YMMV / The Burning

• Awesome Music: The whole score counts, but especially the main theme. Really, what do you expect when you work with former Yes-man Rick Wakeman?
• Common Knowledge: Cropsy is often described as a pedophile, even though there is nothing in the film that indicates this, with the boys in the intro just saying that he hit them, and the only time that he ever does anything sexual being with an adult (the prostitute). This misconception presumably stems from conflation with Andre Rand, a child molester and suspected serial killer who is popularly believed to be the basis for the Crosy urban legend.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Dave is the most popular character in the movie after Cropsy, mainly because he's played by Jason Alexander, who gives a comedic and energetic performance.
  • Gentle Giant Rhoda and Tomboy with a Girly Streak Tiger (who is also The Baby of the Bunch by a slight margin and narrowly and unknowingly survives being stalked by Cropsy early on). Both have relatively few lines and not too many Fanservice scenes but are some of the best-liked female campers.
• Fridge Brilliance: For a burned man, Cropsy has an odd, melted-looking face. This is explained by an offhand comment in the hospital about failed skin grafts.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: This was a flop at the U.S. box-office (before gaining a cult following on video), but was a big hit in Japan and France.
• He's Just Hiding: The fairly fleshed out and likable Barbara is only stabbed in the back and tossed into the river during the Gorn-filled raft massacre, making it possible that she was only wounded and survived.
• Jerkass Woobie: Say what you will about Serial Killer Cropsy (who was by all accounts a Jerkass even before the events of the film) but after being burned nearly to death, horrifically scarred (to the point of looking inhuman) and going through an almost unimaginable amount of pain, can you really blame him for going completely Ax-Crazy?
• Misblamed: Contemporary reviews of the film often blame some of the skivier moments on Harvey Weinstein being one of the writers. While Harvey did have a role as executive producer his only other contribution is a "Created by" credit. It was his brother Bob who actually co-wrote the film with Peter Laurence.
• Narm: Cropsy's face◊ has been liberally described as "far beyond ridiculous". Word of God is that it is based on several sources of photos of real burn victims, so it may be that Savini combined enough worst-case-scenario features that it would be unlikely Cropsy could've survived the damage.
• Older Than They Think: People usually accuse the movie being a Friday the 13th (1980) rip-off, but it was actually written before it. Of course, they could just be saying that.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • Jason Alexander (George in Seinfeld) as Dave.
  • Young Holly Hunter as Sophie.
  • Alfred's actor Brian Backer would later play Rat in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
  • Woodstock is Ben from Short Circuit series.
  • Production-wise, this was an early Weinstein production.
• The Scrappy: Not many fans like Alfred, for being a creepy and perverted whiner who is supposed to be seen as sympathetic, when he sexually harasses Sally just to get back at Glazer for bullying him, when the only reason Glazer bullies him is because he finds Alfred’s stares creepy. He also has the gall to whine about having no friends, when pretty much everyone save Glazer defends him and is friendly towards him.
• Signature Scene: The raft massacre, especially the moment where Cropsy has his arms raised up, ready to stab someone with his shears.
• Special Effect Failure:
  • When Todd finds Karen's body in the mine, it's just a superimposed picture of her from her earlier death scene.
  • At the start, when Cropsy is set on fire, he's wearing some rather obvious protective gear.
  • When Cropsy stabs Eddy in the throat during the raft massacre, there's a brief shot of him pulling the shears out. And during that shot, there's no wound on Eddy's throat whatsoever.
• Strawman Has a Point: Glazer is a Jerkass and a bully, but he does have a point when he notes that Alfred deserves punishment for peeping on Sally. Of course, shortly after this, he shoves Alfred into the lake despite knowing that he can’t swim, and then proudly and very loudly bragging about this, so it’s clear he doesn’t have the moral high ground.
• Tearjerker: When Michelle finds the raft with the murdered campers, it cuts to a scene of the remaining campers crying and holding each other while talking about how they don't want to die. It's very effective at selling the point that they are all just kids who didn't deserve any of Cropsy's wrath.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Alfred is considered this by many fans of the film. He says he has no friends, when it's shown very thoroughly that all the guys in his cabin (except Glazer) are friendly towards him; he knows Glazer picks on him and finds his stares creepy, but he just keeps staring at Glazer; he spies on Sally in the bathroom, which almost gets him kicked out of camp, and then constantly spies on her and Glazer later on. Rather than finding him sympathetic or relatable, fans tend to think of him as a creepy whiner.
• Values Dissonance: Shooting another camper with an air rifle (even just in the butt) as a prank can feel a lot less comfortable in an era with as much gun violence as the earliest decades of the 21st century.

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