The Initiation Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
. . the night new blood is pledged.
They pledge themselves to be young, stay young...and die young.
Be young stay young... and die young.
Daphne Zuniga stars here as Kelly, a young woman who has been plagued by nightmares of a burning man her entire life. Upon entering college, she pledges a sorority that forces them to perform an initiation night prank. With several of her friends, she breaks into a store and unfortunately discovers that it is impossible to exit from the building after it is entered illegally. Trapped in a new nightmare, Kelly must fight for survival when a madman begins killing her pledge sisters one by one.
| Vera Miles | Frances Fairchild |
| Daphne Zuniga | Kelly |
| Clu Gulager | Dwight Fairchild |
| James Read | Peter |
| Marilyn Kagan | Marcia |
| Robert Dowdell | Jason Randall |
| Patti Heider | Nurse Higgins |
| Frances Peterson | Megan |
| Hunter Tylo | Alison |
| Paula Knowles | Beth |
| Trey Stroud | Ralph |
| Peter Malof | Andy |
| Christopher Bradley | Chad |
| Joy Jones | Heidi |
| Mary Davis Duncan | Gwen |
| Larry Stewart |
5.40 out of 10 (361 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Under-rated slasher yarn that missed the boat and deserves at least another look...
posted on 30 Aug 2009Although it's fantastic for avid collectors like myself that the slasher genre was so heavily populated during it's two lengthy runs in both the early eighties and late nineties, it perhaps made it harder for some titles to achieve the recognition that they deserved. Whilst it's generally acknowledged that Friday the 13th and the Halloween series were the most memorable genre outings from the overkill period of the eighties, many of their cousins from that time were deserving of further recognition.The likes of My Bloody Valentine, Happy Birthday to Me, Prom Night, The Prowler and Intruder are often mentioned as the 'second-tier' of the category and have achieved cult status and a legacy in their own right. Unfortunately that means movies such as Hell Night, Maniac, Just Before Dawn and Madman have been somewhat unfairly overlooked.If judged solely on its merits as a motion picture, then The initiation doesn't even sit amongst the latter titles that I mentioned above. It does however boast an undeniably alluring sheen, which is impossible to ignore. Sure, it's cheesy as hell; but it nicely paced, slickly produced, atmospheric and has its share of decent moments. It's not a view that is shared by everybody, but personally I like the movie and think its somewhat under-valued.Kelly Fairchild is a pledge at her local college and as the new term draws near, she learns that she has to participate in the annual prank-filled initiation in order to earn the respect of her senior sorority sisters. This year the youngster and three of her friends have been tasked with stealing the uniform of the security guard that patrols the local mall after hours. Fortunately for the youngsters, the shopping centre is owned by Kelly's father, Dwight, who is somewhat of a local entrepreneur. Unbeknownst to the group, they have picked a time when a recently escaped lunatic is also hiding in the dimly lighted complex and before long the youngsters are being stalked and systematically slaughtered by an unseen assassin.There are two key reasons why Halloween is widely regarded as the best and the most respectable of all the early eighties genre entries. Firstly, John Carpenter is an extremely talented director and a maestro of suspense generation. Secondly and perhaps most importantly, his movie was made purely with the inspiration to do something different whereas the motivation behind titles like The Initiation was simply to cash in on the stalk and slash craze that had swept the early part of the decade. Things move quickly in cinema and the fact that a quick profit was all that most producers were looking for from the genre meant that film-makers were never given the time to indulge in their cinematic visions.There's no hiding the fact that money was the key factor behind the production of TV director Larry Stewart's one and only motion picture, but in fairness he looks to have been given the space and freedom to create the movie as he had initially intended, which means that we the audience benefit from an entry that never feels rush-released.Cinematically, The Initiation is a film of two halves and starts rather flatly with nothing to note from Stewart's pedestrian direction. It's only when the victims are locked in the mall with the maniac killer that he gets the chance to flex his creative muscle and delivers some taut suspense and engaging set pieces. Stewart has a ball with the spacious locations and cat and mouse suspense during the second half of the runtime and the movie becomes an explosive cocktail of slasher clichés and pacey scenarios.The cast remain cheesy throughout, but do enough to allow the audience to warm to them. All eyes are on Daphne Zuniga in her first real film role (if you ignore her brief cameo as 'the girl that gets gruesomely squished by a car' in The Dorm that Dripped Blood), but she does precious little to separate herself from the rest of the junior hopefuls. It's the impressive script that really steals the limelight here and very few can honestly admit that they expected the Scooby-Doo twist conclusion.Yes, it could be argued that the movie is a remake of another successful early eighties slasher, which I can't mention without ruining the crux of the plot. That's hardly a bad thing however and The Initiation has just about enough in its locker to succeed on its own merits. Blood hounds may be disappointed with the lack of any extreme gore, but those looking for a fun slice of slasher hokum will get their fill here.All in all, I liked the Initiation. It is a reminder of all that was good about early-eighties splatter flicks and unlike many of it's genre cousins, it also packs a double fisted punch to your ocular senses. The acting is hilariously campy and there's no real gore to mention, but the good points, such as the impressively strong pacing, just about outweigh the bad.If you've seen all the others and are in dire need for a slasher fix, then you should certainly give this one a go.
