A truly revolutionary take on the well-worn slasher horror film, Initiation repels against the usual tropes and ups the stakes through a great use of drama that elevates the scares, all the while handling topical issues with dramatic heft.

If you ask Initiation writer and director John Berardo what his favourite film is, his answer will be Scream, director Wes Craven’s 1996 horror hit that brought back the slasher genre with its sharp satire and jump-tastic scares. However, Berardo is not interested in repeating what Craven had already achieved 25 years ago. Berardo instead wants to create a slasher film for today’s generation, in which two main causes of concern – the nefarious use of social media, and sexual abuse on college campuses - are addressed within a clever and truly terrifying anti-slasher slasher.

The film begins with a college party during pledge week, where members of the most popular fraternity and sorority groups meet up for a night of drugs, drink, and all kinds of frisky behaviour. So far, so ‘80s teen horror film. The mood changes when the next morning brings with it revelations that sorority newcomer Kylie (Isabella Gomez) was raped by the college’s star athlete Wes Scott (Froy Guiterrez). Soon Wes and his fraternity brothers are slain by a mystery masked murderer, as Wes’ guilt-ridden sister Ellery (Lindsay LaVanchy) investigates.

The most impressive aspect about Initiation is its patience. Where most slashers take no time in staging their first grizzly kill, Berardo opts to take his time in establishing his characters, their motivations, and the stakes at play. The stakes feel palpable because the issues that Berardo addresses are the stuff of reality. The slasher sub-genre is one that relies heavily on tropes, sometimes to the point of laziness. Berardo puts in the work here, so when the terror does begin the payoffs are huge.

And what grizzly, blood splattered payoffs Initiation has. Although the body count is low compared to other films of its ilk, the violence of Initiation is indeed shocking, with the films’ masked killer dispatching his victims with unconventional weaponry, a blend of Ghost Face and Driller Killer without the maniacal misogyny that comes with the latter.

The ensuing cat and mouse moments throughout the final act of the film are truly terrifying, with LaVanchy especially good at portraying the terror her character endures at the hands of a serial killer who has an eye for the dramatic, with every kill a statement.

Statement. This is exactly what Berardo has delivered with Initiation, a slasher movie with depth and character to go along with terror and violence. Hopefully, a sequel will follow.