The Burning
After a terrible prank leaves camp caretaker Cropsy horribly burned, a new season at Camp Blackfoot turns into a blood-soaked reckoning. The film is one of the defining summer-camp slashers and remains central to discussions of early-1980s horror and British censorship.
Film details
| Original / alt title | The Burning |
| Year | 1981 |
| Director | Tony Maylam |
| Country | USA |
| Runtime | Approx. 91 min |
| Main cast | Brian Backer, Leah Ayres, Brian Matthews, Lou David |
UK status
One of the final 39 titles successfully prosecuted during the Video Nasty era.
Passed 18 uncut in 2001 after many years in cut form.
Why it caused controversy
UK censorship / Video Nasties history
A quick status check first, followed by the film’s censorship timeline. A DPP prosecution was an obscenity case against a particular video publication — it was not automatically the same thing as a permanent nationwide “ban”.
Detailed censorship timeline & facts
FACTS & TRIVIA
- Tom Savini handled the special makeup effects.
- The film includes one of the most famous slasher set pieces of the early 1980s.
- Harvey and Bob Weinstein were involved in the production and screenplay story credits.
- Its camp setting gives it a strong overlap with the appeal of Friday the 13th, but with its own identity.
- Rick Wakeman contributed music to the film.
- Collectors often remember the original poster as one of the era's best horror one-sheets.
- The Burning's critical standing has risen enormously since the VHS panic years.
Distributor / VHS label
Archive cover shown is the user-supplied scan. UK distributor / VHS-label attribution varies by edition and is not asserted here without a verified sleeve imprint.
Trailer
Open a search for the original theatrical / VHS-era trailer. This keeps the archive linking to publicly available trailer sources rather than hosting copyrighted film footage.
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