Inadvands
Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess
BelSports
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Sammy-Jo Cervantes
There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
yawael
Because i'm kind of 80s horror slasher films i couldn't wait till watching this one, and that's because it was praised by horror fans and critics. but i must say that i didn't know what was all the fuss about !
The Beginning of the film was kind of promising we see a prank played by group of teenagers which goes wrong and burns a guy then after five years he gets out of the hospital and starts to kill teenagers at the camp ( in a way of revenge).The first murder he committed was to a prostitute which i found kind of bizarre, why he did that to her! (he must kills the boys who were responsible of his accident) , even when he goes to kill boys and girls at the camp you just keep asking yourself the same question ( why he's killing them although they are not the same dudes who made the prank!)Another thing was that the director killed this character right away from the start by showing his face through the window (they should kept his face kind of a mystify till the end of the film) and the second crime he commits goes around half an hour from the first one which makes you bored.One of the biggest mistakes was the killing and the slaughtering scenes (they really were terrible) ,because you just couldn't see it clearly even the last fight with the two heroes was also unclear ( although now we know how the guy looks like, but they just kept the fight vague and blurry ) .
As for the characters , honestly i only liked Todd character which was played by Brian Matthews, as for the rest of the cast they were okay and Jason Alexander presence was so enjoyable .
The only one i couldn't stand was Brian Backer, i didn't know whether he was a victim,lunatic or a complicated guy. he just tries the whole time to make feels sorry for him in the wrong direction ( he just kept showing us a silly performance with terrible body langue : honestly when he was running away from the burned guy i couldn't tell whether he was scared or having something else !!!.
Bodo
Although Friday THE 13TH has more fame, THE BURNING — with an almost identical premise — is just as much a classic movie of the slasher genre. It has hypnotic 80's synth tunes combined with a gruesome killer and an iconic weapon: The massive garden scissors that we also see on the movie's beautiful poster art.The story, although predictable, isn't all that bad, and the characters, although somewhat stereotypical, are interesting enough to keep you going. Most importantly, some of the scenes involving the killer are genuinely frightening, with some pretty effective jump scares. Add to this make-up effects by Tom Savini and you have a round package of gore and horror that has aged well. I think THE BURNING is as suspenseful today as it was in the 80's.
Mark Habeeb
The Burning is one the most well made and scariest slasher film to be made. This is a pure classic gem that stands out from the countless other 80's slasher movies. And I would even say it can compete with Friday the 13th. Now I know F13 became more popular, but I think if this movie came out before, it probably would of been just as popular. Unfortunately it came out in the middle of the slasher boom, and didn't get recognized at first, although that is changing now a days. What made the movie stand out from so many other slasher films of the time was a few things. First the mood of the movie was very scary, and always made you feel unsafe. Second was the pace of the movie. The movie is very well paced, unlike many other slasher films of the time that are either rushed into or dreadfully slow. The acting was also very good for a horror movie. You actually get attached to these characters, their not just a bunch of dumb teens. Then there's the very good gore effects, which really gives this movie its flavor. Tom Savini did a fantastic job in this movie with the make up. And then of coarse is the score, which is super creepy and makes your heart race. Overall, this is a very suspenseful and awesome movie. It has a realistic feel to it, and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. I would recommend to any horror fan!
Roman James Hoffman
however, it should be noted that the "original" referred to is 'Friday the 13th' from the year before and the word should be used reluctantly as it too recycled the finer parts of many (better) films that came before it (not least Mario Bava's 'Bay of Blood' from 1971). But still, 'Friday the 13th' is the film that, through being a financial success, really established the slasher genre in all its cliché glory and it is clearly this that 'The Burning' was hoping to cash in on.The plot hardly needs detailing: a large group of children, some older and some younger, spend the holidays in a summer camp where a deranged former caretaker, Cropsey, enacts his brutal and gory revenge for the prank-gone-wrong which left him horrendously burned some years before. So far, so predicable slasher…and yet, the film retains a high watch-ability factor from clearly being done by people who knew what they were doing as the film was the first to be written and produced by the Weinsteins, the gory kills are courtesy of maestro Tom Savini (who had actually worked on 'Friday the 13th), the soundtrack was done my prog-rock king Rick Wakeman, and the cast includes good performances from a young Jason Alexander (George from 'Seinfeld') and Fisher Stevens (the Indian guy from 'Short Circuit'). To top this off, Tony Maylam's direction (although he wouldn't go onto to produce anything else of real note) is self-assured and effortlessly builds tension as the kills come in and the horror of the situation dawns on the unwitting children and staff.Comparing 'The Burning' to 'Friday the 13th' (a film which I actually don't rate highly at all), I think that a key difference is that the group of children in 'The Burning' is larger. As a result, the film takes its time at the beginning establishing the personalities of some of the key characters by playing them off against each other in the form of the cliques and bullying that typify these kinds of groups. This makes the characters three-dimensional and means that we care much more about the characters as they die…unlike in 'Friday the 13th' where people are just fodder for imaginative kills. The result? All the gore…but a more engaging film.Unfortunately, because the film was basically self-consciously imitating 'Friday the 13th', it can never escape the comparisons and anyone that hasn't seen it would be forgiven for not wanting to because of that. But those that have seen it can vouch for the fact that, imitation it may be, but the quality of the movie more than stands up for itself and is a must-see for genuine horror fans.
