The Initiation (1984)

Kelly Fairchild has become a college student and a member of the Delta Ro Kai sorority. During all her life, she has suffered from a nightmare where a man is burning. She meets an assistant... See full summary »

Director:

Larry Stewart

Writer:

Charles Pratt Jr.

Stars:

Vera Miles, Clu Gulager, Daphne Zuniga

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vera Miles	...	Frances Fairchild
Clu Gulager	...	Dwight Fairchild
Daphne Zuniga	...	Kelly (Terry)
James Read	...	Peter
Marilyn Kagan	...	Marcia
Robert Dowdell	...	Jason Randall
Patti Heider	...	Nurse Higgins
Frances Peterson	...	Megan
Hunter Tylo	...	Alison (as Deborah Morehart)
Paula Knowles	...	Beth
Trey Stroud	...	Ralph
Peter Malof	...	Andy
Christopher Bradley	...	Chad
Joy Jones	...	Heidi
Mary Davis Duncan	...	Gwen

Storyline

Kelly Fairchild has become a college student and a member of the Delta Ro Kai sorority. During all her life, she has suffered from a nightmare where a man is burning. She meets an assistant professor who can help interpret the dream. The sorority's initiation ritual is a nighttime breaking-and-entering into her father's department store.

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Plot Keywords:

sorority | nightmare | initiation | ritual | prank | 

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Taglines:

. . the night new blood is pledged.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blutweihe

Filming Locations:

Dallas, Texas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Georgian Bay Productions, Initiation Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The location used for the mall was the Dallas International Market. The crew would shoot over night in the building after it closed at 7pm but would have to wrap up and be out by opening at 7am the next morning. So each night shoot at the location would have to be done in 12 hour increments.

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Goofs

During the beginning of the initiation ritual, the girls' chanting does not match their lip movements, and many of the actresses are clearly not speaking at all.

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Connections

References Blood Sisters (1973)

User Reviews

a gruesome film

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.