A little short of something really ace
posted on 30 Aug 2009I had a decent time with The Initiation and it seems to be one of the better early eighties slashers. Daphne Zuniga makes for a likable enough lead, she ain't no Jamie Lee Curtis but shes pretty engaging. Vera Miles and Clu Gallagher add a bit of star power, though neither have particularly big roles. The film is hampered by its first hour, in which too little happens and the initially intriguing dream based set up soon becomes a predictable and not well written enough. The film chugs along nicely though, pretty well directed with some creepy moments. Once the film finally locks down into slasher shenanigans, the film serves up some great stalking sequences in a good location (mall) and an pleasurably demented final twist. The killings range from ace to amusing to merely OK and a deal more gore would certainly not have gone amiss, especially given the quality of the build ups to the killings. The eerie score helps here. The film has enough blood to satisfy, but it could have gone further. There some fine nudity in here to round out the package, giving the film a great eighties feel. Altogether, if this were slightly gorier and tighter paced it could have been really special. As is, with a good body count, nudity, more fear than usual for the genre and a wacky and great fun finale, this is still happily recommended for slasher fans.
Traditional Slasher Formula
posted on 30 Aug 2009The Plot = Kelly Fairchild (Daphne Zuniga) has nightmares involving a man attacking her parents (Vera Miles and Clu Gulager). The dream always ends with the mystery man getting torched after falling into a fireplace. As a pledge for Delta Rho Chi, Kelly is forced to break into her father's mall and steal the night watchman's clothes. Someone else is lurking in the mall and they're only interested in taking lives.The Initiation follows the traditional slasher formula well added stars (Miles and Gulager), young, talented unknowns (Zuniga, Hunter Tylo, James Read), new wave band (Refugee) performing at a party, shower scenes, bloody deaths, etc. Following the formula so closely is a good thing. The film makers set out to create an entertaining slasher for slasher fans and they succeeded. What makes The Initiation a stand out slasher is the strong performances, Larry Stewart's direction, and Charles Pratt's script.The characters are well established and likable, the death scenes have so much impact because of this connection to the cast, the first half is rather quiet but kept me interested right up until the build up towards the end.Daphne Zuniga played the lead heroine really well, after her short lived stint in not so great slasher flick (The Dorm That Dripped Blood), she gets the main role in this movie and she truly shines, I enjoyed the romance subplot between her and her teacher Peter (James Read) who monitors her dreams along with his glamorous assistant Heidi (Joy Jones) just kept me interested all the way through. The final showdown at the mall was suspenseful and well mapped out, the teens weren't just quickly killed off, the filmmakers stretched it out a bit before each one gets picked off one by one adding more and more tension and suspense, and plus what I liked about it was that it wasn't all too predictable.This movie is certainly a lot of fun the cat-'n-mouse antics as the killer chases the teens around the mall in what comes across like a roller-boogie take on the setting of Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978). It is also probably about now that I should mention the lively modus operandi of the slasher- dispatching victims with axes, harpoons, arrows; it's not really that gory but still well done. The ending which I won't give away has a "Happy Birthday To Me" feel to it which I loved the shocking twist which you won't see coming.All in all "The Initiation" is definitely one of the best slashers from the 80's right up there with (House On The Sorority Row, The Prowler, Curtains, My Bloody Valentine... well I could go on all day, definitely a must see for all slasher fans.
