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    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»1980s Movies»Movies 1981
    Movies 1981 Movies B 2 Mins Read

    Burning, The (1981)

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    A group of teenagers at a summer camp (Camp Blackfoot) play a prank on their mean, alcoholic caretaker and groundskeeper, Cropsy (Lou David) but it all goes wrong and they accidentally set him on fire, disfiguring him horribly. He spends the next five years recovering and freaking out the hospital staff with his grotesque scars and burns (some of the staff even dare each other to go look at him).

    Upon his release, Cropsy murders a prostitute after she shows revulsion at his hideously disfigured appearance.

    Cut to another Summer Camp (Camp Stonewater) where Seinfeld‘s Jason Alexander (in his feature film debut) is Dave, a cool, suave and athletic teen. It’s George Costanza’s wet dream: Every girl wants him, every guy wants to be him – and he has a full head of hair! (pictured at left).

    The middle section of the film is more Meatballs (1979) than slasher film, but once the killing starts, the body count rises fast with superb effects from F/X legend Tom Savini providing some very compelling gore and splatter scenes as Cropsy gets to work with his trusty garden shears.

    Fingers are chopped off, foreheads slit open and a whole lot of people get their throats cut – but all of the killings are cleverly directed and well thought out, so the violence never seems gratuitous or sensationalised.

    The Burning provided Holly Hunter with her film debut (and her Screen Actors Guild card) – essentially as a glorified extra – and launched the careers of producers Harvey and Bob Weinstein. The electronic music score was composed by Rick Wakeman.

    Cropsy
    Lou David
    Todd
    Brian Matthews
    Michelle
    Leah Ayres
    Alfred
    Brian Backer
    Glazer
    Larry Joshua
    Dave
    Jason Alexander
    Eddy
    Ned Eisenberg
    Sally
    Carrick Glenn
    Karen
    Carolyn Houlihan
    Woodstock
    Fisher Stevens
    Tiger
    Shelley Bruce
    Barbara
    Sarah Chodoff
    Marnie
    Bonnie Deroski
    Sophie
    Holly Hunter
    Diane
    Kevi Kendall
    Young Todd
    Keith Mandell

    Director
    Tony Maylam

    Video

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