Back in the days of VHS rental, The Burning was my holy grail. That's because its effects were featured in Tom Savini's book Grande Illusions, his how-to guide to creating the gore he'd so expertly brought to the screen. Like any good little gorehound, I had an autographed, dog-earned, karo-syrup sticky copy (I still have it, barely held together and hidden away in my library) that I paged through nearly every day, wishing I could see The Burning, a movie that had to be completely and utterly awesome.

I built this movie up to the kind of hype that today's always-on social media Hollywood can only dream of, so it could only be a letdown. And I'm sorry to say that every few years, I try and go back to this movie in the hopes that this will be the viewing that makes me fall in love with the actual film. It's never really happened. I'm not alone in this - my wife has watched the 2018 Halloween in the double digits, hoping she'll find the same love for it that she has even for the fifth and sixth installments.

Other than the Savini effects, which live up to every bit of their promise on the black and white pages of his aforementioned book, The Burning is probably most notable for its translation of the Cropsey mythos and for featuring early appearances of Fisher Stevens (Short Circuit and Eugene "The Plague" Belford from Hackers),Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) and Holly Hunter (who went on to become an accomplished Academy Award-winning actress in Coen Brothers movies like Blood Simple and Raising Arizona).

The film comes from people who would go on to become Hollywood power players. The screenplay was written by Bob Weinstein (along with Peter Lawrence, who would write for the cartoons Silverhawks and Thundercats),working from a story by producer Harvey Weinstein (yes, the very same),Tony Maylam (who also directed) and Brad Grey (who would go on to be the chairman and CEO for Paramount).

It all came about because Harvey was looking for some way, any way to break into movies. Along with his producing partner Michael Cohl, he knew that low budget horror was a great way to do that. Swapping old horror stories, Weinstein brought the legend of Cropsey that he had heard while camping as a teenager in upstate New York and they kicked off production in 1979 with a five-page treatment called The Cropsey Maniac that predated Friday the 13th. There must have been something in the water in 1980, as while both of these films were in their various stages of production, Joseph Ellison was finishing a film he wanted to call The Burning, yet retitled to be Don't Go in the House. Keep in mind that this was the very start of the slasher boom, before films began self-referencing one another to death. It's just that the archetype of young campers being menaced by a maniac was, believe it or not, an untapped well at one point in time.

That also explains Madman, which was in casting when an actress told that film's producers that her boyfriend was acting in another movie with the same story called The Burning. As a result, that film was delayed until 1982, when the slasher wave had already started to see lesser returns.

To fund the movie, the Weinsteins formed Miramax, named for their parents. They were able to get around $1.5 million, although the movie did go over budget. Ironically, while the film depicts a monster, perhaps Harvey ended up being the biggest one of them all.

I say this because this film's production assistant Paula Wachowiak alleged that his predatory ways were already happening on this film. One night when Wachowiak needed Weinstein to sign checks for the accounting department, he answered the door wearing only a towel, which he dropped to reveal himself to her. When she refused his attentions, he allegedly continued to harass her throughout the film's production.

The one thing you have to give the Miramax guys credit for is that they knew talent. Getting Savini meant an audience of Fangoria nerds - like me - would line up for this film. The special effects auteur had already turned down the second go-round for Jason Vorhees, unable to understand how the character would be able to survive for so long alone in the woods, and spent just three days creating the burn makeup for the villain of this film, basing his look on a homeless burn victim he'd seen walking the streets of his native Pittsburgh.

The story starts at Camp Blackfoot, where campers once pranked the caretaker Cropsey by placing a worm-festooned skull in his bed. This starts a massive fire that engulfs the man, who emerges with third-degree burns over most of his body. According to director Tony Maylam, who also helmed the Rutger Hauer versus Aliens film Split Second, he played this antagonist for most of the film to ensure that his trademark garden shears reflected the light in the right way.

Five years - and many failed skin grafts - later, Cropsey is released from the hospital. One wonders how insurance worked in the 1970's, because a half-decade of hospital care would cost an astronomical sum today. He hides his scars in a long coat and hat as he walks the streets, ending up in the apartment of a hooker that he dispatches with a pair of Fiskars®.

Grabbing a shiny new set of garden shears, he heads over to Camp Stonewater where he soon makes short work of an entire crew of campers. There's Sally, Alfred (Brian Backer, Mark "Rat" Ratner from Fast Times at Ridgemont High),Michelle (Leah Ayers from Bloodsport and the second Marcia Brady for the 1990's The Bradys series, which took that happy family and placed them into a drama that went face to face with hot button issues with unintentionally hilarious results),Todd (Brian Matthews, who acted in plenty of soap operas before becoming a therapist and running for office in Texas),Tiger, Karen, Fish, Woodstock (Fisher Stevens) and Eddy (Ned Eisenberg, who is Roger Kressler on the Law & Order shows). I nearly forgot Barbara, Dave, Marnie and Sophie.

