10 One-Off Horror Movie Villains Who MUST Return

Upon release in 1981, The Burning received unfavorable comparisons to the burgeoning Friday the 13th series. Since then, however, it’s rightly become a cult classic because of the visceral and vindictive nature of its scorched slasher, Cropsy.

The basic plot of the movie is that a disliked Camp Blackfoot caretaker – Cropsy – is inadvertently set ablaze by pranksters. Five years on, he returns to seek revenge.

Admittedly, it’s not a particularly unique or compelling premise. Nevertheless, there are three main reasons why Cropsy stands out: his revolting look, his homicidal use of gardening shears, and his creatively sadistic mission to punish people.

For instance, he carves into the stomach of a sex worker because she was visibly disgusted by him. Later, and in the film’s most legendary scene, he swiftly butchers several campers on a raft by stabbing them, slicing them, and, in one instance, cutting off most of their fingers.

Ironically, he's bested by being set ablaze and subsequently reduced to a campfire myth for counselors to retell each summer. Like Jason Voorhees before him, though, Cropsy could easily be resurrected through some sort of enjoyably absurd shenanigans to show off his gardening sheers to a new generation of campers.

A Burning sequel could even dive into Cropsy's pre-accident abusiveness to explain why he was pranked in the first place.