The Burning VCD review
sorry folks. i was going to bring you an actual DVD review (since my debut DVD review turned out to be a DVD-R review), but when i watched the intended film, i watched every feature on the disc EXCEPT the commentary. yep, i'm a dumbass. so instead of the intended film, i'll be reviewing the oft-unseen slasher, The Burning. the time: 1981. the studio: the fledgling film company, miramax.
some time in the late 70's, at a summer camp, some teens decide that they've had enough of maniacal camp caretaker, cropsy (lou david). cropsy is a drunkard who tortures, yells, scares, and allegedly has been violent with the campers (how this would be allowed, even in the late 70's, i'll NEVER know). so, some of the teens decide that they've had enough of ole cropsy and they pull a prank on him. sneaking into his cabin while he is passed out, they place a maggoty skull on his nightstand, with two lit candles in the eye sockets. they rush out of the cabin, peer in from a window, and bang on it until cropsy wakes up. he does, screams, and, of course, knocks the skull onto his cot. it quickly sets him on fire, and he the flails himself into a gas canister. the whole places goes up in flames, and cropsy rushes out of the cabin and collapses into the lake, with the kids looking on in fright to what they've just done.
fast forward some years later, and cropsy is released from the hospital, horridly disfigured from the prank. he then heads to the camp to take revenge on the present campers and their camp counselor (brian matthews), who was one of the original campers that messed him up in the first place.
first off, let me say that the burning is not going to get any awards in the originality department. spawed from friday the 13th, which was released a year earlier, the burning is full of cliches. teens have sex, they die. the bully dies. the killer lurks around the camp, and we watch this through murky POV shots. he follows the main set of campers on an all day trip away from the camp and basically starts offing them, either one by one, or in groups, as in one spectacular scene where some campers on a raft float up to a canoe they think belongs to them. as soon as they near it, cropsy arises from the canoe brandishing huge garden shears (his preferred weapon of choice) and, backlit from the sun, quickly dispatches them all. wow. what a scene. that being said, the burning is pretty much friday the 13th with a slightly different backstory and a slightly different killer.
however, this is not to say the film isn't enjoyable. it's TOTALLY enjoyable. who doesn't want to see horny obnoxious kids get stalked around by a freako with a huge set of garden shears?!?! this is a formula which, like it or not, that has been and will be used over and over again. it is the main plot on which the slasher film thrives, and i say god bless it.
this film is also famous for it's fresh faced cast. the burning is the debut of actors jason alexander (playing a character TOTALLY different from geoge costanza), holly hunter, fisher stevens, and fast times and ridgemont high's brian backer. wow. i wonder if any of these actors will be praised for their work in the burning on inside the actor's studio? haha. the film also has some pretty cool gore effects from maestro tom savini (friday the 13th, the originaldawn of the dead, and many, many others). it's also one of the earliest efforts from harvey and bob weinstein, who have continued to create slick hollow films at miramax. well done there.
alright, as i've previously stated, this is a VCD. it's bootlegged. the image is TOTAL CRAP. there are some good copies floating around (this is not one of them, however, this copy IS uncut, so there is gore and boobs all around) on eBay and such. too bad miramax hasn't released this on special edition dvd... and, seeing how the cast has gone on to bigger and better things, as have the creators, miramax probably never WILL release a special edition of this... who knows, they've released plenty of crap before. anyway, i digress. the image is grainy, full of artifacts (compression artifacts, not the holy grail or the ark). it also features unremovable japanese subtitles that are very annoying on a pan & scan transfer. yech. oh well, it's as good as it's going to get for me at the moment, so i'll take it however i can get it.
the sound is alright. mono, but fairly clear. and the extras on the disc... hahahahahahahahahahaha... not even a menu.
the VCD comes in a jewelcase with slipcover, featuring a cool image of cropsy as he emerges from the canoe, gardening shears over his head. except for the title, all of the writing is in japanese.
overall, the burning is a cliched, we've-seen-it-before slasher flick, but really, that's good news. it's fast paced, gory, and well crafted. it's also a hoot to see some familiar faces in a film that they probably don't ever acknowledge. the image sucks and the extras are non-existant on this VCD, but i'm SURE you can find a better transfer somewere else.
