Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

The Burning Blu-ray Movie Review

Fire bad.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 11, 2013

The internet is a remarkable device that has provided unparalleled connectivity. Case in point: I received copies of some original charts by the late “easy listening” maestro Percy Faith a few months ago (Faith's arrangements are one of my unashamed not so guilty pleasures), including a fantastic quasi-Baroque jazz-rock number of his called We Were Havin’ Some Fun at the Conservatory, When. . .. I was interested to see a huge handwritten note across the conductor’s score addressed to the keyboard player, telling him he needed to be tracking three staves simultaneously, two for harpsichord and one for grand piano. The note was addressed to “Rick”, and it suddenly occurred to me that perhaps Rick Wakeman had played keys on this track, which has a certain Wakemanesque flavor to begin with. A little cursory research got me to Rick’s website and I submitted a query with a link to Faith’s tune. Lo and behold just a few hours later I received an email from Rick Wakeman himself, actually thanking me for contacting him and for providing him a link to the tune. He agreed that it sounded like him, but he had no clear recollection of having played the date, which, while not conclusive, seems to indicate there was some other keyboardist named Rick doing session work in Los Angeles in the early seventies and who was able to forge a souped up Baroque sound in a jazz-rock context. A little less than a decade after the Faith tune was done (with or without Wakeman), Wakeman contributed a perhaps anachronistic sounding score to one of the many films to appear in the so-called “slasher craze” of the late seventies and early eighties. Interestingly, this was one of the first films to be released under the Miramax banner and Harvey Weinstein himself is created as one of the story writers (another Weinstein brother, Bob, co-wrote the actual screenplay). The Burning plies several well worn horror tropes, not the least of which is a demented madman running around a bucolic summer camp, but it remains one of the most truly frightening films of its era, one that is especially gruesome in this unrated cut (emphasis on the word cut).

The Burning is one of those horror films where you’re kind of rooting for the bad guy, a la Phantom of the Opera or even Frankenstein. In all three of these films we’re confronted with a monster who is the sad victim of circumstance and whose inherent “evil” can be traced at least somewhat to the horrors visited on him not through any fault of his own. The comparison to the forties version of Phantom of the Opera is especially apt since both the Phantom and The Burning’s chief bad guy Cropsy (Lou David) suffer horrible disfigurement at the hands of others. Is it any wonder both characters go slightly (okay— more than slightly) off their rockers, wreaking considerable havoc in their vengeful wake? In the case of Cropsy, it's due to some summer camp attendees trying to scare the camp's caretaker (Cropsy), a prank that goes horribly awry and ends up with the poor man severely burned over the bulk of his face and body.

The film segues forward several years and after Cropsy quickly dispatches a working girl, the film spends the rest of its running time at another summer camp. Is it even necessary to hash out putative “plot” details? A bunch of clueless youth romp around, many of them naked, as Cropsy lurks in the background, striking at unexpected moments, usually with a pair of garden shears which provide a number of truly gruesome moments. Even the film’s actors and creative staff who are featured on two commentaries accompanying this Blu-ray seem to pooh-pooh any overly serious attempt to “analyze” the film or make it anything other than the low rent slash-tastic exercise it was. And for those who love this kind of film, The Burning is artfully done, with several major scares that are both well earned and well staged.

What may provide interest in The Burning for those who couldn’t care less about teen slash and dash flicks is its rather startling array of talent, starting with the nascent involvement of the Weinsteins, both of whom were evidently very much “hands on” during the development and production of the film, according to both commentaries. But the cast is a veritable who’s who of future stars or at least accomplished supporting players, including future Oscar and Emmy winner Holly Hunter (The Piano), a certain future George Costanza, otherwise known as Jason Alexander, the future Mr. Michelle Pfeiffer, otherwise known as Fisher Stevens, and a glut of other great young performers who went on to semi-illustrious if not quite so visible careers as the first three. And of course there’s the kind of weird and wacky score by Rick Wakeman. Some of Wakeman’s cues are very effective, especially the shorter ones that are used to up the shock value of jump cuts and the like. The longer cues—well, maybe not so much. Prog rock and slasher films seem like an unlikely mix. Hopefully Mr. Wakeman won’t email me again to complain about my comments.

