Loja das Mortes

Have you ever had dreams that were so scary that you wished they would just stop. You don't really tell anybody about them because after all, they are just dreams and you don't want to sound silly. But that dream is just so intense that it really gets the best of you.

So is the premise for this film. What is kind of fascinating is to see Daphne Zuniga in a pre-Sure Thing role. When I think of Daphne, even all of these years later, I think of her as the prude Allison from The Sure Thing. But she is not a prude in this film. Quite the contrary. Here she gets naked, has blood as a part of her waredrobe and she has a great scream.

What is memorable about The Initiation is that it is quite scary and it is filled with blood and gore. This is a typical 80's slasher flick but it is fairly well done. And the end of it will scare you, at least the end of it will. But I feel the film does a great job of making us scared and that adds to the intrigue for the last fifteen minutes. Check this one out. It may surprise you. Believe me it is better than almsot any horror film that "graces" our screens today. But then again, all 80's horror films had that feel to them. And sadly the modern era of horror films is lacking. The Initiation is at least a good horror film. And it is from the 80's to boot. That makes it worth looking at.

Sorority 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 ****

Finally caught this sorority themed slasher. Kelly (Daphne Zuniga, who gets an "introducing..." credit despite having been in films - including THE DORM THAT DRIPPED BLOOD (1982) - prior to this) is pledging a college sorority and part of her initiation is to break into the upscale shopping mall owned by her father (Clu Gulager) and mother (Vera Miles). The bad news is that someone has escaped from a local insane asylum and is stalking her every move. This is a decent slasher that benefits from an unusual location (the Dallas International Market). Unfortunately, they don't get to the mall until the 50 minute mark and a lot of the time leading up to that is spent with a university teacher delving into Kelly's nightmarish past (she has a recurring dream where a man is burned and can't remember anything before age 6). Director Larry Stewart was a TV vet and never really gets too much suspense from the proceedings.

A group of sorority pledges sneak into a mall overnight to pull off a prank that will get them initiated. Tasked with stealing the security guard's uniform, it shouldn't be too hard since Kelly Fairchild's father owns the mall, and she's one of the pledges. She has keys to get in and knows where the spare uniforms are kept, so no problem. Someone else is in there with them though, and it isn't long before bloodshed ensues.

This is actually one of my favorite slashers, a large reason for that being the creepy atmosphere of the mall at night. It has multiple levels and is unlike any mall I've ever been to. We also get a few instances of characters catching a glimpse of the killer lurking about, something that I'm a sucker for. Getting that eerie look at something out of the corner of your eye, not sure if you really saw anything at all. The killer's POV shots were extremely well-done, especially the very creepy bit of the killer observing Dwight Fairchild as he's loading his car. The score certainly helps the mood, as does some of the dreary photography in certain scenes.

Daphne Zuniga plays the lead, and I've always found her appealing even if she's not the greatest actress. Vera Miles and Clu Gulager are also on hand to add some class to the proceedings. As for the kills, they're not the bloodiest, but they get the job done just fine. The most notable death sees one of the pledges stabbed repeatedly as she holds the PA systems microphone, her screams echoing throughout the mall. On my initial viewing, I didn't see the ending coming, though there are some blatant clues when re-watching.

Oh here we go again. A college slasher… from the 80s. But hey, "The Initiation" was surprisingly an effective and playful little slasher item and delivered on what you look for in these ilk of presentations. While nothing groundbreaking, I thought it stood out. It has some clever touches, adds moments of mystery, tension, ominous atmospherics, and the ghoulish violence has a real nasty streak, a Burt Reynolds poster pops up and the characters are resilient. You got some veteran actors in Vera Miles and Clu Culager. Likable teens played by Daphne Zuniga, Frances Peterson and Hunter Tylo. Then there's good support from James Read, Paula Knowles and Robert Dowdell.

What takes a while to get going, only does so to build-up its story arches and characters before reaching its outrageous stalk and slash traits when everything erupts in its creepily daunting after-hours shopping mall setting. It does have a soap-like quality, where it does get silly when it comes to the end with a shockingly hysterical revelation. The first half of the film sets itself up by concentrating on our heroine's (an affable Zuniga) traumatic recurring nightmare, where she goes about trying to understand it with the help of an assistant professor (Read). While her parents are trying to keep her past secret, which only comes to the forefront when they're told of a breakout of a patient from an asylum. But also Kelly and a few friends are about to undertake a sorority pledge, involving sneaking into a shopping mall one night to steal the security guard's uniform where everything comes together.

The direction is durably crafted with style and a budget to boot. Slick photography and numerous killer POV shots. Even the music score keeps the mood spot on. Traditional, but entertaining.

"There's nothing to be afraid of."