The Burning (1981) – as much as I hate what Miramax did to so many movies, as much as it kills me to say this, this early Weinstein-produced horror movie is a true classic, standing head-and-shoulders above the Friday the 13th series which it gleefully rips off. Shot simultaneously with Friday the 13th Part 2, it’s another Dead Campers flick, but it’s got far better acting, a slicker script, a hearty helping of “spooky tales told around a campfire” atmosphere, and Jason Alexander (George from Seinfeld) with hair. Fisher Stevens and Holly Hunter are also on hand to class up the joint. Special effects maestro Tom Savini turned down a job on Friday the 13th Part 2 to work on The Burning, so the effects are ambitiously wet and sticky (so much so that the film’s British distributor had its office raided by the police), and both films were shot in Western New York and Connecticut, giving them a similar look. Just watch out for that raft scene. (Watch it!)
