The Initiation

1984

Action / Horror / Mystery / Thriller

10
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 31% · 3 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 31% · 250 ratings
IMDb Rating 5.6/10 10 4927 4.9K

nightmare ritual psychopath murder sorority serial killer

Plot summary

An amnesiac sorority member who has been plagued by a recurring nightmare is stalked alongside other coeds by a killer in a deserted department store where they are completing a hazing ritual.

Director

Peter Crane Photo
Peter Crane

Top cast

Clu Gulager Photo
Clu Gulager as Dwight Fairchild
Daphne Zuniga Photo
Daphne Zuniga as Kelly Fairchild
Robert Dowdell Photo
Robert Dowdell as Jason Randall
Vera Miles Photo
Vera Miles as Frances Fairchild
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
892.17 MB
1280*682
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 37 min
Seeds 1
1.62 GB
1920*1024
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 37 min
Seeds 9

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by kevin_robbins 7 / 10

A fun slasher

The Initiation (1984) is a movie that I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows a sorority hazing ritual that is being performing in a warehouse after hours; little do they know a killer is stalking them...but why?This movie is directed by Larry Stewart (director of a few episodes of The Bionic Woman) in his lone major motion picture project. This picture stars Vera Miles (Psycho), Clu Gulager (The Return of the Living Dead) and Daphne Zuniga (One Tree Hill).This is a fun slasher that felt more like a 70s movie than an early 80s picture. The horror elements are uneven with some kill scene better than others. I will admit some kills scenes are great, but most of them are very average. I did enjoy that they used a different instrument for each kill scene. The cast is well selected with gorgeous ladies and cliche shower scenes ?. The storyline is very straightforward with a fun unveiling of who the killer is at the conclusion.Overall, this is an above average addition to the horror genre that I would score a 6.5/10 and recommend seeing once.
Reviewed by ksj870 7 / 10

Another 80s Slasher Gem

Granted, THE INITATION doesn't compare favorably to the best slasher films like HALLOWEEN or the original Friday THE 13TH, but even so it's a surprisingly successful horror film buoyed to some degree by a mystery element that, if ultimately unbelievable, still adds immeasurably to the usual formula of young people being killed by a crazy murderer.Daphne Zuniga stars as a sorority pledge whose usual college problems are magnified by a long history of recurring nightmares. Her parents assure her the dreams are nothing to be afraid of, but our heroine is determined to make peace with her inner demons and put the strange nightmare behind her once and for all. Meanwhile an unknown stalker is hunting her family and friends, and everything comes to a head in a shopping mall after hours from which the killer is determined no one will escape.THE INITIATION is fairly well-written and directed, with a strong cast (including Clu Gulager and Vera Miles) and some highly effective murder sequences. Though not as bloody as some other slasher films, the movie still packs a visceral punch, and the suspense factor is high as well. The young people who make up most of the film's cast are for the most part quite likable, except for the sorority queen and her drones, so that when they are in danger the viewer really feels it. The lovely Daphne Zuniga does a fine job in her first big feature role, but she gets some surprisingly strong support from her co-stars, including the stunningly beautiful Hunter Tylo (here acting under the name Deborah Morehart). The thrills culminate in a feverish climax with more than one big reveal.Again, THE INITIATION isn't a horror classic, but it is a solid slasher that hits all the right notes and benefits from a relatively ambitious script which incorporates both mystery and solid characterization. Definitely among the top tier of films in the slasher canon.
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