10 Hidden Gem '80s Slasher Horror Movies

8. The Initiation

Slaughter High
New World Pictures

Upon a first watch, The Initiation is your pretty run-of-the-mill 'college kids get stalked by a killer' sort of slasher.

As Daphne Zuniga's Kelly has strange visions of a house fire and a burning man, she and her sorority pals find themselves tormented by a murderous figure. So far, so very formulaic. Thankfully, there's a little more going on here than in some of this 1984 picture's contemporaries.

What's the meaning of these nightmarish visions? Who is the fiery figure? And what does all of this have to do with the pile of dead bodies being amassed? All very valid questions, and all part of a genuinely intriguing plot full of several notable twists and turns.

It kinda feels a little redundant to hold off on giving too many details about a film that's now nearly 40 years old by this point, but such is the ultimate endgame of The Initiation that it's still something that should be approached as blind as possible upon an initial viewing.

From director Larry Stewart, The Initiation is far from being one of the slasher subgenre's most popular pictures, yet it very much has one of the best conclusions in '80s horror.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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