'The Initiation' was first released in 1984 and stars Vera Miles (Psycho), Clu Gulager (Return of the Living Dead), and Daphne Zuniga and now comes to you from the good folks at Arrow Video. The film follows young sorority pledge Kelly, who's been plagued with frequent nightmares. She and her fellow pledges are locked up in her father's department store for the night and one by one are stalked and killed by a mysterious figure while a young graduate student attempts to unravel the mysteries behind Kelly and her past. Oddly enough, the movie 'Chopping Mall' seems like it should have had this premise.
While in most ways the film is your typical slasher fare, 'The Initiation' manages to throw some curveballs here and there, along with some excellent performances by Daphne Zuniga and Vera Miles. The film does try to really make its final payoff feel earned and worthwhile rather than set up a cast of red herrings and then pick someone out of the blue to be the killer. The film is unique in a 'Sleepaway Camp' kind of way and while 'Initiation' will likely never be as well known as that film, this one is by far the better film in my opinion. The film has strong visuals, great acting, the right amount of fun and cheese, and some really brutal kills for the genre. Where the film could have been improved is in some of the characters either good or bad. I really wanted to know some of these people better, either because they were too generic and obnoxious, or they show something about themselves I loved but then they fall back into slasher territory at the wrong time. Overall though, I was genuinely surprised by how much I really enjoyed 'The Initiation' and its up there in the slasher flick pantheon, for whatever that's worth. I say even without this Blu-Ray, still give it a watch.
Arrow Video presents 'The Initiation' in a 1.85.1 1080p source taken from 35mm and restored to 2k quality and for the most part, it's very crisp and nice for a film of such age. At times however, the picture can seem a little inconsistent, jumping from smooth and excellent to blurry and even seemingly out of focus. Whether this was due to the original cinematography or the transfer I cannot be sure of (This was my first and only viewing of the film so far) but you'll get really smooth scenes with perfect contrast, color etc. as seen in the above screen, but then you'll get a scene like the one below that looks blurred. As I said however, for a 1984 picture with little attention and love when first released, Arrow has delivered a very nice presentation here.
The soundtrack included on the disc has a good balance, but nothing that will give your system a workout or anything. Dialogue is crisp and clear, while at the same time the sound effects, jump scenes and chase scenes are not too over the top in their volume levels. Good not great here.
Special Features include an audio commentary by Hysteria Lives! a slasher movie website operated within the UK and features various speakers from the podcast on the site The Hysteria Continues. New interviews have been conducted by Michael 'Slippy' Felsher's Red Shirt Pictures and features writer Charles Pratt Jr, actor Christopher Bradley, and Joy Jones and are a really fun listen. An extended scene is included (no audio) along with the original theatrical trailer for the film.
'The Initiation' was a really fun slasher flick that I wish I caught a long time ago. It's classier and artsy approach, along with some good kills and performances elevate it high on my list. Arrow Video's release is above and beyond the best choice for any fans out there who wish to add this to their collection. Recommended for slasher and horror fans alike.
THE MOVIE ITSELF:
THE BLU-RAY:
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