Carnage

Watched this for the first time in nearly forty years recently, and have to say, I enjoyed it much more than I did first time around.

I think I've become that disillusioned with the horror genre in recent times, too many people making dreadful films just because they can, now equipment is affordable, complete with poor cinematography and dreadful acting.

This, whilst not an Oscar winner, has good performances and cinematography, plus great special effects of course.

I'd actually put it above the first couple of Friday 13th films in terms of quality, far more entertaining.

The Burning has the great fortune of being a product of the early 80's slasher fest that greeted audiences in the hundreds. Some genre highlights were produced from ca. 1980-1984, a time when these films took themselves semi-seriously and were moderately successful at creating creepy atmosphere, displaying gratuitous nudity and inventing some spectacular death sequences. The late seventies laid the groundwork for what was to become a stable formula for these movies and for a minimum budget and isolated surroundings the films could provide some solid shocks and gore that pleased audiences.

The Burning is nearly identical in plot and storyline to Friday the 13th. Here the bad guy is a burn victim as a result of a prank gone awry and years later he takes vengeance on unsuspecting campers in gruesome fashion. While the movie is pretty slow and the gore fest doesn't really start until an hour in it's never boring. Here's where the film is different from Friday the 13th and many others: The teens aren't merely disposable pricks who you can't wait see get their grisly demise. They're actually a pretty likable bunch, well played by some future stars (Jason Alexander, particularly likable here, and Fisher Stevens among them) and when some get slashed you kinda feel bad for them.

Now for what really counts. Two things; gore and mood. The Tom Savini gore effects do not disappoint. Keep in mind that this is 1981 and digital effects have improved horror gore somewhat but this is pretty impressive stuff. The raft scene is a particular standout. As for mood, you can't beat these early 80's alone-in-the-woods scenarios and they're all well played out here. Although there are a lot of false scares here, they're buildups are great and the creepy surroundings go a long way. If films like Psycho made people afraid to take a shower and Jaws made people afraid of the water then films like The Burning and Friday the 13th must have made a few parents hesitant at sending their kids to summer camps.

Fans of slasher films will not want to miss The Burning. Although Friday the 13th is more suspenseful and The Burning feels a bit too stretched, it nevertheless has plenty of good moments and top notch kill scenes. What's not to like?

One of the first (and best) horror films to follow in the massive success of Friday the 13th (1980) is this terrifically bloody slasher film.

Prank leaves camp caretaker horribly disfigured and ready for some harsh vengeance. Enter a band of teenagers and a sharp pair of garden shears...

While admittedly The Burning isn't the most well-written horror movie of the period, it's definitely one that delivers great atmosphere and suspense. Even better for genre fans, it boasts the spectacular gore FX from master makeup artist Tom Savini. The FX in this film are highly bloody, especially during the infamous 'raft' scene. This, along with a spirited cast, nice wilderness locations, and a tension-filled electronic music score makes this film a pretty well done slasher flick. Oh, also there's a good bit of nudity which helps to make it even more of a guilty pleasure for slasher fans.

Cast-wise the movie holds its own too. Brian Matthews makes for an OK leading man, but it's really the supporting cast that highlights here. Young Jason Alexander and Fisher Stevens both make their film debuts here (along with a passing Holly Hunter) and prove to be likable goofs. Also good is Larry Joshua as the beefy camp bully.

So slasher fans, The Burning is one flick that's not to be missed. Be sure to find an uncut version of it though.

*** out of ****

Summer camp caretaker Cropsy is fire roasted when some pranksters try to scare him with a flaming skull. Five years later, after numerous failed skin grafts, Cropsy is released back into society with a horribly scarred face and even more scarred psychological make-up. Now he's got a bone to pick and returns to the same camp of his accident (after gutting a hooker in the stomach with a pair of scissors) to get revenge on the new campers populating the camp. Armed with a pair of hedge clippers he doesn't hesitate to hack into a dozen or so foul-mouthed, oversexed teens, setting aside special interest in counselor Todd (Brian Matthews), who was one of the kids responsible for his burning. Even though it's saddled with a tired, predictable plot, this is still one of the best of the Friday the 13th rip-offs, and that has a a lot to do with Tom Savini's gory special effects. The music score is also excellent and there are fun appearances by Jason Alexander, Holly Hunter, the guy who played Ratner in Fast Times at Ridgemont High and some other recognizable faces before they were famous. The original VHS of this film was heavily trimmed to remove the gore, but that footage has since been restored. I saw the uncut version on Showtime actually.

Although Friday THE 13TH has more fame, THE BURNING — with an almost identical premise — is just as much a classic movie of the slasher genre. It has hypnotic 80's synth tunes combined with a gruesome killer and an iconic weapon: The massive garden scissors that we also see on the movie's beautiful poster art.

The story, although predictable, isn't all that bad, and the characters, although somewhat stereotypical, are interesting enough to keep you going. Most importantly, some of the scenes involving the killer are genuinely frightening, with some pretty effective jump scares. Add to this make-up effects by Tom Savini and you have a round package of gore and horror that has aged well. I think THE BURNING is as suspenseful today as it was in the 80's.