Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Burning 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson July 15, 2023

Although the post-prologue credits of The Burning (1981) display the title "A MIRAMAX PRODUCTION...", the future famous indie studio didn't form until after work on its inaugural feature film was well under way. Dale Anderson, a columnist for the Buffalo (NY) Evening News near where Harvey Weinstein attended the local university, wrote a two-page feature about Bob Weinstein, his brother, and Corky Berger nearly a week before The Burning opened in the US. While Anderson's piece focuses a lot on the Weinsteins' early career ventures as concert promoters (including a concert movie about Genesis that the brothers were instrumental in getting shown), it also devotes some space to the origins of The Burning. According to Anderson, Harvey and his management company associate, Brad Grey, had dinner one evening in New York with British filmmaker Tony Maylam, who directed the Genesis film. Harvey told Maylam about the old summer campfire involving Cropsy, the senile caretaker. Harvey recollected to Anderson that while Maylam attended a screening of Mark Rydell's The Rose (1979), the Weinsteins and Grey wrote a two-and-a-half page treatment. Harvey claimed that there was "script after script" and a total of seven re­writes. A couple million dollars was required to finance the picture. Harvey first met with Jean Ubaud of Continental Films in Hong Kong. He also touched base with Michael Cohl of Concert Productions International in Toronto. Cohl arranged a bunch of Canadian inves­tors. In New York, the Weinsteins received backing from industrialist Frank McGuire and Randy Marks of Computer Task Group. Harvey boasted to Anderson that whenever he showed Bob's screenplay to possible producers and studio personnel, they deemed it "the best designed hor­ror film of its type." While still filming The Burning, the Weinsteins sent a thirty-minute reel to Hollywood. The footage appealed to Avco-Embassy, who sent a guy out East to purchase the picture.

Neither of the Weinsteins say anything about Peter Lawrence in the article. Lawrence is given primary credit on the script. Also, Maylam states on the 2007 MGM audio commentary that Lawrence contributed the most material. A decade ago, Scream Factory included what appears is possibly a final draft of one of the scripts on the DVD of its two-disc set. I've read the 82-page draft, which is organized as a continuity script that the Weinsteins likely worked from when they edited the picture over the winter of 1981. It contains one column for exposition, camera setups, and editing cues. The second column is for dialogue. It also includes reel and scene numbers as well as LFOA (Last Frame Of Action). The continuity script largely follows what's in the finished film. Jack Sholder is correct in the archival interview on this new two-disc set that the Weinsteins wanted him to greatly expand the famous raft discovery sequence. Little of that is in this draft. A few camera angles are different. The script helped clarify questions I had about some POV shots. The PDF script hasn't been retained on this new release. In the early 2010s, Justin Kerswell authored a retrospective on The Burning on his website, Hysteria Lives!. Actress Bonnie Deroski (Marnie in The Burning) showed him her shooting script. Kerswell discusses differences between script and screen on that special section of his site.

Canoeing competition.

The Burning played sporadically around the US where it was released in the spring of 1981. According to The Times (Shreveport, LA), which probably picked up its report from Variety, the movie had its initial premiere on May 8 when it was exhibited on 110 screens in Florida. (The "regional wide breaks" commenced on May 22.) I can confirm that its original title was The Cropsy Maniac. In fact, as Kerswell learned while digging into the Variety archives, the picture was re-titled Cropsy when it was later re-released into theaters. Not surprisingly, The Burning had a very mixed initial reception. Part of this can be attributed to likely not being presented wholly uncut in America (much like it was later trimmed in Germany and the UK). The Weinsteins sent Tom Savini to the Miami News offices to promote the picture as the legendary makeup and special effects artist was the one and only publicist. Savini confided to that paper's film critic Jon Marlowe: “I'm not really sure how much of my work you’ll see in the film. Sometimes they really cut these things up a lot in the editing room.” Marlowe also spoke to composer Rick Wakeman, who was on the phone from New York City. Wakeman told Marlowe almost verbatim what Savini said: "I’m not really sure how much of my work you’ll hear in the film. Sometimes they really cut these things up a lot in the editing room.” This likely hurt the film's prospects in South Beach. Marlowe categorized the picture as a "miserable little hor­ror-revenge flick that finds director Tony Maylam paying big bucks for Savini and Wakeman's talents, then hardly using their work. Savini’s usually fantastic effects are kept to a bare minimum here, while Wake­man’s music has been diluted to only announce the killer’s presence." When The Burning played in the Pacific Northwest, it received a mixed review from critic Brent Northup in the Longview (WA) Daily News: "Although the acting in this routine summer camp hor­ror film ranges from pathetic to pathetic, the technical work is actually well above average. The photography, direction and editing are all surprisingly professional. But that’s hardly enough to justify seeing the film." Joe Baltake of the Philadelphia Daily News headlined it "Gore Flick of the Week" in his entertaining review. Baltake was sidetracked by a stoner in the audience who he describes as no older than 13. "There was more action among the audience than on screen. In fact, it was difficult to concentrate on this movie, thanks largely to the running commentary of a stoned patron sit­ting a few seats away from me. “'What is this (expletive deleted)?' he mumbled during one of the film’s rare quiet moments... ”'I wanna see some ba-lood! I wanna see some killing!'” Baltake also observed: "other patrons seemed inspired by his gems of wisdom, laughing at them, cheering him on and some­times even joining him in a two-way conversation."

