Burn (1998)

An author suffering writer's block has to face his own demons when his best friend shows up with a completed manuscript, a publishing deal, and the publisher's daughter in tow. In his ... See full summary »

Director:

Scott Storm

Writer:

Dylan Kussman

Stars:

David Hayter, Alfonso Freeman, Anthony Moore

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
David Hayter	...	Tom Rice
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alfonso Freeman
Anthony Moore
Karen Rosa
Andrea Roth
Randall Slavin

Storyline

An author suffering writer's block has to face his own demons when his best friend shows up with a completed manuscript, a publishing deal, and the publisher's daughter in tow. In his frustration, he proceeds to pound out a story in which he kills the best friend. Metaphorically, as he gains confidence, he does destroy the friend's egotistical confidence.

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Plot Keywords:

independent film

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 September 1998 (Germany)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

User Reviews

A lost indie treasure!

Telling you the premise of "Burn" makes it sound like a tired, pretentious, painful indie, the kind that litter the post-midnight dead zone of the Sundance and IFC channels. It's about two writers in an apartment, talking about, well, writing. With a girl in the middle. Hmmm... sounds like "Tape". Well, guess again.

Burn IS a movie about two writers in an apartment, but the execution of said premise is unlike anything you'd expect. Scott Storm mounts the film like a thriller, with the tension between the two leads, scribes on opposite ends of the social scale, a palpable force that drives the entire film. It's a masterful piece of direction, a slowly tightening nail-biter that just keeps getting more and more intense. I won't include any spoilers here - the ending is better if you don't know what's coming - but let's just say that the feeling of dread is paid off very, very well.

Now, I don't know how much of this suspense-tale stuff was intended in Dylan Kussman's script (hats off to him, though - lots of terrific dialogue and character stuff keep the journey interesting), but certainly much of what ended up on the screen was the filmmakers desire to rise above the two-writers-talking-about-writing fold. This is more like a cross between "Deathtrap" and "Insomnia" than another version of "Tape".

I don't think this movie was ever released properly and is very, very hard to find. Basically, there must be a bunch of bootleg dubs from festival screeners floating around. But if you can locate a copy, do yourself a favor and snatch it up! At least until some bright video label grabs this thing and gives it the release it's due.

I also wonder if the recent heat on Scott Storm is amping up the circulation of bootlegs of this movie. Coincidentally, I saw the trailer for his new movie "Ten 'til Noon" on the web last month, and it looks like its going to kick some serious butt.