Editorials
Happy 35th Anniversary to ‘The Burning!’
35 years ago, Tony Maylam’s not-so-classic slasher film The Burning was unleashed upon the world. Released exactly one year after Sean S. Cunningham’s blockbuster Friday the 13th and just one week after Friday the 13th Part 2, The Burning took in a measly $707,770 at the box office (and that includes the box office returns for the re-release in November of 1982). With a reported budget of $1.5 million, it was considered a flop. Audiences just weren’t that interested in The Burning when they could flock to the established Friday the 13th franchise (well, soon-to-be franchise anyway). In recent years, The Burning has gained a cult following and a reexamination from critics. While it doesn’t reinvent the wheel in any way, The Burning is still a respectable genre effort with a likable cast and top-notch make-up effects from the master himself: Tom Savini.
The Burning is technically Miramax’s first movie. Co-written by Peter Lawrence and Bob Weinstein, the film was also produced by Harvey Weinstein in his first gig as a film producer. Harvey was desperate to get into the movie business at the time, so after seeing the success of low budget horror films (slashers, specifically) he began brainstorming ideas for a similarly-budgeted film. He remembered the Cropsey legend from campfire tales he heard at summer camp when he was born and The Burning (and Cropsy, sans Cropsey’s “e”) was born.
The script was written in six weeks and Tony Maylam was brought on as director. Since the film was set in the summer time and Weinstein wanted to get the film released before the slasher craze ended, The Burning was rushed into production. While many may see it as a ripoff of Friday the 13th, the film actually started production (meaning a treatment written by Weinstein) a whole year before that film was even released. It just had the misfortune of coming out a year later. Who’s to say what would have happened if The Burning had been released first. Maybe Cropsy would have been an even bigger slasher giant than Jason Voorhees himself.
The film is also famous for being the first on-screen appearances for now-famous actors Holly Hunter and Jason Alexander. Alexander has the most to do in the film as lovable camper Dave and Hunter gets maybe two lines of dialogue as random camper Sophie, but it’s still fun to watch her. Fisher Stevens has the most fun as the goofy Woodstock before getting killed in the outstanding raft massacre set piece.
Speaking of the raft massacre, one can’t discuss The Burning without mentioning it’s top-notch make-up effects from Tom Savini. Interestingly enough, he turned down working on Friday the 13th Part 2 because he didn’t buy the logic that Jason would be the villain in the film. Thinking that the script for The Burning was superior, Savini chose to lend his talents to that film. He even lent his legs to the film (his legs are the ones getting burned in the opening sequence that gives the film its namesake). The Burning is filled with great kills (in the latter half of the film anyway, but more on that in a bit), but the pièce de résistance comes in the form of the film’s raft sequence, in which Cropsy dispatches a group of campers in the middle of the lake (though it takes a laughably long time for them to make it to the raft after they see it).
Not surprisingly, the film suffered many cuts in order to avoid an X rating from the MPAA. Many of the kills are even more graphic versions of similar kills in Friday the 13th (Karen’s death is a bloodier version of Annie’s death and Cropsy’s death is a much more graphic version of Marcie’s death), showing that Savini was willing to improve upon his previous efforts.
Unlike many slasher films of the time, The Burning takes a good while to get going. It isn’t until the 49-minute mark when the first camper (poor, nude Karen) meets her demise. And before that the only death was a prostitute that Cropsy picked up after his release from the hospital. While this may seem like slasher sacrilege, it actually works in favor of the film. There’s only one or two truly unlikable characters in the film (Glazer and arguably Todd), but the rest of the cast is filled with likable characters. While it would be a stretch to say it’s “fun” to spend time with these characters, their likability at least makes The Burning’s slow beginning bearable. Plus, it’s really sad to see Karen bite it. She didn’t even get to have sex!
The Burning also boasts a lot of effective jump scares. I admit that even though I had seen the film before, there were several moments that had me jumping off my couch (Glazer’s death being the most memorable example). Of course this is mostly thanks to Rick Wakeman’s (of the band Yes) creepy score, but it’s still incredibly effective even by today’s standards.
What are your thoughts on The Burning? Do you think it’s an under-appreciated film? Or do you think it’s just another run-of-the-mill copycat of films like Halloween and Friday the 13th? Let us know in the comments below and share your thoughts and memories of the film.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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