THE BURNING

Row, Row, Row Your Makeshift Death Raft…
THE BURNING is a cult fave in the slasher horror genre that is known more for some of it’s behind the scenes trivia than for anything onscreen. It was the first film from Miramax, it featured the early work of notable actors like Jason Alexander and Holly Hunter, it was co-written by Bob Weinstein and produced by his brother Harvey, the movie’s score was done by a member of the Prog-Rock group Yes and the effects were done by Tom Savini. See, I toldja there was a lot of behind the scenes info. But the movie itself, which was just a rip on FRIDAY THE 13TH with a camp counselor who got burned as a result of some campers’ prank and comes back to get revenge, produced the most notable thing for me was the raft murder scene.
The dread as that make-shift raft of teenagers slowly made their way towards the (supposedly) empty canoe was great and then it turned to total hilarity with the over-the-top way that Cropsey (the killer) hacks and slashes away at all of his victims with a pair of gardening shears.