MovieChat Forums > Confessions of a Serial Killer (1985) Discussion > Terror is a Man-Robert A. Burns is Brill...

Terror is a Man-Robert A. Burns is Brilliant

posted 19 years ago by nfaust1
11 replies | jump to latest

This movie isn't kidding. That's why so many comments are hostile to the extreme. The late Robert A. Burns plays the serial killer who's confessing, and he's unforgettable. It's one of those performances that really get you because there's no pretense in his acting. Burns plays a guy who, on the surface, seems pretty ineffectual: polite, soft spoken, and when dealing with the police, always upbeat and gentle. But when the seasoned sherif starts to interrogate our friend, this soft spoken fellow never breaks a sweat nor raises the tone or timber of his voice as he tells of one murder after another after another. I know of no other actor who has so vividly created this kind of sociopath on the screen before. Burns never plays it up. Rather, the contradictions he seamlessly illustrates in this character continually draw us into his horrible world. That's why all these folks have written negative, hostile comments. Burns gets to you in a way that's profoundly unsettling. You can't take you eyes off him. The film itself takes the approach that the world exists to provide killers like this with toys to play with. It relentlessly positions the viewer in the center of the sociopath's experience, creating a world that defies civilized restraint, tenderness of any kind, and replaces all with a cold and casual cruelty. This is a film that reeks of endgame; God is dead and the beasts rely on instinct and the smell of blood to survive. Not a pleasant film, for sure, but in it's own right a kind of classic because it fulfills its goals without generalizing or in anyway trumping up the dark, relentless vision into something faceless like a cartoon Jason and Freddy. This movie haunts one because the terror it illustrates comes from a very real and very recognizable human being. Terror is a man. Burns is extraordinary, and so is the film.

[–] calicutie80 19 years ago

I must agree with YOU!! This movie is brilliant, and I don't understand why more people don't know about it and its not recognized. This at the top of my list for scariest films of all time.

"Just cuz I have one maybe two...two drinks, what that make me a alcholic now!"------Eddie King

[–] herbenamy 19 years ago

I saw this movie for the first time back in the early 90's. My brother and I were both affected by this movie. Robert Burns was unforgettable. I have been trying to track this movie down on DVD, even VHS, but I've had no luck to date. Probably the best of all serial killer movies, but the least recognized.

[–] cook51104 19 years ago

I saw this movie only 2x but it's never left me.I think its way more effective for a movie like this one to have "no name" actors so that we see it with no prejudice to the story. Daniel Burns was such a nondescript kind of guy, like anyone you'd see at a high school basketball game or the local hardware store. I think thats what bothers me the most about this movie. His complete lack of conscience was so convincing, it brought goosebumps to my arms. as a single woman, the most frightening part of the movie was when he and Moon finagled their way into the lady's house by offering to fix something for her. But what underlined his total lack of normal thinking and made my jaw drop was when he very casually, after giving his confession, asked the detectives for another hamburger.

[–] cook51104 19 years ago

daniel?? what the hell was i thinking??

[–] nfaust1 19 years ago

I agee with you, totally. His performance in this should be placed right up there with the best. That hamberger thing at the end is quite a punch.

[–] sharkypuffs 19 years ago

It's been a while since I've seen this, but I thought he asked for another chocolate milk shake?

[–] wfrazerjr 18 years ago

I just found out about Robert's suicide. We weren't close friends, but passing friends during my time in Seguin. I posted this to my blog and thought it might interest you here also:

I was just flipping around Fark earlier and saw something about the 10 most violent onscreen deaths. It led me to thinking about a friend I made while I was the managing editor of a newspaper in Seguin, Texas.

Robert Burns was the art director for the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I didn't know this when I first met him, though. We crossed paths when I did a story on the reclamation of a small creek that ran behind his house. He was witty and articulate, charming and just a hint of a rogue. I liked him immediately.