John Omwake, entertainment editor for the Kingsport (TN) Times News, delivered the most unfair review of all those I read. He unconvincingly claimed it's "so blatant a ripoff of Friday the 13th [and its first sequel] that if Paramount Pictures sues Filmways for copyright in­fringement, I wouldn’t be surprised....It is the worst movie I’ve seen this year...The Burning hasn't one shred of originality about it." Omwake doesn't justify his claims sufficiently. He also gripes about "heavy breathing" (presumably in a sex scene) wherein there's hardly any at all. By stark contrast, Candice Russell of the Fort Lauderdale (FL) News considered the picture more original: "The Burning stands apart [from Friday the 13th Part 2] with flashes of imagination and unnerv­ing moments of surprise. Tony Maylam, while no challenger to the horror movie crown worn by either director John Carpenter or Brian de Palma, succeeds in establishing character and mood. It’s a credible effort that gives you the creeps."

The Burning 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Scream Factory's Collector's Edition of The Burning released earlier this week comes in a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray combo along with a slipcover. Scream advertises this as a "new 2023 4K scan of the original camera negative" presented in Dolby Vision (HDR-10 compatible). The picture appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. I own the CE that my colleague Jeff Kauffman reviewed more than ten years ago. I also have Arrow Video UK's 2016 Blu-ray. Each of the older BDs are also sourced from the camera negative. The UHD and this year's Blu-ray have undergone restoration work. You'll notice in the graphical comparison between the four transfers I've assembled that the most recent release has removed speckles and scratches. For example, not only have light scratches been eliminated near the top in a nature shot, but the sky, trees, and lake appear much more natural-looking with superior hues (see Screenshot #s 21-24). In addition, a white speck on a girl's ponytail during a canoeing scene is also gone (see frame grab #s 33-36). The light blue artifact to the right of Todd's (Brian Matthews) elbow has also been expunged (see capture #s 29-32). The hospital scene where an orderly shows an intern the burn unit has some light scratches and a white speck on the curtain on the old transfer but those are absent (see last quartet of caps). Chemical decomposition in the form of spots seen on and behind Alfred's (Brian Backer) head are still present, though (see capture #s 17-20). A small speck on the upper right lip of a showering Sally (Carrick Glenn) still remains, too (see capture #s 25-28). It needs to be be emphasized that while specks are present on the most recent transfer, they are tiny and very brief. Note: Maylam points out in the commentary that the camera crew placed gel on the outside of the handheld camera. This was indeed apparent on the release print as film critic Herman Trotter of the Buffalo (NY) Evening News described Cropsy's POV shot: "Harvey Harrison's cinematography is quite good in general, but has its own cliche pitfalls, like too many scenes through Cropsey's [sic] eyes shot through a Vaseline-rimmed lens."

The UHD transfer is darker than the Blu-ray, which is brighter and sports warmer skin tones. The old Scream transfer was a little dark compared to the Arrow, which boasts the brightest image of the four. I feel that the HDR separates the UHD from the new Blu-ray. For example, I could still see clearer details in the opening scene amid mostly darkness (the medium long shots of the kids as seen in Screenshot #15) than on the Blu-ray, particularly the older ones which are grainier. Also, the colors in the scene where the camp counselors play baseball with the campers especially pop out on the UHD (capture #16). My video score for the 4K-scanned Blu-ray is 4.75/5.00. Scream has encoded the feature on the UHD with a mean video bitrate of 81.8 Mbps, which has an overall bitrate of 85.7 Mbps (disc size for feature: 54.8 GB).

