The Burning

"A legend of terror isn't a campfire story anymore!"

1981 1h 31m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 475

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A caretaker at a summer camp is burned when a prank goes tragically wrong. After several years of intensive treatment at hospital, he is released back into society, albeit missing some social skills. What follows is a bloody killing spree with the caretaker making his way back to his old stomping ground to confront one of the youths that accidentally burned him.

“A legend of terror isn't a campfire story anymore!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Brian Matthews
Todd
Leah Ayres
Michelle
Brian Backer
Alfred
Larry Joshua
Glazer
Jason Alexander
Dave
Ned Eisenberg
Eddy
Carrick Glenn
Sally
Carolyn Houlihan
Karen

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Tony Maylam
Writers: Tony Maylam, Harvey Weinstein, Brad Grey
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, Canada

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Canada.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Tony Maylam, shot by Harvey Harrison. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Rick Wakeman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor Jack Sholder shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Brian Matthews and Leah Ayres and Brian Backer carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A legend of terror isn't a campfire story anymore!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tony Maylam directs. Harvey Harrison behind the camera. Rick Wakeman scores. Jack Sholder cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America, Canada. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
245 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Canada.
4Directed by Tony Maylam, shot by Harvey Harrison. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Rick Wakeman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Jack Sholder shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Brian Matthews and Leah Ayres and Brian Backer carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A legend of terror isn't a campfire story anymore!".
9IMDB entry: tt0082118 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 15 themes, including "summer camp", "woods", "revenge", "burned alive".

The technical file

Cinematography: Harvey Harrison
Original score: Rick Wakeman
Editing: Jack Sholder
Makeup / hair: Tom Savini
Sound: Jack Cooley
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,500,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Burning (1981)

Also by

Tony Maylam

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2018-08-12
★ 6/10
Decent “Friday the 13th” knockoff This came out a week after “Friday the 13th Part 2” in 1981 and contains all the staples of that blossoming franchise: disfigured killer, iconic weapon (in this case, garden shears), summer camp, camp counselors, a prank gone wrong, swimming antics, deep woods sexual frolics, death during (or after) sex, a secret hideout for the killer, semi-nekkid or fully nekkid teen girls, etc. “The Burning” is held in high esteem mostly for its infamous raft sequence, but that only involves about 30 seconds and it’s not THAT phenomenal. At best, the movie might be as good as some of the “Friday” sequels, although the girls are subpar by comparison, albeit okay. Nonetheless, “Burning” has its points of interest, like Brian Backer from “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and, especially, a young Jason Alexander from Seinfeld with a full-head of hair. Production-wise, it’s low-budget but superior to, say, “Sleepaway Camp.” The film was shot in and around existing summer camps outside Buffalo in Western New York, as well as North Tonawanda. GRADE: B-/C+
CinemaSerf2023-07-21
★ 5/10
MGM, the Weinstein brothers and none other than Corky Burger have joined forces to bring us this rather weak and derivative attempt at fraternity-horror. "Cropsy", the pretty unpleasant caretaker at a lakeside holiday camp is the victim of a rather cruel prank perpetrated by some spoilt, immature, youth. Scoot on a few years and this now heavily scarred and somewhat narked individual is out for revenge on those who have turned him into a walking walnut. Meantime, there is a new generation of sex-obsessed teenagers frequenting a nearby camp where "Todd" (Brian Matthews) tries to keep them from killing, bullying and/or shagging each other before he, and the others, begin to realise that shower snoopers and mischief makers are most definitely not all they have to worry about. To be fair, it's not a terrible film - it's just really poorly written with some banal dialogue and some stereotypical characters that frankly deserved all they could get from crispy "Cropsy". The wooded scenario lends itself well in creating just the merest hint of menace and the hand-held camera work is quite effective at times as these rather vacuous American beauties face their ultimate challenge. It looked OK when I saw this recently on a big screen, but a few drinks and a storm outside would probably help it just as well on the television in October.