are usually older, which makes them seem nearly as old as the counselors, who are always young enough to still be sexually appealing. The cast ends up looking to be around the same age, but it doesn’t matter so long as the scares stay consistent. Even when no true adults are in sight and the campers are reading playboy and smoking we don’t question it, and considering the type of entertainment it is better not to. They live in a camper’s paradise, with no adult in sight, and even one of the campers that caused the caretaker’s accident seems to be one of the head counselors in charge. This also makes for a killer’s paradise, which is quickly becomes as the campers are hacked to pieces one by one.

This task is helped a great deal when a canoe trip separates many campers from the group. This is when the usual slaughter fun becomes the focus. The killer’s weapon of choice is a pair of gardening shears; not the most logical weapon considering very little gardening is needed in the wilderness, and the amount of stabbing and slicing becomes repetitious as well. Nevertheless, there are plenty of deaths and more than a few opportunities for the teenagers to get naked before dying. The Burning has all of the elements required for a camp horror film, but the paint-by-numbers aspect of the film just makes the horror predictable and generic.

Despite the fact that this may not be a film many remember, at least outside of horror cult circles, there is actually a rather good commentary track with director Tony Maylam and international journalist Alan Jones. They discuss the international reception of the movie, specifically in the UK, where each of the commentators are from, as well as the technical aspects of the violence as done by Tom Savini, the famed special effects creator. There is also a featurette about the deaths in the film and a theatrical trailer.

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The Burning (1981) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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