Screenshot #s 1-17, 21, 25, 29, 33, & 37 = Scream Factory 2023 Collector's Edition 4K Ultra HD (downsampled to 1080p)
Screenshot #s 18, 22, 26, 30, 34, & 38 = Scream Factory 2023 Collector's Edition 4K-scanned Blu-ray
Screenshot #s 19, 23, 27, 31, 35, & 39 = Arrow Video UK 2016 BD-50
Screenshot #s 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, & 40 = Scream Factory 2013 Collector's Edition BD-50

The Burning 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scream has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono mix (1985 kbps, 24-bit) as the lone sound track. The Arrow has LPCM but it's only one-channel mono (768 kbps, 16-bit). Scream's DTS-HD MA track here sounds very similar to the mix Jeff reviewed. It really comes to life on the "Devil's Creek Breakdown" cue (as it's labeled on the official soundtrack albums). As the campers paddle away in their canoes, the banjo and electric guitar take center stage. Composer Rick Wakeman crafted a highly atmospheric score that contains several "stingers" in vein of John Carpenter's work during this period. On the CD album I have, there are pop-infused cues that didn't make their way into the film. Conversely, the synth music that accompanies the heart thumps in the movie are not included on any of the albums.

I watched The Burning with the optional English SDH turned on and they deliver a pretty complete transcription of the dialogue. I think it only misses one word, which it substitutes for something else.

The Burning 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Scream Factory has ported over all its extras from the 2013 CE. It hasn't produced any new bonus features. The UHD only has the two commentaries. The enclosed Blu-ray has all of the supplements. I have added some details from Jeff's review.

• Audio Commentary With Director Tony Maylam and Journalist Alan Jones - this archival feature-length commentary from MGM's 2007 DVD finds Maylam with some pretty vivid memories of making The Burning despite seeing it for the first time in 25 years the night before recording the commentary. Jones helps move the chat along without any gaps. In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary With Stars Shelley Bruce and Bonnie Deroski - this track is moderated by Edwin Samuelson. In English, not subtitled.

• Blood 'n' Fire Memories – An Interview With Special Make-Up Effects Artist Tom Savini (18:01, 1080p) - this extra is also from the MGM SD disc. Aside from the commentaries, it's the longest and best of the bunch. As Jeff notes, there are spoilers. Savini does a great job of guiding the viewer along on how he created the makeup and gore effects. In English, not subtitled.

• Slash & Cut – An Interview With Editor Jack Sholder (12:04, 1080p) - Sholder confesses that he never intended to make horror pictures. I would have liked him to expand more on scripted scenes that didn't make it into the final cut. In English, not subtitled.

• Cropsy Speaks – An Interview With Actor Lou David (11:19, 1080p) - David gives a pretty complete retelling of portraying Cropsy and what the shoot was like. In English, not subtitled.

• Summer Camp Nightmare – An Interview With Actress Leah Ayres (6:44, 1080p) - Ayres talking about appearing on commercials before co-starring in The Burning. She also shares anecdotes about working on the film. In English, not subtitled.

• Behind-the-Scenes Footage (7:56, upconverted to 1080i) - raw footage captured on videotape of effects-laden scenes from The Burning. Courtesy of Savini's home library.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:27, 1080p) - a restored original trailer for The Burning framed in 1.78: anamorphic widescreen with a DTS-HD MA Dual Mono mix. It's in mostly pristine condition with dirt and artifacts present on only a few shots.

• Make-up Effects Still Gallery (2:25, 1080p) - a slide show comprising twenty-nine photographs (in both color and black & white) showing Tom Savini at work designing Cropsy and various make-up effects for the actors.

• Poster & Still Gallery (3:05, 1080p) - this second slide show consists of thirty-seven snapshots from The Burning's publicity campaign. The first twenty-two are color photos taken on location. The last fifteen are color and B&W pictures from the film's press kit. Several appear as HQ lobby cards in glorious color.

The Arrow Blu-ray includes two exclusive supplements. One is a nearly dozen-minute interview with Rick Wakeman about composing the score. That BD also includes an audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues podcast, which is moderated by author Justin Kerswell (The Teenage Slasher Movie Book). It's great having Kerswell on board as an authoritative source. He makes the track worth listening to. He imparts a lot of info from his research and interviews with the movie's cast.

The Burning 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The characters in The Burning are surprisingly well-drawn and connected in the plot threads. The acting is a bit uneven, but that's to be expected with several first-time actors in a pretty large ensemble. Jason Alexander, Ned Eisenberg, and Fisher Stevens display the young talent that they possessed at early ages. The Burning is an influential horror film in its own right. (For example, I could see how the makers of Friday the 13th Part IV were probably inspired by it, particularly since Savini worked on both.) If you don't own any of the prior BD editions, you'll certainly want to pick up this release. It has noticeably fewer artifacts. Scream Factory has done a wonderful job of restoring it in 4K. This is a MUST OWN for fans of slasher films. A ROCK SOLID RECOMMENDATION.