The Initiation (1984) Review
The Initiation (1984) Review
When I mentioned online that I’d received a screener of The Initiation for review, one of my online buddies enthused about how much he loved the film. Having finally watched it myself, and found stretches of it dragging their heels, I began to wonder whether our affection for older films is sometimes fuelled more by nostalgia than anything actually on screen. At least, I hope that’s the case here, because while The Initiation might be slightly above average for an Eighties slasher, there’s precious little to write home about.
Daphne Zuniga stars as Kelly Fairchild, a college student plagued by a recurring nightmare dating back to childhood. In it, her parents, Dwight and Frances (Clu Gulager and Vera Miles), are attacked by a mysterious man who subsequently suffers horrific burns. Enter a handsome assistant professor who might be able to help Kelly recover nine years of memories that have stubbornly refused to resurface. Meanwhile, having joined the Delta Ro Kai sorority, Kelly finds herself obliged to break into her own father’s department store as the final stage of the initiation ritual. Talk about taking family connections for granted.
Once Kelly and her sorority sisters enter the deserted shopping mall, they’re tasked with stealing the security guard’s uniform. Unfortunately, they can’t find the guard. That’s because someone else has already beaten them to it, despatched the Village People wannabe and developed an unfortunate interest in murdering Kelly and her college chums. But who is the killer, and what does he want? Could it be the horribly burnt man from Kelly’s nightmares, who just happens to be the same chap we’ve already seen escaping from a mental institution? You’ll have to wait and see.
Writer Charles Pratt Jr. deserves some credit for fashioning a slasher that doesn’t slavishly adhere to the genre’s increasingly tired formula. By 1984, the slasher boom was beginning to run out of steam, and it would soon receive a much-needed kick up the arse courtesy of Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, which took the genre in a decidedly different direction.
Interestingly, both films arrived in 1984, making the recurring nightmares and their psychological implications in The Initiation more a case of coincidence than any suggestion of plagiarism. There’s also a last-minute twist that works reasonably well, although this viewer had already guessed the possibility during the opening scenes. Much depends on how the revelation is presented visually, and director Larry Stewart deserves some credit for pulling it off as effectively as he does.
The film marked Daphne Zuniga’s first starring role in a feature, following her appearance in The Dorm That Dripped Blood. She would later appear in the decidedly middling The Fly II, before moving on to greater recognition elsewhere. Here, she’s an agreeable enough lead, if not exactly overflowing with charisma. Vera Miles, meanwhile, seems to be slumming it somewhat after appearing in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, a film that helped establish the foundations of the slasher genre alongside Peeping Tom. She shuffles about with an air of bewilderment, as though wondering how her career has led her here. Clu Gulager, who would later prove considerably more entertaining in The Return of the Living Dead, also appears rather disengaged. Neither veteran has much to do, however, with the emphasis firmly on the sorority sisters and their impending date with a sticky end.
As with countless college-set films, several of the actors playing students look as though they’ve already completed their degrees, paid off the student loan and started contributing to a pension. There’s also surprisingly little nudity or sexual titillation, leaving viewers of all persuasions with precious little eye candy. The female cast members are a fairly nondescript bunch, while the fraternity boys are such an ugly, repellent collection that securing a first date would seem a more pressing challenge than getting lucky.
Refreshingly, The Initiation doesn’t feel the need to kill off a vacuous character every few minutes simply to keep the less discerning slasher fan entertained. Instead, most of the carnage is reserved for the final stretch, which unfolds in the shopping mall. Unfortunately, the film keeps interrupting the build-up with unnecessary character business, including a particularly tedious diversion into whether one of the characters is a virgin. Frankly, there are more pressing matters at hand.
What The Initiation desperately needs during its quieter passages is tension, atmosphere and characters worth caring about. Sadly, there’s precious little of any of them, making the journey towards the bloody final half-hour something of a chore. There’s a decent idea lurking beneath the familiar slasher trappings, and the film deserves credit for attempting something a little different, but a clever twist and a few moments of invention can only carry it so far.
Ultimately, The Initiation is a passable Eighties slasher that falls short of its potential. Perhaps nostalgia explains my online friend’s enthusiasm. Then again, perhaps some films simply work better in the memory than they do on the screen.