Precedes the similar "Chopping Mall" by two years.
posted on 30 Aug 2009Okay slasher movie has a familiar plot of sorority pledges being obliged to take part in a stupid prank as an initiation - sneaking into a shopping mall after hours and swiping a security guards' uniform - but being preyed upon by a vicious killer.Before this even happens - in the second half of the movie - we get a story of a college girl (gorgeous Daphne Zuniga, in the role that "introduced" her) plagued by nightmares, and being helped by her kindly - and conveniently hunky - psychology instructor (James Read) in dream therapy sessions that may remind viewers of the more mainstream slasher hit, "A Nightmare on Elm Street".Average of its type; it's fairly typical stuff, once it gets going: put the victims in peril, then knock them off one at at time. Those of you who like plot twists, and heavy back stories to go with the blood letting, might be amused by what you get here. (Perhaps in reference to top-billed Vera Miles co-starring in "Psycho", there's a "Psycho"-like plot development about a third of the way through.) Gore hounds can take some satisfaction from some very graphic killings. And voyeurs may be pleased by a gratuitous dose of full frontal female nudity.As for the film itself, I consider it passable at best. The curious will note the presence of these very familiar faces (Clu Gulager of "The Return of the Living Dead", "A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge", and "The Hidden" also co-stars) and may want to check it out for that reason. The mall setting isn't a bad idea but the picture really doesn't deliver in terms of any real scares or suspense. Still, it should more or less satisfy the average slasher fan; one could do worse than this.5/10
The Initiation
posted on 30 Aug 2009The lovely Kelly(Daphne Zuniga in her first performance)is troubled by this recurring "nightmare" regarding her mother and "father" making love when a man enters the room enraged. A little girl, she believes is herself, has a bloody knife in her hand. A mirror reflecting the little girl and the enraged man being burnt alive by the "father" also are very potent images in this nightmare. Later we see that a facially burnt man is attending to the grounds at an insane asylum about the same time as patients are released from the place and a nurse is brutally stabbed while attempting to crank her car.Kelly and two other college girls, Marcia(Marilyn Kagan)and Alison(Hunter Tylo, better known for starring on the soap opera THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL)are challenged, via pledge, by sorority sister Megan(Frances Peterson)to steal a security uniform from her "father" Dwight Fairchild's massive mall. Megan plans to prank the girls and keeps the back door locked when Kelly hands over the keys to the building. Megan also invites three college boys:Ralph the comedian(Trey Stroud), Chad(Christopher Bradley) & Andy(Peter Malof), Megan's beau. What none of these characters know is that a psycho is inside the mall with them as we see this person kill the security guard before the girls entered the place.Kelly seeks help from teaching assistant, Peter(hunky James Read), whose special interests and skills lie in understanding the logic of dreams. He hopes to unlock those mysteries and expose them to Kelly so they will quit plaguing her.Film vets Clu Gulager and Vera Miles get top billing as Kelly's parents. The facially burnt man named Jason Randall(Robert Dowdell)has a major role in the grand scheme of things as does the nightmare and it's mysteries on how they effect Kelly. The twist is neat and the characters(my favorite is Tylo who uses her Southern drawl and charm as the beautiful nympho Alison)are likable. The various slayings come mostly from weapons stolen within the mall which creates a foreboding atmosphere all it's own when the killer continues every now and then to turn the lights on and off. The mall is also a really expansive place where a killer can hide fairly well.
Deadbeat coeds, chopping malls and giant penis-costumes. Yep, we're in the 80's all right!
