Initiation (2020 film)

Initiation (stylized as Init!ation) is an upcoming American horror thriller film directed, co-produced, and co-written by John Berardo, inspired by his short film Dembanger. It stars Jon Huertas, Isabella Gomez, Lindsay LaVanchy, Froy Gutierrez, Gattlin Griffith, Patrick R. Walker, James Berardo, Bart Johnson, Shireen Lai, Kent Faulcon, Yancy Butler, Lochlyn Munro, and Maxwell Hamilton.[1]

Initiation
Directed byJohn Berardo
Produced by
  • John Berardo
  • J.P. Castel
  • Brian Frager
  • Jon Huertas
  • Lindsay LaVanchy
  • Stephanie Stanziano
Written by
  • John Berardo
  • Brian Frager
  • Lindsay LaVanchy
Starring
Music byAlexander Arntzen
CinematographyJonathan Pope
Edited byKristina Lyons
Production
company
Shatterproof Films
Distributed by
Release date
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Initiation premiered at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival on October 8, 2020. The film will be released by Saban Films and XYZ Films in 2021.[2]

Synopsis

The film's plot has been described as an "edgy slasher about a cruel social media game that spins out of control"[3] and takes place at a university where a masked killer is murdering multiple people, starting with a star athlete. It's up to three sorority sisters to discover the killer's motives and stop the bloodshed before it can continue or they become victims themselves.

Cast
  • Jon Huertas as Officer Rico Martinez
  • Isabella Gomez as Kylie
  • Lindsay LaVanchy as Ellery Scott
  • Froy Gutierrez as Wes Scott
  • Gattlin Griffith as Beau Vaughn
  • Patrick Walker as Malik
  • Bart Johnson as Coach Miles Cooper
  • Maxwell Hamilton as Tyler Harrington
  • Yancy Butler as Detective Sandra Fitzgerald
  • Lochlyn Munro as Bruce Van Horn
  • Kent Faulcon as Chief Adam Tahan
  • Mel Fair as Brett Vaughn
  • Debra De Liso as Dana Thompson
  • Shireen Lai as Shayleen Zhou
  • James Berardo as Dylan
  • Adin Kolansky as Alvin
  • Shalini Bathina as Meera Medan
  • Nick Ballard as Tad Rivers
  • Betsy Hume as Jean Reeves

Development

Initiation is based on a short film, "Dembanger", that Berardo created as a class assignment while he was attending the University of Southern California. The assignment was to create a "short film that dealt with social change". Berardo chose social media after viewing the ease with which people could create a profile on Facebook and how widespread its usage was. The short film explored the dangers of putting out too much personal information on social media.[4]

Berardo wanted to expand the short into a full-length film after seeing the release of the 2014 film Unfriended, but wanted to explore the topic of social media differently. He also wanted to avoid using some of the common slasher tropes, as he felt that they were "inherently misogynistic; a giant man with a phallic sharp thing chasing a half-naked girl who’s too stupid to be going out the front door when she’s going up the stairs, it’s insulting."[4]

Release

Initiation was originally scheduled to premiere at SXSW on March 13, 2020 under the name Dembanger but the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][6] The film had its US premiere at the 2020 Screamfest Film Festival and its off-shore premiere at the 2020 Sitges Film Festival.[7][8]

During June 2020 Saban Films announced that they had acquired North American distribution rights for Initiation.[9][10] The movie is scheduled to be released in 2021.[3]

Reception

Signal Horizon reviewed Initiation, stating that "Although familiar, Init!ation puts a fresh spin on a retro classic with the perfect amount of camp and cheese with your power tools."[11]

References
  1. "Initiation". Screamfest. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  2. Barraclough, Leo (June 25, 2020). "Saban Acquires North American Rights to Horror Thriller 'Initiation'". Variety. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  3. Konrad, Jeremy (June 25, 2020). "Horror Film Initiation Acquired By Saban Films, Coming Soon". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
  4. "John Berardo Delivers a Digital Scream with "Initiation"". The Geekiary. 2020-10-19. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  5. "John Berardo Discusses His Mystery Thriller Dembanger". SXSW. 2020-02-18. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
  6. "How Canceling SXSW Because of Coronavirus Affected These Filmmakers". Variety. 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  7. N'Duka, Amanda (2020-09-21). "Hulu Original Movie 'Books of Blood' To Open 2020 Screamfest Horror Film Festival; See Lineup". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
  8. "INITIATION - Sitges Film Festival - Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya". sitgesfilmfestival.com. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
  9. "Virtual Cannes Deals Memo: Day 4". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  10. Oller, Jacob (2020-06-25). "WIRE Buzz: Psych 2 trailer; Elizabeth Banks leads Magic School Bus movie; Initiation horror". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  11. Palmer, Tracy (2020-10-09). "Init!ation Is A Blood Splattered Good Time". Signal Horizon Magazine. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
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