Initiation (2020)

Whiton University unravels the night a star-athlete is murdered, kicking off a spree of social media slayings that force students to uncover the truth behind the school's hidden secrets and the horrifying meaning of an exclamation point.

Director:

John Berardo

Writers:

John Berardo, Lindsay LaVanchy

Stars:

Isabella Gomez, Lindsay LaVanchy, Froy Gutierrez

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Isabella Gomez	...	Kylie Martinez
Lindsay LaVanchy	...	Ellery Scott
Froy Gutierrez	...	Wes Scott
James Berardo	...	Dylan Davenport
Gattlin Griffith	...	Beau Vaughn
Adin Kolansky	...	Alvin
Shireen Lai	...	Shayleen Zhou
Patrick R. Walker	...	Malik Moore (as Patrick Walker)
Maxwell Hamilton	...	Tyler Harrington
Bart Johnson	...	Coach Miles Cooper
Jon Huertas	...	Officer Rico Martinez
Kent Faulcon	...	Chief Adam Tahan
Yancy Butler	...	Detective Sandra Fitzgerald
Lochlyn Munro	...	Chancellor Bruce Van Horn
Nick Ballard	...	Tad Rivers

Storyline

During a university's pledge week, the carefree partying turns deadly serious when a star athlete is found impaled in his dorm. The murder ignites a spree of sinister social-media messages, sweeping the students and police into a race against time to uncover the truth behind the school's dark secrets and the horrifying meaning of a recurring symbol: a single exclamation mark.

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Plot Keywords:

one word title | university | university campus | university student | social media | 

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Taglines:

The game is over.

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody violence, some crude sexual content, drug use, and language throughout

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Berardo directed the climax of the film like a play, requiring the cast to perform the entire sequence for each set up. He felt this would get the performances needed from the actors in the short amount of time they had to shoot it.

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Connections

Remake of Dembanger (2013)

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Soundtracks

Full Time Jack Move
Written by Larry Thomas West
Courtesy of APM Music

User Reviews

it start so cheesy...

And i guess 50 percent of the viewers goes to bed or leaves the theater before the real show start.

Its a serial killer on the loose on the campus, and the murderer aspires to become an infamous spree killer of high level.

In away it reminds me of the start of assassination nation in the start, and the flashing social media messages flying over the screen ( with so small letters the grumpy old man barely could read, and flies and shifts so fast that a monotasker like me cant keep up the race), but that is just my resemblance note.

So well into the movie the film change caracter from partying frat houses into a high preassure murder hunt. There are also some raping and a well equiped dna sequencing laboratory at the site that play an important role...

i think this was a cool surprise in the latter end, pretty gory and powerful acts around the moments of no mercy and return.

The music made for the film is of high standard, and makes you heartbeat at the same rythm as the motions of the pictures, well done indeed. So i give this a 7 , do watch the whole film before reviewing i say, ill give my unproffesional grumpy recommendations to this one.

Details

Official Sites:

Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 May 2021 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dembanger

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shatterproof Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1