posted on 30 Aug 2009Gorgeous sorority girls hunted down by a maniacal killer during their pledge night. Now there's a new and totally original idea for an early 80's slasher movie... NOT! Well, that's also what the creators of "The Initiation" must have thought, and thus they added some other, much more ambitious story lines as well, including reoccurring nightmares & dream-analysis, convoluted family drama and revenge. An admirable effort, but all these sub plots don't hide very well that the basic desire of director Larry Stewart simply was to brutally kill off a handful of scarcely dressed college girls in a shopping mall setting. This all results in a film with an overlong and frequently tedious first half with only one truly great and suspense-laden scene (set inside a mental asylum) and a very routine and déjà-vu second half with four girls and some frat-boys stalked by a well-armed killer in a mall. "The Initiation" offers absolutely nothing you haven't seen a hundred times before and that includes uninspired murders, pathetic fraternity ceremonies, stereotypical characters and – of course – the obligatory full frontal nudity shots of girls walking out of the shower. Oh no, wait! There's is one little something you probably haven't seen before! During a typical costume party, the funny guy of the bunch dresses up like a giant penis! Complete with hairy balls and veins! Now that's what I'll remember this movie for... "The Initiation" supposedly introduces Daphne Zuniga (even though she already appeared briefly in a similar kind of movie called "The Dorm that Dripped Blood in 1982) as the cherubic Kelly Fairchild, wannabe Delta Ro Kai sorority member and only daughter of a prominent shopping mall owner. If worrying about getting into the elite girls club isn't enough yet, she's also haunted by nightmares in which she witnesses her nine-year-old self in her parents' bedroom when a stranger sets fire to her poor father. The hunky university professor Peter wants to help Kelly solving this mystery while the leader of the sorority insists on stealing daddy's keys to the mall. During the pledge night inside the abandoned mall it becomes clear that it all wasn't a nightmare but a repressed memory, and there really is a maniac after Kelly and her friends. Oh no!! Undemanding slasher-movie fanatics have a brutal axe-killing and some violent stabbings to look forward to, but there's little tension overall and the climax is really stupid. The producers were clearly proud to have Vera Miles and Clu Gulager in the film, but their roles are modest and forgettable. Daphne Zuniga is a sweetheart and Hunter Tylo demonstrates what a ravishing body she disposed off in the early 80's.
Uninspiring eighties slasher
posted on 30 Aug 2009Eighties slashers aren't exactly known for being brilliant, and brilliant this film is not. The Initiation takes in all the common themes of the slasher; dumb teens, vicious murders, an uninspiring plot line etc etc, and it mostly takes place in a shopping mall, a la Dawn of the Dead. The worst thing about this film is simply that there's nothing particularly good about it. The film straddles a line somewhere between teen comedy and a slasher flick, and it actually does the teen comedy side better...which doesn't bode well considering this is supposed to be slasher before a comedy. The film follows the familiar idea of something from someone's past coming back to haunt them, as we open with a sequence that sees a young girl witness a man die in a fire. Fast forward a few years to Kelly Fairchild's school life, and she's still suffering from dreams about the event earlier on in her life. However, now she's also got to contend with the American apple pie institution of 'initiation ceremonies', and the one that her friends are putting forward involves sneaking into her father's mall.The plot of this film is all over the place, as we've got far too many ideas going on and they don't all bode well. Towards the start, it seems that the dream sequence is going to be the main plot point; but then all the kids get thrown in and the film doesn't really know what it wants to be. To make matters worse, we've got an amazingly unoriginal plot about a bunch of maniacs that have escaped from a mental institution, and at least one of them is going around murdering people before we've got anywhere near the shopping centre. This film is the only feature directorial credit for Larry Stewart, and that's not surprising as there's nothing particularly special about the way he handles the film. The acting isn't terrible, but it's not very good either. Daphne Zuniga is OK in the lead role, while support from experienced performers Clu Gulager and Psycho's Vera Miles doesn't make much of an impression. It all boils down to something of a shock conclusion, but by that point in the film; I really couldn't care what happened at the end. Overall, I don't recommend this film; but if you've got nothing else to do, you could do worse than watch it.
Above-average early 80's slasher
posted on 30 Aug 2009While there's nothing that particularly makes this film stand out, it's one of the better early 80's slasher flicks around, and it also has Clu Gulager and Vera Miles to add some class to it (?). The plot isn't really anything new, a bunch of sorority pledges get locked into a shopping complex to steal the security guards uniform to complete their initiation. Someone, of course, who happens to be an escaped mental patient, is in there with them though, and he happens to be someone very near & dear to one of the girls, although she doesn't know it. Seems that she (Daphne Zuniga) has no memories past a certain point in her life due to an accident, but her past is about the catch up to her. The acting is decent and the movie is fairly suspenseful and well done, and there's enough gore to satisfy a slasher fan. 8 out of 10, a decent little horror flick with some good twists.
