Not one of the best or most
memorable of slasher films, The
Initiation comes over today as something of a pale imitation of the best of
the genre. It’s interesting that the same year it was released, Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street was also
released, and Craven’s film is superior in just about every way.
In The Initiation, Kelly (Daphne Zuniger) is plagued by bad dreams,
caused by some trauma she suffered as a child. Not to be put off, however, she
wants to become a member of her school’s sorority, and the initiation involves
breaking into her dad’s department store and stealing the clothes from the
security guard.
Of course things aren’t as simple
as that, and when you add in some escaped prisoners from a local sanatorium,
then the deaths start to add up. The main issue, from a plot perspective, is
that the killings are random. No-one who dies deserved to die – this is one of the common tropes in this genre of
film: usually if you are young, if you have sex, you die … but here there’s not
even that tenuous morality to save you. People are bumped off left and right
and the viewer is left to try and guess who the killer is …
Of course it’s a curveball at the
end which answers the question of why Kelly is having the nightmares … but
ultimately it’s not very satisfying.
ARROW VIDEO: Release Date: 7th November 2016
- Brand new restoration from original film elements
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Original Uncompressed Mono PCM audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary by The Hysteria Continues
- Brand new interview with actor Christopher Bradley
- Brand new interview with actress Joy Jones
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Justin Osbourn
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