A group of campers plays a prank on their mean caretaker, Cropsy. And what a prank it is. These kids somehow obtain a human skull and place little candles inside it, then set the skull by Cropsy's bed and knock on his window until he wakes up, freaks out because there's a human skull with little candles inside it, and knocks it over, resulting in poor Cropsy sustaining some severe burns. He spends the next five years in a hospital, where he is attended to by a staff member who describes him as "a fucking Big Mac - overdone!" Eventually, Cropsy is released and makes his way back to camp to have his revenge (on a bunch of kids who had nothing to do with the prank, but they'll do in a pinch).
A bit of trivia: The Burning was one of the first films from Miramax's Harvey and Bob Weinstein. The film's young cast includes Jason Alexander and Holly Hunter in a blink-and-you'll-miss-her appearance. Alexander is the comic relief, while Brian Backus is the weird kid who spies on girls in the shower. I'd assume most guys at the camp would do the same thing, but apparently not. Most of the kids are fairly likable, so we almost don't want them to die.
Tom Savini's special effects are impressive, with Cropsy's preferred weapon - a pair of garden shears - creating some gruesome aftermath. The highlight of the film is the raft sequence, in which five kids are massacred in under a minute. Cropsy makes for a pretty cool villain, and while his makeup might not be the most realistic, his horribly burned visage is memorable, and he'd be a sympathetic character were it not for the occasional murders.
There was no shortage of slasher movies in the '80s, but The Burning is an enjoyably nasty little number that stands out thanks to its memorable villain, great gore effects, and awesome soundtrack by Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman. Even the trailer is entertaining and must have served as inspiration for the Grindhouse "Don't" trailer.
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