i give the burning three jason alexanders with a full head of hair out of a possible five.
some time in the late 70's, at a summer camp, some teens decide that they've had enough of maniacal camp caretaker, cropsy (lou david). cropsy is a drunkard who tortures, yells, scares, and allegedly has been violent with the campers (how this would be allowed, even in the late 70's, i'll NEVER know). so, some of the teens decide that they've had enough of ole cropsy and they pull a prank on him. sneaking into his cabin while he is passed out, they place a maggoty skull on his nightstand, with two lit candles in the eye sockets. they rush out of the cabin, peer in from a window, and bang on it until cropsy wakes up. he does, screams, and, of course, knocks the skull onto his cot. it quickly sets him on fire, and he the flails himself into a gas canister. the whole places goes up in flames, and cropsy rushes out of the cabin and collapses into the lake, with the kids looking on in fright to what they've just done.
fast forward some years later, and cropsy is released from the hospital, horridly disfigured from the prank. he then heads to the camp to take revenge on the present campers and their camp counselor (brian matthews), who was one of the original campers that messed him up in the first place.
first off, let me say that the burning is not going to get any awards in the originality department. spawed from friday the 13th, which was released a year earlier, the burning is full of cliches. teens have sex, they die. the bully dies. the killer lurks around the camp, and we watch this through murky POV shots. he follows the main set of campers on an all day trip away from the camp and basically starts offing them, either one by one, or in groups, as in one spectacular scene where some campers on a raft float up to a canoe they think belongs to them. as soon as they near it, cropsy arises from the canoe brandishing huge garden shears (his preferred weapon of choice) and, backlit from the sun, quickly dispatches them all. wow. what a scene. that being said, the burning is pretty much friday the 13th with a slightly different backstory and a slightly different killer.
however, this is not to say the film isn't enjoyable. it's TOTALLY enjoyable. who doesn't want to see horny obnoxious kids get stalked around by a freako with a huge set of garden shears?!?! this is a formula which, like it or not, that has been and will be used over and over again. it is the main plot on which the slasher film thrives, and i say god bless it.
this film is also famous for it's fresh faced cast. the burning is the debut of actors jason alexander (playing a character TOTALLY different from geoge costanza), holly hunter, fisher stevens, and fast times and ridgemont high's brian backer. wow. i wonder if any of these actors will be praised for their work in the burning on inside the actor's studio? haha. the film also has some pretty cool gore effects from maestro tom savini (friday the 13th, the originaldawn of the dead, and many, many others). it's also one of the earliest efforts from harvey and bob weinstein, who have continued to create slick hollow films at miramax. well done there.
alright, as i've previously stated, this is a VCD. it's bootlegged. the image is TOTAL CRAP. there are some good copies floating around (this is not one of them, however, this copy IS uncut, so there is gore and boobs all around) on eBay and such. too bad miramax hasn't released this on special edition dvd... and, seeing how the cast has gone on to bigger and better things, as have the creators, miramax probably never WILL release a special edition of this... who knows, they've released plenty of crap before. anyway, i digress. the image is grainy, full of artifacts (compression artifacts, not the holy grail or the ark). it also features unremovable japanese subtitles that are very annoying on a pan & scan transfer. yech. oh well, it's as good as it's going to get for me at the moment, so i'll take it however i can get it.
the sound is alright. mono, but fairly clear. and the extras on the disc... hahahahahahahahahahaha... not even a menu.
the VCD comes in a jewelcase with slipcover, featuring a cool image of cropsy as he emerges from the canoe, gardening shears over his head. except for the title, all of the writing is in japanese.
overall, the burning is a cliched, we've-seen-it-before slasher flick, but really, that's good news. it's fast paced, gory, and well crafted. it's also a hoot to see some familiar faces in a film that they probably don't ever acknowledge. the image sucks and the extras are non-existant on this VCD, but i'm SURE you can find a better transfer somewere else.
i give the burning three jason alexanders with a full head of hair out of a possible five.
posted by nathan at 10:16 PM
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