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Blu-ray Samurai
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redrunner97
SLASHTEMBER - DAY 2: THE BURNING (1981)
Don't look. He'll see you. Don't breathe. He'll hear you. Don't move... You're dead!
[Show spoiler]I first saw The Burning when I was in middle school. I remember reading somewhere that it was considered a rip-off of Friday the 13th, though I reject that notion after reading up on the production timeline of both films. Still, the comparison intrigued me a lot. I had to see this movie. But I couldn't find it anywhere, so I got some help from my parents to order the DVD from Best Buy. Waiting on that package to come felt like a million years. But when I finally got to stick this bad boy in my DVD player, it did not disappoint. Since then, it's been pretty highly regarded by me and never absent from my collection. But, for whatever reason, I hadn't seen it in couple years. Until tonight, that is.
Opening with what's effectively a 15 minute origin story for our killer, we're shown the birth of a boogeyman when a group of mischievous teenage boys play a prank on the groundskeeper of their Summer camp in upstate New York. Their fun and games quickly turn deadly after the man is accidentally engulfed in flames and left to burn. Miraculously, he survives, but is left horribly disfigured, mentally deranged, and with an insatiable thirst for revenge.
It's a great setup, with great payoff later in the movie. But it's missing something in between, a connection, a rationale, a motive. Because, for starters, our killer doesn't immediately go get his vengeance. No, he decides to randomly kill a prostitute for seemingly no reason whatsoever. Then he makes his way to a completely different camp, full of campers who didn't do anything to deserve such a grisly fate. I never really noticed this plot point before, I guess I always assumed it was the same camp, five years later. But it's not. He just went to a different camp. Did he get lost on the way? Did he kill all the other perpetrators of his assault, and went to find the final one (who was, as far as we now, coincidentally working at the same random summer camp that the killer stumbled across)? It doesn't make a ton of sense, but if you just chock it up to "he's evil and wants to terrorize campers because campers terrorized him," I guess it makes enough sense. Still, I can't quite shake the feeling the writers (one of which was controversial former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein—but we'll get to him soon, don't worry  ) just didn't know what to do with this strange villain they created.
Part-campfire story, part-flesh-and-blood homicidal maniac, The Burning's killer is based on the upstate New York urban legend of "The Cropsey Maniac." This version of the character seems to be grounded in reality more so than the one of lore. That's fine, but it left me with a lot of questions this time around, questions I never bothered to ask in any of my previous viewings.
But even the muddled motivation and backstory of its killer can't hold this movie back from slasher greatness. Legendary special effects mastermind Tom Savini's work is on full display here. That raft scene alone is iconic, and what he was able to do with such environmental and spacial constraints is beyond impressive. Cropsey's burn look is eerily authentic, if a bit dated looking back. For comparison' sake, Cropsey's design looks more like Jackie Earle Haley's version of Freddy Krueger than Robert Englund's classic take, but I guess that makes sense since the former was going for a more true-to-life burn victim look as well.
We also get to seen an insane number of soon-to-be stars in this ensemble, but this is a very well acted film, even beyond the big names. From Jason Alexander (with hair!) and Holly Hunter to Leah Ayres and Brian Backer, it's obvious the casting director for this project had a great eye for talent. Miramax really lucked out, and in their first big production no less.
Speaking of Miramax... I can't ignore some of the super creepy stuff in this movie in light of the #MeToo movement's successful takedown of notorious sleazeball (and Miramax founder) Harvey Weinstein. As I mentioned earlier, he's credited with creating the story and working on the script. I'm not sure how involved he actually was, but given what we know about him now, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he had a big say in some of the more... vulgar aspects that made it into the movie. Like the random hooker murder, for instance? Or our "final boy" basically being a huge perv who watches people take showers (sound familiar?) and bang in the woods? Or the MULTIPLE attempted sexual assaults (including a scene where a girl is actively saying "no, stop," before getting prematurely ejaculated into by a guy who refused to wear cheap condoms... and another pretty unsavory skinny dipping scene that doesn't feel sexy or fun at all). It's just interesting, especially in retrospect, knowing all he was into and capable of later in his career.
Also, it bothers me that the lead male counselor tells the story of Cropsey like it's a legend. YOU JUST ALMOST KILLED HIM. Do you have no empathy for this poor old man? If it were me, I would never want to talk about him again, not run around sociopathically making up horror stories about the guy I almost murdered (stories that just happen to come true?). It's really strange. It makes him come off like some kind of cruel as$hole, while the movie treats him like he's a hero. Same for the "final boy," who is really just a weird little perv. I don't mind them being garbage people, just please acknowledge it in the movie, don't act like they're adhering to the slasher rules and reward them with survival in the end, without even winking at the conventions you're trying to upend. But I digress.
I know this probably read like a negative review at times, but I promise it's not. Lol. I really, really love this movie. Sure, part of that love is definitely fueled by nostalgia. But I mostly love this movie because when it works, man does it work! Long live Cropsey!
You can read my review for Graduation Day tomorrow, over in the '80s Slasher thread! Come talk slashers with us. I promise, we don't bite...  |
I've always been somewhat curious about this one. The artwork's pretty rad. Gonna have to watch this now!
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