Actually, take it from me, there are way too many campers here. Luckily, Cropsey is around to wipe them out with his garden shears, which he jams into throats and uses to cut off fingers. The real star of the show here are the Savini effects, as gleaming blades are pushed into teenage flesh, resulting in showers of blood and gore.

Sure, it takes an axe to the face and a flamethrower to kill Cropsey, but his legend continues at the close, as a new group of campers tells his story. There were plans to make a sequel, but the film didn't do well in its original theater run. After all, it was up against not just Friday the 13th Part 2, but also Happy Birthday to Me, Final Exam, Graduation Day and a re-released The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

It was distributed by Filmways, which wanted to rename it to Tales Around the Campfire, which is a pretty decent title, but not as great as The Burning.

There was also some great talent behind the scenes. The soundtrack comes from Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman who in addition to being a Freemason and Knight Templar also composed the scores for Crimes of Passion and She. Plus, it was edited by Jack Sholder, who would go on to direct Alone in the Dark, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge and The Hidden.

I believe I've found what must be the seminal summer camp slasher film of the 1980s. It captures every element of the decade's obsession with movies like "Friday the 13th" and "Meatballs" and puts them in one package. Shout! Factory has scored again with their Blu-ray release of "The Burning."

The caretaker of a summer camp is burned alive and left deformed after a prank goes wrong. Years later, he's released from the hospital and returns to the area where the accident occurred. A new group of campers have arrived for the summer and he has horrific plans for them. Hedge clippers in hand, the caretaker begins his reign of terror on the counselors and attendees.

"The Burning" has the raunchy toilet humor of "Meatballs" mixed with everything you came to expect from slasher films like "Friday the 13th" and "Sleepaway Camp." You have nice girls making bad decisions by hooking up with bad guys. Unfortunately, the killer sees all and punishes them for their perverse deeds.

I always thought the killer in "Friday the 13th, Part V: A New Beginning" was the first to utilize hedge clippers. I was very wrong, as you can see in "The Burning." It's obvious the psycho in "A New Beginning" took inspiration from the crazy caretaker.

It's unbelievable how many big names are attached to "The Burning." Harvey Weinstein created and co-wrote the story. Bob Weinstein co-wrote the screenplay. Special Make-up Artist Tom Savini returns to camp for a second time after his classic work on "Friday the 13th." His handiwork keeps the blood flowing efficiently.

Brian Backer plays a character more annoying than the one he did in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." Jason Alexander (yes, George Costanza) portrays a sporty and popular high schooler. He has a full head of hair and doesn't wear glasses. Holly Hunter can be seen briefly as a camper. She looks like she was maybe 13 years old.

"The Burning" is another one of those cult classics many people forget about in the shadow of "Friday the 13th." If you're a fan of 1980s slasher movies, it's a must-own.

A copycat outing, one of hundreds made in the wake of Friday THE 13TH, which uses the old plot of "horny teenagers get bumped off one by one at a summer camp" as its basis. However, THE BURNING is not bad like you might at first think. Firstly, the movie is exceptionally atmospheric, using a picturesque setting as its background and enhanced by a fine electronic score by Rick Wakeman. Secondly, there are a fair amount of suspenseful stalk-and-slash sequences - especially the drawn-out finale - which are done well, often with clichéd but effective POV shots. Thirdly, the special effects - by genre maestro Tom Savini - are plentiful, top-notch and painfully realistic, especially if the film is seen uncut. They're something to remember.

I won't bother going into the plot, other than that it's a clichéd, cardboard cut-out outing which is basically an excuse for the camera to ogle half-naked and totally naked girls bathing and showering, and for the male cast members to engage in plentiful sub-PORKY'S style antics. Sex is on every teenager's mind, whether it's the lust-mad jock or the creepy antics of Alfred, who enjoys spying on girls making out or in the shower, and is a major part of the film. Indeed Cropsy's first outing on his release after 5 years in hospital after the terrible prank that left him horrifically scarred is to try and make out with a prostitute.

The acting skills from the fresh-faced cast aren't really up to scratch, although some of them do have fun. However, I did like Brian Matthews' performance as the square-jawed hero who wields a mean axe, and Brian Backer's memorable turn as the slightly pervy Alfred, the object of much ridicule and hate. It's certainly fun to play spot the famous face, with first-time appearances from Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens, and later Oscar-winner Holly Hunter adding to the fun. But in the end it's the murders - and the villain - that stand-out in this slasher yarn.

Tom Savini - the FX maestro - gives us all manner of gory effects work in this movie, whether it be blood literally spraying in arterial fountains from chest wounds, or numerous shots of a snipped throats and flesh! Despite the obvious faults, THE BURNING is a more than efficient slasher film that more than delivers the goods, and is one of the few films made good by the gore effects alone (Peter Jackson's BRAINDEAD is the best example of this). Or maybe I just saw it at an impressionable age...