First appearance: The Burning (1981)
Some jerky teens at a summer camp decide to play a prank on the mean old cartaker, Cropsy. They wait until he's drunk in his kerosene, turpentine and old newspaper filled cabin and set a skull full of worms and lit candles on this rickety balsa wood night table. They then sneak out side and start banging on the window and making creepy sounds. Cropsy wakes, startled and terrified buy the glowing skull he knocks it on to a gasoline soaked rag setting his place, all his belongings and himself instantly ablaze! What a great prank eh? Cropsy doesn't think so. After years in the hospital he decides to head back to the camp for REVENGE! Hey, he's another burnt up janitor killing teens that he blames for his current predicament... He and Freddy should go to therapy together.
Pretty decent Canadian made slasher from the early '80s. Slightly more effective than most since not all the kids are terrible. Some weird attempts at red herrings considering we already know Cropsy is a disfigured homicidal maniac with a grudge and a fondness for big scissors.
Dig the trailer. And yes that is Seinfeld's best pal George Costanza as one of the doomed teens. Pretend this flick is a prequel to Seinfeld and it becomes even more fun! The production manager's name is Corky Burger, a name I found hilarious the first time I saw it show up in the credits.