a fun slasher film with a little class
posted on 30 Aug 2009Sorority girl Kelly Fairchild is troubled about some unanswered questions from her past. But that's the least of her worries now that she and her friends are pledging to a college sorority. The initiation involves the girls breaking into a shopping mall, but having a homicidal escaped murderer locked in with them wasn't part of the plan!The Initiation is a slasher flick that delivers the "goods" for horror fans. Plus, there's some plot twists, a few veteran actors, and a higher-than-average budget to boot!With a fairly solid cast, fiendishly good murder scenes, some tight suspense (especially in the climax), and a bit of style The Initiation is one of the stronger slasher films of its time. Along with Hell Night (1981) and House on Sorority Row (1983), Initiation also remains one of the more memorable college-themed splatter flicks of the 80's. An entertaining treat for slasher fans. *** out of ****
Attempt at slasher falls flat.
posted on 30 Aug 2009So here it is. Daphne Zuniga was an acute scream queen in her first few films, and this one was almost as bad "The Dorm that Dripped Blood". Having only a supporting role in the previous, Zuniga does manage to hold the film on her shoulders as she is the MAIN character of this cheese fest. She plays Kelly, a bright, smart, and attractive young woman in the process of pledging for a sorority. At the same time, her personal life is suffering from a horrendous nightmare she cannot dissolve. She seeks help from a charming assistant professor (James Read), who specializes in dreams and other psychological developments. Her mother, portrayed a little less than expected by Vera Miles, shoves off the dreams as nightmares. The truth is, they are a bad memory. Soon, it comes time for the pledge prank. A goofy sorority sister has Zuniga and a few other pledger's, including a young Hunter Tylo, sneak into a shopping mall the size of a Holiday Inn. Then the snotty sorority leader brings two goofy frat- brats into the picture, and pranks are played. But on a realistic term, most early 20+ aged people do NOT break into closed stores and steal merchandise, if they do, and they do, they're real fools. Film ends with a surprise twist that has NOT even been set up for, and thusly, the entire film fails. Poor Zuniga is actually very good, but the last moments do give the film it's final tone. Too bad, so sad.
Daphen Vs. Daphne?? {Spoilers}
posted on 30 Aug 2009Okay, I think I know where I am going with this, ah yes, I am sure I do. "The Initiation" is an appalling attempt to cash in on the 'slasher films-with-surprise- ending' that were in the 'fad' in the early eighties to mid eighties. Much like "Sleepaway Camp" and "Happy Birthday to Me" there is a lot of build up and suspense that may actually hold some audience members, until a crash landing in the end destroys all hope for the film in general.The film's main premise is on young Kelly(Daphne Zuniga, much before Melrose Place, or even "The Sure Thing" for that matter) who has been suffering a reoccurring dream all her life. Soon, murders begin to happen, and no one knows who is doing them, then on a night when Kelly and some friends are to do their 'initiation' into the college sorority they are attending, which is to frolic in a building owned by Kelly's father, a shopping mall of all places, someone else is watching them. Could this person have any relation to Kelly or her nightmares that have been plaguing her?...The answer? Yes and No. Ridiculous slasher film starts out slow and boring, then gets a bit interesting when Kelly's past is revealed, and the dreams BEGIN to make sense, but right before the sense can be fully made, the crash boom bang ending occurs and the killer is revealed. Beware, for the ending is not what may seem. Who knew you could have a film be made with an ending from a totally different script! Boy it was interesting to see Daphne Zuniga chasing Daphne Zuniga around threatening her life. When Daphne threatens Daphne, there is a new meaning to the word "Gross Anatomy." On the better notes(not like they really are) Zuniga holds her own well here, with no help whatsoever from predictably bitchy Vera Miles, as Kelly's mother. the rest of the cast, including young soap star Hunter Tylo, do their best, but Daphne is the only real actor in this, and so, the film crashes and burns like it's stupid ending!If you want a good shock ending, watch "Clue."It was Daphne Zuniga in the shopping mall with the garden tools!3.5/10
"Quit fooling around (insert name here).It isn't funny anymore"....
