By Stephen Pytak 

     For anyone not familiar with this film, it's got it
where it counts. 
     The killer is a mean summer camp caretaker who 
becomes the victim of a prank gone wrong. His body
is entirely charred and twisted. Anxious for revenge, 
he tracks down one of the pranksters, who five years 
later is working at a summer camp as a counselor.
With a pair of garden shears, the killer, appropriately 
named "Cropsy." makes like Jack the Ripper.
     The kills are incredible! The best involves a canoe
that's floating in the middle of a lake. A bunch of 
kids on a makeshift raft paddle over to it. And BOOM!
Up comes Cropsy from the canoe. SWIPE! SWIPE!
CHOP! CLIP! 
     There's another kill here which inspired a scenario
in "Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985)."
It involves a couple having sex in the woods. The guy
goes off for some reason. In "The Burning" it's to get
matches to light a fire. The killer goes to work on the
girl while he's away. And when the boyfriend returns,
he finds the reaper waiting for him.
     The climax of "The Burning" is super. The highlight
is the reveal of Cropsy's face. It's one of Savini's best
character make-ups.
     The film also features at least two actors who went
on to have careers, Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) and 
Holly Hunter (Copycat).
     Back in the 80s I read a lot about this film in 
Fangoria and Savini's book "Grande Illusions."  There
were also interviews with cast members in the lost 
VHS classic "Scream Greats, Volume One: Tom Savini,
Master of Horror Effects." Presented by Starlog Video, 
this initial entry in the Fangoria Video Magazine Series 
was released by Paramount Home Video in 1986.
      In my travels I also picked up the soundtrack by
Rick Wakeman. I'm not sure how I got it. I think it's
foreign. Anyway I gave that a spin the other day. Not
bad either. It's something a company like LaLaLand
Records should remaster.