The Burning Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: It's site policy not to post overly graphic or gruesome screenshots, but I knew some would want at least one screenshot of Cropsy. I've placed a softer looking shot of him after the shot of the main menu for those who want to look.

The Burning is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory's imprint Scream Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The elements here are in very good shape, with only a couple of very minor blemishes and a scratch or two that turn up. This was never a fantastic looking film to begin with, and so the biggest upgrade here is in the much better saturated color, While close-ups are reasonably sharp looking, the film's many midrange and wide shots still have a pretty soft and fuzzy quality. Contrast is quite strong, however, providing the nighttime sequences with at the very least adequate shadow detail. Anyone who has seen previous home video iterations of The Burning will most likely be very pleased with this Blu-ray. Those expecting a pristine, contemporary looking outing will most likely not be. This score is based on the fact that this recreates the original look of the film quite faithfully and has not been overly manipulated, leaving film grain noticeably intact.

The Burning Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Burning features a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track delivered via DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Things sound really good here, albeit obviously very narrow. Dialogue (and screams) are presented with authority, and Wakeman's synth laden score comes through loud and clear. The film has fairly wide dynamic range which the DTS-HD Master Audio offering is able to support easily. Fidelity is excellent and there are no damage issues to report.

The Burning Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Blood 'n' Fire Memories: A Detailed Look at the Creation of the Film's Make-Up Effects with Special Effects Artist Tom Savini. Savini urges viewers not to watch this short before seeing the film, and he's right, for he gives away the goods on several key special effects. Interestingly, Savini himself played Cropsy's legs in the opening scene where Cropsy might be thinking, a la Frankenstein's monster, "fire bad". (1080p; 18:01)


• Slash & Cut: An Interview with Editor Jack Sholder. Sholder reveals he kind of stumbled into editing, having intended to pursue a career in English literature. He makes one kind of funny comment, saying he had no interest in horror films, preferring instead "American classics" by (get ready) Truffaut, Renoir and Fassbinder. (1080p; 12:04)


• Cropsy Speaks: An Interview with Actor Lou David. David is kind of creepy looking anyway (sorry, Lou), so he made a perfectly reasonable choice for Cropsy. He says his career has been limited to playing "fools and ghouls". (1080p; 11:19)


• Summer Camp Nightmare: An Interview with Actress Leah Ayres. Ayres recounts how she matriculated from modern dance into film and what this shoot with so many young actors was like. (1080p; 6:45)


• Behind the Scenes Footage (1080i; 7:56)


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:27)


• Make-Up Effects Still Gallery (1080p; 2:25)


• Poster & Still Gallery (1080p; 3:05)


• Audio Commentary with Director Tony Maylam and International Film Journalist Alan Jones. This is a highly engaging commentary. The best thing is that Maylam obviously takes neither himself nor the film at all seriously, and he's actually a little derisive now and then as the film plays, which only makes the commentary all the more charming. There a are a lot of great anecdotes here about the Weinsteins and the filming process.


• Audio Commentary with Stars Shelley Bruce and Bonnie Deroski. This is a little less effective commentary, but quite enjoyable nonetheless. Most of these young actors were pretty green and were just learning their craft, but some, notably Alexander, already were savvy enough to rewrite their parts to make them better fits for their personas.

The Burning Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Burning is a surprisingly effective little chiller that still delivers some fantastic scares over thirty years (wow!) after its release. Director Tony Maylam himself mentions in his commentary that he's kind of nervous about home video releases of films like this since they're of such a certain time and sensibility, and how sometimes it's better to just "let them go". But revisiting The Burning now shows a rather well made little film that does what it's supposed to do: titillate and shock in equal measure. This new Blu-ray has very good video and audio and comes replete with some nice supplements. Recommended.