The Burning (1981) movie review

I watched this movie not expecting much more than a little nostalgia fix. It ended up being better than I expected and quite scary. The special effects provided by Tom Savini were pretty grizzly.  

It was great to see Jason Alexander in his first major film role as David, a witty kid who was trying eagerly to fit in. Holly Hunter and Fisher Stevens also show up in this 80's horror classic.

The glue that holds the film together is the back story that it outlines early in the film. About 10 years have passed after the universally hated camp janitor, nicknamed "Cropsy", was burned severely in a prank gone wrong.  

He's out for revenge and doesn't have a problem taking it out on the same camp that nearly killed him years earlier. This creates an eerie build up to a new unsuspecting group of kids. They learn to know the story of Cropsy to only be legend and nothing more.

 The story progresses well and there doesn't seem to be any dry spots where the film lurches to a hault. Fisher Stevens is hilarious to see as "Woodstock".  He really looks as if he's only about 12 or 13 in this flick.  The character I related to the most was the camp nerd, Alfred, played by Brian Backer. He did a great job acting the part and you really had sympathy for the kid.

It follows a pretty standard camp horror film formula for most of the film but that's okay with me. Also since it's one of the earlier ones, it has some credibility. For me the early performances of some great actors to come gave me the real drive to watch this again.  If you're a horror fan, or even love films in a camp setting, check this one out. It won't let you down.  

*** 1/2 out of ***** for me.

Haha.  I've never seen Jason Alexander with so much hair.