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Reviews
The Burning (1981)
Cropsy, victim......?
Most viewers of The Burning interpret it as a fairly ordinary good vs. evil slasher romp. However, under closer inspection, what we see is a wholly different state of affairs. Initially let us study the character of Cropsy. Far from being the villain of this fine piece, he is in fact the victim of camp counsellor Todd's sociopathic rage. To begin with, we are never truly made aware of what exactly Cropsy did in order to deserve such infamy prior to his horrific ordeal by fire. Todd's allegations of Cropsy being: "...a real b*****d" seem to be based entirely on unfounded, anecdotal evidence - We, the viewers are given no insight other than that based on the accounts of Todd - convenient!? Now let's look at the character of Todd. Unlike Cropsy, we understand nothing of his background. All we see is a young, arrogantly good looking young man. We then learn that he was in fact responsible for the titular burning of Cropsy for no reasons other than those stated by Todd himself during fireside scaremongering/story-telling. This does beg the question that what indeed could Cropsy have done that could possibly warrant such firey recompense. Another question may indeed be how can a man commit such a remorselessly violent act and remain so guilt free that he can flippantly deliver the story to hapless teenagers whilst roasting marshmallows on an open fire. Cropsy may have been an alcoholic: "...2 bottles of whiskey a day, no problem..", but should such a man's problems be swept under the carpet or indeed reduced to ashes. The facts remain: Cropsy had his problems, but after his horrific ordeal by fire it is very easy to see that he was not a better man for it. We, therefore, have no option but to lay the blame and the blood of innocent American kids solely at the door of sociopathic Todd (camp counsellor). After all, having suffered the torments needlessly laid upon him by Todd and his friends is it any wonder Cropsy became what he did - in some ways a warped reflection of Todd himself. In the final, unfair chapter of this film, far from punishing the true villain, Cropsy is burned a second time at the hands of Todd - cruel irony. This type of analysis may strike some people as a waste of time. However, what we see is an insight into the human condition and how we react within society's allowance. Cropsy, a victim reduced to a deformed creature capable of terrible murder, was simply a man doing his job. Then, thanks to Todd and his cronies, his identity was seared from him - can he be truly held to blame for his actions? After all, "...the skin grafts just didn't take."
Necronomicon - Geträumte Sünden (1968)
Surreal genius
Franco proves, once again, that he is the prince of surreal & erotic cinema. True, much of his work can be viewed as entertaining sleaze but with Succubus (Necronomicon) he shows what he is truly capable of when he lets his warped creativity run riot and gives us a film that is both hypnotic and enigmatic whilst still maintaining the delirious eroticism intrinsic in his work. Jerry Van Rooyen's splendid score pulsates as the viewer is thrown from one bizarre scenario to another as we follow the trials of a striptease artist (Reynaud) who may be schizophrenic, or may indeed (as one mysterious character states) be a devil, attempt to come to terms with the world she inhabits. A beautiful and enigmatic piece of cinema highly recommended to anybody with even a passing interest in alternative cinema.