The slasher genre had been alive and kicking for a good few years before The Burning (1981) came along, but even at this early stage in the game, its summer camp setting felt pretty old hat. Starring Brian Mathews, Leah Ayres, Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens and Holly Hunter, it wasn't the first and certainly won't be the last film to set its slaughter in this particular arena, surrounded by dozens of fellow campers yet still feeling isolated smack dab in the middle of the woods.

Looking back, The Burning is wholly unremarkable considering the leagues of others Halloween and Friday the 13th clones released over the years. Still, it possesses a certain creepiness, unfolding in the style of a blood-spattered campfire tale that has a few nasty tricks up its sleeves.

Years ago, Cropsy (Lou David), a drunken caretaker, was the bane of many a kid attending Camp Blackfoot. Such a rotten jerk was he that a small handful of campers decided to get back at him and play the prank of a lifetime - one that instead ended up nearly burning Cropsy to death. Five years and many unsuccessful skin grafts later, the doctors release Cropsy back into society, and it would be an understatement to say that he still bears a bit of a grudge against the kids who scarred him for life. This time, he picks out nearby Camp Stonewater as his new stomping grounds, hovering about the place as its campers and counselors go through the motions of their own personal dramas. But it's when a group of the older campers head out for a canoe trip that Cropsy decides to strike, brandishing a pair of gardening shears that he uses to wreak bloody vengeance upon his innocent victims.

It's always great to look back and see where today's show business figures got their start. It's no surprise that Tom Hanks got his big break on Bosom Buddies, or that Jack Nicholson kick-started his film career in Roger Corman flicks, but you may be taken aback to learn that The Burning was the very first production from Hollywood powerhouses Bob and Harvey Weinstein. Indeed, a decade before fashioning Miramax into a haven for art house movies and foreign films alike, Bob and Harvey teamed up to deliver their entry into the burgeoning slasher race, and it's not too terrible of a film at that. Sure, The Burning is nothing new to anyone who's seen even five minutes of a Halloween sequel, as the movie is extremely dependent upon the most time-tested of slasher cliches: one-note characters, ye olde gratuitous nudity, and, of course, vicious bloodletting where applicable.

Athough it may be just another derivative slasher with hardly an ounce of originality, The Burning still comes across as a fairly decent horror flick in a couple of ways. Aside from the more painfully stereotypical characters, a lot of the campers look like a bunch of regular kids just going to camp, as opposed to latter-day slashers casting rejected GQ models Joe P. Everyman. The lack of familiar faces really helps, but it's still fun picking out the better-known actors (most prominently Jason Alexander, sporting a smarmy attitude and a full head of hair, Holly Hunter, Fisher Stevens) in the crowd. Most notable about the flick is its gore factor, which packs in the usual slashings and slayings but also sports one of the most unexpected and tense moments in horror history: the notorious raft scene, which is too devious to go into any detail.

The Burning will play out for moviegoers just as legions of other slasher flicks have for years: horror fans will have a bloody good show, while those turned off the genre will chalk it up as a prime example of Western civilization's steady decline.

Director: Tony Maylam

Writers: Peter Lawrence and Bob Weinstein (story by Harvey Weinstein, Tony Maylam, and Brad Grey)

Cast: Brian Mathews, Leah Ayres, Brian Backer, Lou David, Jason Alexander

Rating: R (nudity, profanity, and plenty of violence)

Classic Movie Guide Rating: 2.5 stars (out of 5)

Run Time: 91 minutes

Studio: Filmways Pictures

Format: Color, widescreen

Photo credits: Filmways Pictures