If you’re digging through the early ’80s slasher boom looking for hidden gems, The Initiation is one of those titles that quietly stands out.
Directed by Larry Stewart, the film blends traditional slasher tropes with psychological mystery, creating a story that’s a little more layered than many of its contemporaries.
Daphne Zuniga—in her first major starring role—plays Kelly, a college freshman pledging a sorority. As part of her initiation, she’s tasked with sneaking into her wealthy father’s department store after closing hours.
It’s supposed to be a harmless prank.
Instead, it turns into a nightmare.
Kelly is already haunted by recurring dreams of violence and fire, visions she doesn’t fully understand. As the sorority initiation unfolds inside the empty mall, those nightmares begin to bleed into reality when a mysterious killer starts stalking the group through the darkened corridors.
The setup feels familiar—college students trapped in an isolated location while a masked killer picks them off—but The Initiation adds an extra layer of intrigue through its psychological elements.
Kelly’s fractured memories and repressed trauma slowly unfold throughout the film, turning the story into something closer to a mystery than a straightforward body-count slasher.
Visually, the movie leans heavily into atmosphere. The department store setting creates long, shadowy hallways and eerie empty spaces that amplify the tension. The late-night mall vibe also gives the film a strange retro charm—an environment that would later become iconic in films like Chopping Mall.
The kills themselves aren’t the most graphic of the era, but they’re staged effectively, with moody lighting and a stalking pace that builds suspense rather than relying purely on gore.
What truly sets the film apart is its final act.
Without spoiling the reveal, the ending delivers one of the more memorable twists in early ’80s slasher cinema—one that reframes much of what the audience has seen up to that point.
It’s a clever payoff that elevates the film above many of its peers.
While The Initiation may not have the extreme gore of films like The Prowler or the franchise recognition of bigger slashers, it succeeds through mood, mystery, and a surprisingly thoughtful narrative.
Stylish, eerie, and quietly effective, it remains one of the more underrated entries in the horror class of 1984.
A sorority initiation gone wrong…
and a secret that refuses to stay buried.
Check out more reviews at Action Reloaded
