The Initiation Of Sarah (1978)

2.5 / 5 Sept '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Robert Day
Written by: Kenette Gfeller, Tom Holland
Actors include: Kay Lenz, Shelley Winters, Tisa Farrow
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 96 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well this was really a combination of Carrie and Revenge of the Nerds only I really loved both of those films and I thought this one was dull and mundane. It was a made-for-tv (expect no violence and no killing...it's a horror movie, what were they thinking?) about a girl named Sarah with unexplained powers (that are usually used for dunking people in water who piss her off), she belongs to an adoptive family that have a daughter her age called Patty. The sisters go off to college, Patty is beautiful and has a great personality to match, so she gets in the "cool" fraternity. Sarah is an introvert and a brain and frankly a bit strange so she gets into the lamer fraternity that doesn't seem to care about much of anything. Sarah's "den mother" (Shelley Winters) is into witchcraft and wants Sarah for some sort of old initiation (which had someone die in it last time it was performed). See not much is explained, and the payoff is very weak to say the least. Despite the fact that it's tolerable schlock and well acted it's still not really worth bothering with, I kept waiting for something exciting to happen but it never really reached that point. It certainly could have been worse but considering the premise it should have been so much better.

Availability:  Not on DVD

The Spell (1977)

4 / 5 Feb '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Lee Philips
Written by: Brian Taggert
Actors include: Lee Grant, Susan Myers, Helen Hunt
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Drama
Length: 86 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Imagine you are a 15 year old girl named Rita that is slightly overweight. Now imagine you have a perfect thin little sister aged 13 (in this case played by a young Helen Hunt) who can do no wrong in your Parent's eyes. Now imagine that you are teased constantly at school, then when you get home your Father seems to hate you as does your sister also because you are overweight. It's oddly very realistic seeming...this sort of thing does go on and it's very much the way it's portrayed here, the acting in this is quite impressive really. When things start to go wrong with those who make fun of the 15 year old people are getting scared...could Rita have anything to do with this? It definitely does echo Carrie in several ways but I wouldn't exactly say that this is a rip-off, it's quite different. This isn't filled with blood and torment (though the boiling from the inside scene is quite a treat), it's more of a drama with horrific elements but it's a good drama. It's a rather intense tale and for a made-for-tv movie it's quite good really and it's available to watch for free on the internet...who can argue with that?

Availability:  Not on DVD but available to watch for free online here:  http://www.hulu.com/watch/92741/the-spell