The Burning

R

1981

1h 30m

Horror

List

77%

13 Reviews

Tomatometer

60%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

At summer camp, some teenagers pull a prank on the camp's caretaker, Cropsy (Lou David). But the joke goes terribly wrong, and the teens leave Cropsy for dead after setting him on fire. But no one keeps Cropsy down. A few years later, the burned and disfigured caretaker returns to camp equipped with his trusty shears, ready to unleash his particular brand of vengeance on a whole new group of teens. The murderous Cropsy stalks the campers in the woods, one by one.

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Travis R

Solid cast (lots of future big names). Decent acting all around. Some genuinely tense scenes. The comedy works surprisingly well, which keeps things moving along despite only one kill through the first 45 minutes. Tom Savini on FX. They're mostly well done, too. A surprisingly upbeat ending after some misdirection. And a top notch "killer" sound on the synth. On the other hand, the consensual/non-consensual "romances" don't hold up well by today's standards. A very linear story at its core.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/15/24

Full Review

michael b

Hi, Soooooo Sorry About The Bad Revew I Gave Early About This Movie, TOTALLY Wrong, Absoulity Fantastic Movie Great Horror.😀😀😀😀😀

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/04/23

Full Review

Raiodesol S

When it comes to characters, this movie is great, it's able to give you a perspective on almost every one of the kids, and there's a lot of kids. It's also good when creating a believable and complex scenario, it really feels like a real summer camp. But it ultimately fails in the horror and Slasher category, with simple strategies and few use of the villain. It's a good watch, but this film could've used more minutes.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

11/09/23

Full Review

Kim B

This was the first horror film that I rented on video with my best friend before they decided to classify them in 1984 but even then we still hired slasher and horror films before they clamped down on the age

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/28/23

Full Review

Devin S

An exceptionally mediocre slasher movie which stands out only because of a surprise cameo from noted marine biologist Jason Alexander.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/09/23

Full Review

Valerii Ege D

The biggest problem of the 80's movies is they spend too much time on people and their relationships. We have a burned Jason, yet all the killing parts start very late. And this lateness kills the vibe.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/23/23

Full Review

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Tony Maylam

Director

Brian Matthews

Todd

Leah Ayres

Michelle

Brian Backer

Alfred

Lou David

Cropsy

Larry Joshua

Glazer

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Kevin Carr

Fat Guys at the Movies

A notable early installment in the campground slasher genre that at times is overwritten and shallow, but it still delivers on all the classic tropes.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jul 21, 2023

Full Review

Jorge Loser

Espinof

If the kills aren't particularly ingenious, they are abundant, bloody, and effective. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 4.5/5

May 15, 2023

Full Review

Alan Jones

Starburst

The Burning has some shock value if you are prepared to fall for all the well-worn tricks of the trade and put out of your mind every film you've seen in the last three years.

Jul 28, 2022

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

For every effective brutality there's an equivalently unsuccessful bit of editing, acting, a musical riff, or interchange, which numbs the execution.

Rated: 5/10

Aug 31, 2020

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a stylish thriller that generally fares better than the majority of similarly-themed horror endeavors...

Rated: 2.5/4

Jul 4, 2020

Full Review

David Keyes

Cinemaphile.org

Instead of recycling the sort of artificial showmanship that usually informed most of the violence in the early horror franchises, the movie creates a convincing aesthetic.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 9, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

At summer camp, some teenagers pull a prank on the camp's caretaker, Cropsy (Lou David). But the joke goes terribly wrong, and the teens leave Cropsy for dead after setting him on fire. But no one keeps Cropsy down. A few years later, the burned and disfigured caretaker returns to camp equipped with his trusty shears, ready to unleash his particular brand of vengeance on a whole new group of teens. The murderous Cropsy stalks the campers in the woods, one by one.

Director: Tony Maylam
Producer: Michael Cohl, André Djaoui
Screenwriter: Harvey Weinstein, Tony Maylam, Brad Grey, Peter Lawrence, Bob Weinstein
Production Co: Miramax Films
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 6, 2018
Runtime: 1h 30m

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