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The Initiation main poster

The Initiation

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5.5/10 • 100

1984-12-071h 37m

HorrorMysteryThriller

Be young, stay young ... and die young.

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.

Directors
Larry Stewart
Writters
Charles Pratt, Jr.
Editors
Charles Pratt, Jr., Ronald LaVine

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Vera Miles

    Vera Miles

    Frances Fairchild

  2. Clu Gulager

    Clu Gulager

    Dwight Fairchild

  3. Daphne Zuniga

    Daphne Zuniga

    Kelly Fairchild

  4. James Read

    James Read

    Peter

  5. Marilyn Kagan

    Marilyn Kagan

    Marcia

  6. Robert Dowdell

    Robert Dowdell

    Jason Randall

  7. Patti Heider

    Patti Heider

    Nurse Higgins

  8. Frances Peterson

    Frances Peterson

    Megan

  9. Hunter Tylo

    Hunter Tylo

    Alison (as Deborah Morehart)

Reviews1

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Wuchak Avatar

Wuchak

Dec 31, 2022

6/10

A mad slasher is loose in Dallas, including the local Mall Several sorority pledges in the Dallas area must undergo initiation by breaking into a local mall at night. Unfortunately, some mentally disturbed patients have escaped the asylum and so a psycho is on the loose, showing up at the mall during the prank. I thought "The Initiation” (1984) was going to be an occultic horror-thriller in the manner of "The Initiation of Sarah" (1978) and "Satan's School for Girls" (1973), but that’s not the case, although the setting is similar. This is a slasher akin to "Happy Birthday to Me" (1981), just with less-polished production values and the milieu of the Dallas-Fort Worth area as opposed to the Northeast. I wasn’t impressed with the beginning, but the flick eventually won me over despite the TV movie vibe (with edge, including nudity and gore). It also has a superior ending to the eye-rolling one in “Happy Birthday to Me.” It’s worth checking out for aficionados of 80’s slashers. The rough start can be attributed to the original director being removed from the production due to falling behind schedule and exceeding the budget. He had Euro arthouse sensibilities and this clashed with the producers’ desire for a mainstream slasher. The film runs 1 hour, 37 minutes, and was shot in Dallas, including Dallas Market Center for the Mall scenes, as well as nearby Fort Worth. GRADE: B-

Media

  • The Initiation poster
  • The Initiation poster
  • The Initiation poster
  • The Initiation poster
  • The Initiation poster
  • The Initiation poster
  • The Initiation poster
  • The Initiation poster
  • The Initiation poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
nightmareritualpsychopathmurdersororityserial killerslashermaniacfraternitypsycho killerescaped mental patientpledge