posted on 30 Aug 2009About half a reel into the film I was asking myself "Is this 'Sorority House Massacre'"? Mix parts of "Sorority House Massacre","Chopping Mall",and "Hell Night" and you have "The Initiation".I'ts not a bad film, but we've seen it all before.It's one of those films where you sit and think: OK they think they are safe now.... when is the killer going to jump through the wall, window,door,etc..? It's almost like the fine folks at New World Pictures where recycling their own material this time.Folks who are fans of the cookie cutter "slasher" movies (like myself) will have fun playing the "find the cliché" game.Of course there is the required skin,but the gore is rather lacking for my taste.It's a bit tame as if not to be offensive or over the top.That's always a bad idea in my book. Recommended for slasher/body count fans only.5/10 on the Drive-in-Freak-O-Meter...Not bad but we've seen it all before.
impressive slasher
posted on 30 Aug 2009very impressive slasher is very suspenseful and well acted and one hell of a twist ending i did not see that coming.i loved this slasher it was entertaining and engrossing and Vera Miles gives a fantastic performance as does Daphne Zuniga i have only 1 problem with this is a slow first 20 minutes but then it goes on fire extremely exciting scary and very suspenseful little film i dug the premise of this it was unique and the direction is solid and very stylish some neat lighting too i dug the dream sequences very cool and it had some impressive blood shed and gore some cool killings i went nuts for this film and i would recommend buying this if you can it is well worth it overall i was very very impressed with this unique creative and stylish slasher so i am going to give this one **** out of 5
Another teen slasher
posted on 30 Aug 2009Another teen slasher served up for us here folks.it's pretty ordinary fare for this genre and has no real stand out moments to separate it from others.The only slightly interesting feature is the casting of Daphne Zuniga and Hunter Tylo long before they were household names in the daytime soap world.Zuniga can live this down probably but Hunter's embarrassment from this film is acute,since her role included a full-frontal nude shower scene(in front of a clothed Zuniga),something she probably would prefer her fans to forget.
good horror film
posted on 30 Aug 2009I don´t know why but everytime I watch this movie I think about that famous song "Girls just want to have fun". The only reason for me to watch this movie was because it stars the great Daphne Zuniga but I think that this is a jewel for those who love teen horror films.
A dull beginning mars a pretty entertaining second half.
posted on 30 Aug 2009** out of ****The Initiation is another one of those sorority-type slasher films where a group of girls are offed one-by-one by a deranged killer. The catch in this one is that it's set in a huge department store. Fun times? You bet, well, at least once they get into that store. Before that, this one's a snoozer.The opening does set up an intriguing premise, with Daphne Zuniga constantly having a dream in which she's a young child watching her father fighting another man. After that, the film bogs down quite a bit with repetitive hypnosis scenes, and at least one of the twists involving her dreams is entirely predictable, so for the first half, the film hasn't done much at all.But then, cut to the second half, once the girls break into the department store, and are knocked off one-by-one by the killer, and the film suddenly turns from sluggish to suspenseful. The kill scenes are built up quite well with plenty of blood, there are a few good jump-in-your-seat shocks, and it's nice to see I couldn't quite guess who would die in what order. The huge mall works extremely well in the movie's favor, making for a fairly complex setting in which the killer could be hiding anywhere.There are even two scenes of gratuitous nudity, provided by none other than goregous soap star Hunter Tylo (credited here as Deborah Morehart), who happens to look even hotter now then she did 18 years ago! Unfortunately, the film stars Daphne Zuniga, who makes for a very flat heroine. I've heard many describe her as a talented actress, but I just don't see it. The rest of the performances are pretty standard, not even Vera Miles or Clu Gulager stand out.The big plot twist at the end is pretty ludicrous, but I happen to like absurd twists in slashers (to an extent and depending on the situation), and at least it ties in believably with the opening. Had the rest of the film been as entertaining as the last thirty-five or so minutes, The Initiation would have been one truly nifty little slasher. As it is, the film is simply middling.
