Blu-ray Review: Scream Factory Releases ‘The Burning,’ ‘The Town That Dreaded Sundown’

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CHICAGO – At its core, “The Burning” is quite clearly an attempt to cash in on the already-waning slasher trend inspired by “Friday the 13th” but it’s a much better film than most of the creatively barren genre. It joins “The Town That Dreaded Sundown” as the latest entries in the increasingly spectacular Scream Factory line of Blu-rays. Both are worth a look.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

“The Burning” plays off the “Cropsey” legend (so brilliantly detailed in the documentary of the same name) of a burned figure in the woods coming back to enact revenge on the kids stupid enough to linger in them. It’s essentially a standard slasher flick (lots of P.O.V. with creepy music, T&A, future stars like Jason Alexander and Fisher Stevens) but there’s a darker tone here, punctuated by the intense violence and makeup effects from the great Tom Savini. It’s before the genre would become so awash in self-parody and deserves its increased reputation as one of the best of an oft-maligned genre. The Blu-ray includes a good transfer (much better than the VHS on which you probably saw it a quarter-century) and a nice collection of special features.

“The Town That Dreaded Sundown” doesn’t just include a special feature, it includes a whole second movie, 1979’s “The Evictors,” on DVD only. It’s indicative of Scream Factory’s desire to please their hardcore horror fans. We’re not just going to give you deleted scenes. We’ll give you a whole double feature in one purchase. Make that drive-in double feature as “Sundown” and “Evictors” are the kind of fare that plays better in a parked vehicle than they do at home.

The Burning was released on Blu-ray on May 21, 2013
Photo credit: Scream Factory

“The Burning”

Synopsis:
A group of summer camp pranksters get the scare of their lives when they target the camp’s creepy caretaker… and he takes bloody revenge! “Gruesome” (The Hollywood Reporter) and “stomach-churning” (Boxoffice), this terrifying tale is “a brilliant slasher flick and gory as hell” (slasherpool.com)!

After a cruel joke goes awry, severely burning him and subjecting him to five years of intensive, unsuccessful skin graft treatments, Cropsy (Lou David) is back at camp… and ready to wreak havoc on those who scarred him! With his hedge clippers in hand, he terrorizes the camp and systematically mutilates each victim. Can a few courageous campers save themselves and destroy this demented madman before he kills them all?

Starring Brain Matthews (Crime Stopper), Leah Ayres (Bloodsport), Brian Backer (Fast Times At Ridgemont High), Larry Joshua (Dances With Wolves) and featuring early film appearances by Fisher Stevens (Short Circuit), Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) and Holly Hunter (Raising Arizona), The Burning is a “grim and nasty movie that gets under your skin” (eflimcritic.com)!

Special Features:
o Audio Commentary By Director Tony Maylam and International Journalist Alan Jones
o Blood ‘N’ Fire Memories
o Theatrical Trailer

The Town That Dreaded Sundown was released on Blu-ray on May 21, 2013
Photo credit: Scream Factory

“The Town That Dreaded Sundown”

Synopsis:
When two young lovers are savagely beaten and tortured on a back country road in Texarkana, local police are baffled. Three weeks later, two more people are slain in a similar setting and Deputy Norman Ramsey fears a pattern might be developing. Texas Ranger J.D. Morales (Ben Johnson, The Wild Bunch) is brought in to help.

The two officers must find “the Phantom Killer” before he can kill again. Also starring Andrew Prince (Grizzly) and Dawn Wells (Gilligan’s Island), directed by Charles B. Pierce (The Legend Of Boggy Creek), and based on one of America’s most baffling murder cases, this horrifying suspense thriller is a shocking experience you’ll never forget.

Special Features:
o Audio Commentary With Historian Jim Presley
o Interview With Actors Andrew Prine and Dawn Wells
o Theatrical Trailer
o Essay By Writer Brian Albright
o Poster & Still Gallery
o Special Bonus Feature: DVD Only - Charles B. Peirce’s The Evictors

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com