Initiation

Initiation tries to blend social commentary with decently gory kills in a somewhat ambitious slasher flick. Director John Berardo (co-writing with Brian Frager and Lindsay LaVanchy, who plays the protagonist) doesn't have a complete hold over his material, however, there's just about enough for slasher fanatics to give it a viewing. The elements in favour of Initiation include its progressive storytelling approach (in the #MeToo era), the neat inculcation of social media to disclose important plot points, and at least a couple of intriguing kills. The aspects that didn't work so well include the lack of depth in the characterization of the murder victims, a not-so-effective twist, and leaving more questions open than answered in the end. Nonetheless, Initiation falls in that zone between totally forgettable and cult classic - it's a relatively safe zone as a slasher - but as a piece of cinema, its shelf life may be much less.

This isn't the typical Screamfest flick. The story offers plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. The killer wears an ultra cool metal reflective mask and murders with multiple weapons, including a drill. There's a lot of social media so I don't recommend watching at a drive in, I couldn't see some of the messages. As fun and bloody as the movie is, the characters act like they're in a drama, which was refreshing.

Even it seems as a basic horror movie located in a campus where sorority guys and girls are getting killed,it's not like that. I have to admit that there were some basic elements in the movie, but it was good. The kills were really good (even though the bodycount was low). The characters were good too. The casting was just fine. By the way, the ending scene was a little weird.

After an unspecified sexual transgression at a frat house party, a vengeful killer stalks the party-goers.

Long time since I've tested the dried-out husk of the teen/college slasher genre - and this reminds me why. Basically a Scooby Doo-style conceal/reveal plot using a mask, with no psychology, no humour, and no life-like motivation. The suspense is supplied strictly to formula, hammered home by the thunderous music, and the only slightly innovative aspect is the onscreen phone messages, which clog things up worse than subtitles with their endless 'you OK?'s.

The performances are fine, and there is an attempt to build the story in a thoughtful way, but that just drains the pace to the point where the drawn out climax tempted me to fast forward. I guess the fact the victims are all male is a first, but that's just a function of the prevailing political correctness that left me wondering why the villain didn't have a Russian accent and drive a pick-up.

To be honest, I've always thought this genre limited, but in the '70s and '80s at least it was done for visceral thrills. Even Scream in the '90s had the benefit of an awesome opening scene to offset its dreary parody. This has none of that, and then some. Yet, to judge by the quality of cinematography, it obviously enjoyed a budget that could finance a dozen better indie movies. Jeez.

The story of the film surprised me. But there was not enough excitement in the film. The music was very weak and the end of the film was very beginner. The director did not pay attention to small details, such as: How can a killer kill a person safely on campus without worrying about the cameras?