No sorority girl pillow fights or spanking parties, but it's not bad...
posted on 30 Aug 2009(**1/2 out of *****) This okay slasher thriller tries to offer more than the standard slice-and-dice affair by having as its main character a young college student (Daphne Zuniga, a year after her cameo in the wretched "The Dorm That Dripped Blood") who is traumatized by an event in her past that caused her to forget everything up through age ten. From the opening scene, we already have a pretty good idea of the surprise involving the girl's secretive parents (played by Clu Gulager -- excellent in "Return of the Living Dead," but just mediocre here -- and Vera Miles from "Psycho"), but there's another twist at the very end that, in spite of some clunky hints here and there, is impossible to see coming (it's hardly fair, but it still provides a bit of a jolt.) With all the background and character development out of the way in the first half hour or so, we finally get to the more-familiar second half, where a group of sorority babes (including Zuniga) and frat boys break into a department building at night as part of an initiation stunt and are subsequently killed off by a maniac who uses a variety of gardening tools and other sharp objects. People are shot with arrows, shot with guns, shot with spears, stabbed, axed, and decapitated until the surprise killer is finally revealed (and it's probably not who you think.) Gaping plot holes abound, but, all in all, this one isn't too bad (and, besides, you're not supposed to pay attention to that kinda stuff in these kindsa movies anyway.)HIGHLIGHT: The pretty, blonde sorority girl happens to be holding the public address intercom microphone when she is attacked at the security guard's booth, and her shrieks echo throughout the entire building.
Nice scary flick. You shall enjoy
posted on 30 Aug 2009The Initiation is about a girl (thats in a sorority (pretty hot Daphne Zuniga) and her friends of the phrat who must go into a mall at night and steal the nightwatchman's uniform to be initiated into this sorority there trying to join. (Also, she has amnesia about when she was younger and keeps having a weird nightmare). Well, they get stuck in the MALL locked up with a killer who may be a part of her past. It is a very good and creepy film that you should check ! I rate it **** out of 4.
The Initiation, gory, gruesome? Give me a break!
posted on 30 Aug 2009The only reason i am writing this review is to achieve some redemption for being tricked into buying this movie, based on the other User Comments on here.
Many of the reviews state that this is a gory, gruesome, and particularly noteworthy slasher film. All of which it is not! I have seen virtually every gory film out there, and every slasher film, and here's my take. **May contain spoiler, concerning death scenes, not story**
There are about 5, maybe 6 murders in this movie. Which is fair, if they are truly gory and unique. They are not. Each murder consists of the same technique, a garden tool through the neck or face or stomach, it doesn't really matter. They are all very quick, dark, and unimpressive. Although they sound gory by description, they do not appear as gruesome in watching the film. There is virtually no splatter, and the one scene that had potential (a head being chopped off), is instead insinuated by a shadow, and then a cut-away.
Second, this film is not in any way chilling, scary, or original. It is very routine, with some very ugly actors, especially the parapsyhologists assistant, what's up with her?? She is heinous!!!
I expected this movie to be brutal, but it is quite tame, the acting is (of course) terrible, which i could dismiss if the film was campy, or unintentionally funny, but it takes itself pretty serious. So no points there. None of the characters are enjoyable.
The only allowance this movie gets is for the last 20 mins in which i thought the setting in the department store was mildly amusing and perhaps could have been scary, other than that this is a total waste of time for both fans of the genre and gore-hounds. This is a genuine fast-forwarder, but even then you won't find what your looking for. If you absolutely must see every movie in the video-store, skip this one and choose Don't Go In The Woods, now there's a movie that i didn't expect much from, but was treated to a blood-filled surprise. Also it is hilarious.
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Not a milestone
posted on 30 Aug 2009Vera Miles was featured in two Alfred Hitchcock movies:"Psycho" and mainly "The wrong man" in which she was remarkable.So when you had been directed for two classics by a genius ,the only way to go was down as far as thrillers were concerned.Vera Miles had taken on the part of Lola in "Psycho II" with so so results.She continued in the horror vein with "The initiation "which is not bad:it's abysmal ;awful directing,laughable lines (bad jokes about sex as usual), mediocre acting (even Miles cannot do anything with her part of a mother with a racy past).The "intellectual" side about Freud and the dreams ,represented by a bland professor (he will probably get a Mickey Mouse doc degree) and his not-very-attractive assistant ,does not show any improvement on the forties shrink movies,the likes of Siodmak's "The dark mirror"(1946) or Hitchcock's himself ("Spellbound" ) (1945) Beginning as a female forerunner of "the skulls" ,"the initiation" becomes a poor man's "spellbound" to end up as a "Friday the thirteenth " in a department store .Of course there are plenty of teenagers and there's a killer at large