We developed a passing friendship, including a couple of lunches and a story on an opry house not far from Seguin where he played the spoons and entertained the locals. I was stunned to find out, however, of his involvement in the original TCM. Robert had many of the props from the movie (and many other movies) in his home, which struck me as really strange. Here was this sensitive, soft-spoken little man in a house full of awful sculptures and images.

He never ceased to amaze me, showing me videos of him performing with two mannequins on sticks, showing off raw footage of various projects. We didn't talk much about TCM -- I hate violent films -- but I did start an interview with him once about his experiences in the industry. He said TCM was an incredibly difficult experience, with long and arduous shoots that were rough on everyone. Robert also told me that despite what people thought, very little fake blood was used (less than a bucket, if I recall). He said that was what really creeped viewers out -- it looked too real, especially when other films used gore by the tanker truck.

Robert and director Tobe Hooper stayed in touch, and apparently both hated the recent remake. I believe they thought they could have done a much better job. In fact, Robert told me he had basically fleshed out a new Massacre movie with what sounded like a great plotline. I don't think I'll share it -- I think it's a piece of Robert I'd like to keep for myself.

He worked as the art director on numerous other films, including "The Hills Have Eyes" and "Re-Animator." Robert was proudest, though, of his starring role in "Confessions of a Serial Killer." Many fans saw his performance as one of the finest recreations of a psychopathic killer ever, although Burns would never admit to more than being adequate.

I was saddened to find out through the Internet Movie Database that Robert took his own life last year after discovering he had terminal cancer. It didn't surprise me, though, as he did things on his own terms. We weren't close friends by any stretch, but still, I just wish I'd known so I could have said goodbye.

Thanks, Robert, for your friendship. We'll miss you.

[–] FatLadyKILLER 18 years ago

Thank you for that post man.
Robert was, and still is, a huge influence on my Art Direction in the Indy films I work on. I dont try to directly copy him but the mentality and hard work, I try to bring in. I was lucky enough to talk with him once and he told me in detail how he made the various "Leaterface masks" and others that werent used in the film. We lost a great, talented guy when he left us, but I dont blame him or hate him at all for taking his own life given the circumstances. His work will live on through fans like us!

[–] agb83 18 years ago

I am bummed out now. I did not know he died. His acting in Confessions was very good and not appreciated as it should have been.

[–] gunnagood 15 years ago

I loved "Confessions" it was one of the last films I can recall that I watched 2 times simultaneously...great movie, horrible "Silence of the Lambs" ripoff style advertising. Robert Burns was brilliant in every angle. He dressed up sets and made props that seemed to come directly from the mind of a real killer, he understood something nobody else probably ever will. I'm glad to hear of another film-based art director using Robert as an inspiration...good art direction (and prop making/selecting) is a very important ingredient in film. And it's sorely lacking in cinema these days, from independent to big budget. The props and sets just fall flat. Hard work, but misdirected.
Robert Burns will be greatly missed. From TCM & The Howling to Microwave Massacre...his work will be cherished here for the the rest of my days.

[–] Gangsteroctopus 13 years ago

Robert was a truly kind, considerate and interesting man, with a gentle, soft-spoken manner that sometimes masked his keen, curious intellect and broad range of interests.

I met Robert in person at the 1998 Austin Film Festival (we had up till then corresponded via e-mail). He gave me and my (then-)girlfriend an impromptu tour of the city and its environs. We went by the campus and he made sure to point out the tower on campus from which Charles Whitman had taken out most of his victims, then directed us to the neighborhood where Whitman's family house still stood (stands?). Then we went back to his place and he showed off his large collection of '70s TV memorabilia (Brady Munch, Partridge Family). He had a lot of neat stuff.

We kept in touch via e-mail for some years, but eventually lost touch. Then, some years later, it was with much sadness that I read of his passing.

Really, really cool guy.

And yes, what an amazing performance in "Confessions of a Serial Killer"!