THE BURNING (1981) from vintage VHS

• Director: Tony Maylam
• Cast: Brian Matthews, Leah Ayres, Brian Backer, Larry Joshua, Jason Alexander
• 1981 | Film: 91mins | USA | No Subtitles | VHS | Event: 20:45 – 23:10 [18+]

Abusive summer camp caretaker Cropsy, horribly burned from a prank gone wrong, returns to Camp Stonewater, hell-bent on killing the teenagers responsible for his disfigurement.

“A LEGEND OF TERROR IS NO CAMPFIRE STORY ANYMORE!”

Cult film night BAR TRASH continues with BANNED, an uncensored season of the Video Nasties.

For this very special VHS screening of Tony Maylam’s THE BURNING (1981), Token Homo is joined by the incredible tapehead Gemma Gore, returning to BAR TRASH with another vintage video cassette from her extensive personal collection (and this tape has history!).

THE BURNING is a gruesomely effective summer camp slasher featuring standout gore effects from FX legend Tom Savini and performances from a fresh batch of future film and TV stars. Whilst the film is now widely available in its original uncensored form, it was previously banned in the UK as a Video Nasty and was subjected to more cuts than an ill-fated Cropsy camper! 

THE BURNING was originally passed with cuts by the BBFC to achieve an X certificate for cinema release in 1981. Thorn EMI (accidentally?) distributed the uncensored print on VHS without the BBFC cuts. Following an outcry, Thorn recalled the tapes, recorded over them with the BBFC approved cut print, and rereleased them. However, the film was subsequently banned as a Video Nasty, and denied re-release on home video following the introduction of the Video Recordings Act 1984. THE BURNING was eventually passed with cuts to achieve an 18 certificate for home video re-release in 1992, and then finally passed uncut in 2002.

“I’m delighted to be back at BAR TRASH for a very special screening of this 1980s slasher classic. I’ll be bringing along my forty year old VHS copy, which escaped both the recall, and being incinerated following the ban. If the tape passes quality control we’ll screen from it on the night, but as always we’ll bring a back-up Blu-ray (uncut, of course). So, if you are partial to a summer camp revenge slasher set to a synth score reminiscent of a Nintendo platform game, then you won’t want to miss this one!”

GEMMA GORE

Polite notice: THE BURNING “contains strong bloody violence and horror” (BBFC). Our VHS titles do not have subtitles or captions and may encounter technical problems during playback (we have backup discs if needed). This screening is from a vintage VHS cassette, so please embrace the experience with love.

/// BAR TRASH is a celebration of cult and curious cinema, hosted by queer film fanatic, Token Homo. Films are served with themed drinks, introductions, intermissions, prize giveaways, and subtitles/captions where possible. Tickets from £3. Strictly adults 18+ only. Follow @tokenhomo on Instagram for news and updates. ///