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I first saw this in the late 80s. Revisited it recently on a DVD. Weinstein brothers made their debut with this poor man's Friday the 13th done right. The special effects were done by Tom Savini n he nailed it. The raft scene is the best highlight. Lots of stabbings via the gardening shears, slashings, severed fingers, etc. It's definitely worth a view for fans of slasher movies. There is sufficient violence n nudity but the sex scene is one of the lamest. The plot- a group of kids decides to play a prank on the caretaker of a camp. The joke goes bad n the victim sets himself on fire. He is released after five years from the hospital but his face has been deformed n he seeks vengeance. The cast included future well-known actors. The movie is full of slasher clichés, wandering away from everyone for a nude pond dip, having sex in the woods, going down to the basement alone, not defending oneself but rather running helter-skelter, not making an effort to make sure that the killer is dead once its down. The movie has one very different aspect, there was no waiting until the end for the big reveal of the killer's identity, its fully revealed from the onset. The cinematography is decent with the lush greens of the camps surrounding forest n the images of flowing water.

There's no disguising the fact that 'The Burning' is a rip off of 'Friday the 13th' so I won't bother arguing about it. The most important thing is that 'The Burning' has more likeable characters and they are killed off in gorier and more flamboyant ways. This makes it one of the few knock offs that I can think of that surpasses the original. The thing that really makes this outstanding isn't the handful of actors in the cast of unknowns that went on to bigger and better things (Jason Alexander, Holly Hunter,etc.), but Tom Savini's realistic and gruesome effects, some of his best work. I don't think you really watch a slasher movie for much more than some shocks and some gore, and this has both in spades, making it one of the very best slasher movies of the 80s. This genre isn't my favourite kind of horror, but I enjoyed 'The Burning' a great deal, and the uncut version is worth tracking down for the raft sequence alone, which is unforgettable and very, very cool. Recommended, but not for the squeamish.

Made in 1981, this film clearly jumped on the teenage slasher bandwagon and is very similar to a Friday the 13th movie. As far as the genre goes, 'The Burning' is way above average. Sure, it has the obligatory teenagers on summer camp and a deranged stalker out for 'revenge' but there are some genuinely tension-building moments and quite a few decent scares. The effects are above average (though quite heavily cut in the British version) thanks to gore-king, Tom Savini and Rick Wakeman's electronic music score is far more effective than Harry Manfredini's psycho-like strings in Friday the 13th. The acting is nothing special, but then again, it never is in these films.

If you're in the mood for a decent, scary stalk'n'slash movie, you could do far, FAR worse than this.

I believe I've found what must be the seminal summer camp slasher film of the 1980s. It captures every element of the decade's obsession with movies like "Friday the 13th" and "Meatballs" and puts them in one package. Shout! Factory has scored again with their Blu-ray release of "The Burning."

The caretaker of a summer camp is burned alive and left deformed after a prank goes wrong. Years later, he's released from the hospital and returns to the area where the accident occurred. A new group of campers have arrived for the summer and he has horrific plans for them. Hedge clippers in hand, the caretaker begins his reign of terror on the counselors and attendees.

"The Burning" has the raunchy toilet humor of "Meatballs" mixed with everything you came to expect from slasher films like "Friday the 13th" and "Sleepaway Camp." You have nice girls making bad decisions by hooking up with bad guys. Unfortunately, the killer sees all and punishes them for their perverse deeds.

I always thought the killer in "Friday the 13th, Part V: A New Beginning" was the first to utilize hedge clippers. I was very wrong, as you can see in "The Burning." It's obvious the psycho in "A New Beginning" took inspiration from the crazy caretaker.

It's unbelievable how many big names are attached to "The Burning." Harvey Weinstein created and co-wrote the story. Bob Weinstein co-wrote the screenplay. Special Make-up Artist Tom Savini returns to camp for a second time after his classic work on "Friday the 13th." His handiwork keeps the blood flowing efficiently.

Brian Backer plays a character more annoying than the one he did in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." Jason Alexander (yes, George Costanza) portrays a sporty and popular high schooler. He has a full head of hair and doesn't wear glasses. Holly Hunter can be seen briefly as a camper. She looks like she was maybe 13 years old.

"The Burning" is another one of those cult classics many people forget about in the shadow of "Friday the 13th." If you're a fan of 1980s slasher movies, it's a must-own.

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.