Fantasmagorie

October 12th: The Burning, dir. Tony Maylam, 1981. (United States) 4.5/5 pumpkins



This was my second go-round for this slasher and I found myself appreciating it even more this time. There’s nothing inventive or original about this one, as it follows the rote (even by ’81) framework of a camp-set slasher. It was, in fact, one of the first films from Miramax and Harvey Weinstein, made to cash in on the success of Friday the 13th and sports a story that’s almost identical to Friday’s sequel. What sets this film apart is its unflinching gruesomeness (thanks to Tom Savini), direction a notch or two above your usual slasher, an eerie soundtrack courtesy of Rick Wakeman (keyboardist from Yes), and an entertaining cast of victims/heroes, including a very young (and hair-sporting) Jason Alexander (George Costanza from Seinfeld) and Holly Hunter. Yes, this film has an actual Oscar-winner on board (though I don’t recall her actually having any lines). The script is miles above the usual fare, with genuinely funny moments that help flesh out the campers before the gardening shears start slicing, characters making decisions that aren’t completely irrational, and even the upending of a few genre tropes (sex in and of itself is not a death-worthy punishment, inversion of the “Final Girl” standard, a relatively large group of survivors). Oh, and our villain has a pretty good motivation this time out - I'd be pretty pissed off, too. The Burning drags a bit towards the middle, but makes up for that pacing issue with a grim, slowly simmering atmosphere that builds throughout (exploding in an infamous sequence where half of the film’s victims are dispatched within the span of about one minute) and one hell of a finale.