Initiation

I’m not one to decry horror movies handling complex social issues. When done right, it can add to a movie. Candyman’s handling of the ghettoization of African-Americans, Dawn Of The Dead’s mockery of consumer culture, and a whole lot more balance the scares with the message they’re trying to deliver. But then you have movies like the 2019 remake of Black Christmas, that is so on the nose, there is a black substance that infects men that is, quite literally, toxic masculinity. Initiation wants to be more socially conscious like Black Christmas 2019, instead of relying on allegory or metaphor, but I think the makers knew they couldn’t be as sledge-hammer blunt as BC19. Unfortunately, that leaves the movie in an awkward middle ground, where the script seems to think merely mentioning something is commenting on it. A girl was dosed and may or may not have been sexually assaulted at a homecoming party at college … and that’s it! There’s nothing about her trauma, or wrestling with the decision to call the cops, or the fact that her potential attacker is a star athlete and brings publicity to the school … none of it. Hell, the character it happens to is a minor character and is forgotten for large chunks of the movie. Likewise, the movie also wants to comment on cyber bullying and slut-shaming, and it does so by … having it happen. No repercussions, no actual examination of it. Just … it happens. Well, that’s great, movie. The rest of the movie is … I don’t know, man. It spends so much time using social media and texts to advance the plot, it’s frustrating. Is that a commentary on how much social media dominates are lives? Could be, but damned if the movie has anything to say about it. The first 40 minutes are all set-up, so by the time the killer shows up, the movie is almost halfway over. And because the whodunit reveal is so left-field, the movie literally stops in its tracks to connect the dots for you. **SPOILER WARNING** Oh, and apparently despite multiple witnesses, the police make no arrests, presumably because the killer is a cop (one who dresses in military regalia, and has a prominent Blue Lives Matter patch on his flack jacket). More half-baked commentary! Just what this movie needs! In the positive column, the third act is a well-done cat and mouse game (even if, after the killer reveal it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever … oh, this is the positive section). And as best I can tell, the effects are practical, which is always a plus. And once the killings get going, the movie does pick up some. It isn’t great by any stretch, but I’ve seen far worse. But the movie is totally derailed by the lazy execution of its lofty ambitions. By not actually exploring any of the many, many social issues it mentions, it does them a greater disservice than if it had said nothing at all (or tried to do what BC19 did). It’s a movie that merely wants you to know that rape culture on campuses, cyber bullying, slut shaming, and police corruption are things that exist. No kidding, movie. I’ve seen the news too.