The Burning (1981) (Blu-ray/DVD Review)
Director: Tony Maylam
Starring: Brian Matthews, Leah Ayres, Jason Alexander
Rated: R/Region: A/2:35/1080p/Number of disc: 2
Available from Scream Factory
What starts out as a harmless prank turns into a terrible tragedy when the caretaker at a summer camp winds up horrifically burned. Permanently disfigured, he returns to the campgrounds seeking revenge against the teenagers responsible. His weapon: a huge pair of garden shears!
The Burning is a movie that came along during the golden age of slasher films in 1981. While it may get looked over at times for more popular films like Friday the 13th, but with such people involved like Tom Savini (Doing the effects) this movie delivers where it counts. We end up with a cool story that has a memorable killer with perhaps even a more memorable weapon. There are times when things do drag on a bit without much going other than character development, but it does make up for it later with such scenes like the infamous raft scene.
This movie also packs a very cool theme that is memorable. Is there a few logic issues in this movie? Of course! This was 1981 and a slasher film, those things come with the entire package. If you were to call The Burning a second string slasher you’d have to at least call it top if its class in the group. The movie might not top Friday the 13th, but it beats stuff like Madman and Just Before Dawn any day of the week. The movie also comes with a transfer that works best in close-ups and in any scene involving the water. It is an improvement in all fronts for this release and a must-own when you add everything up.
– Audio Commentary by Director Tony Maylam and Journalist Alan Jones
– Blood n Fire Memories
– Theatrical Trailer
– Interviews with Tom Savini and more actors from the film
