The Initiation (film)

The Initiation is a 1984 American slasher film directed by Larry Stewart, and starring Daphne Zuniga, Vera Miles, Clu Gulager, and James Read. The plot focuses on a young woman plagued by a disturbing recurring nightmare, who finds herself and her fellow sorority pledges stalked by a killer during their initiation ritual in a department store after-hours.

Filmed in Dallas, Texas in 1983, The Initiation initially had English director Peter Crane attached, though he was fired from the project early into the shoot, after which television director Stewart took over. The Dallas Market Center and Southern Methodist University served as the primary shooting locations.

The Initiation was given a regional staggered release by New World Pictures beginning in the spring of 1984, and continued to screen theatrically through December of that year. It was met by largely unfavorable reviews by film critics. In the years since its release, the film has been noted for marking star Zuniga's first leading role after her minor part in The Dorm That Dripped Blood (1982), as well as establishing a contemporary cult following as a midnight movie.