Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

a_chinn Co-written by the man who wrote the hilariously awful 1970s Captain America TV movie comes this made-for-TV ripoff of "Carrie," except with a mousy sorority sister seeking revenge on her mean fellow sorority sisters. Morgan Fairchild plays the lead mean sorority sister, so that's pretty fun. Kay Lenz plays the Carrie-like character, Sarah Goodwin. Airplane's Robert Hayes plays the nice guy of the film. Shelley Winters, Tony Bill, Kathryn Grant, Tisa Farrow, and Michael Talbott also appear in this camp fest. Overall, this is a terrible movie, but it was VERY entertaining on a campy so-bad-it's-good level.

Brian T. Whitlock (GOWBTW) Who would know that a telekinetic would be part of higher education. "The Initiation of Sarah", is like a whole new story here. Here you have two sisters who start college. A timid sister named Sarah (Kay Lenz) and popular Patty (Morgan Brittany). Hoping to get into the same sorority together, only to be met with animosity. It turned out that Sarah is adopted. And the sorority leader(Morgan Fairchild) drives the wedge between the two. When Sarah joins the opposite sorority, she meets another pledge name Mouse (Tisa Farrow). Sarah uses her telekinetic powers on several occasions. This draws attention to the den mother (Shelley Winters) to use her powers for her own purposes. When Sarah and Mouse started to bond, the den mother sets out her plans of revenge on the rival sorority. When Sarah discovers her den mother's plan, she thwarts it. This movie kinds of copies "Carrie". A few subtle changes but not too much. Enjoyed it though. 2 out of 5 stars.

moonspinner55 Beautiful college freshman and her plain-Jane adoptive sister shop around their university for the perfect sorority, eventually separating once they've been accepted into rival houses off-campus--one the popular clique for the spoiled and pampered, the other a haven for misfits. So far, so good for this TV-made thriller with an exceptionally fine cast, particularly Kay Lenz as Sarah, the psychology major harboring a life-long secret: when she's angry, she can make things 'happen.' Unfortunately, the teleplay by Don Ingalls, Carol Saraceno and Kenette Gfeller, working from a treatment by Saraceno and Tom Holland, is too intent on aping the 1976 theatrical feature "Carrie" (one might call it Carrie Goes to College). Characters are introduced, but not taken into consideration; there's speculation about Sarah's biological mother that might have provided some insight into Shelley Winters' odd-acting housemother, but none of this is built upon. It must have been troubling for Lenz and the supporting cast to see their hard work go up in flames (literally); the movie sidesteps all the points it has initially made about being true to one's self in order to have a cataclysmic conclusion. Had the telekinesis and black magic been taken out of the mix, they might really have had something here.

Cujo108 Timid Sarah and her popular stepsister, Patty, are pledging sororities at their new college. Patty gets into the most celebrated sorority on campus, but Sarah is only accepted by the least prominent. It doesn't help that Patty's new sorority sisters are elitist scum who do all that they can to make Sarah and her sorority mates miserable. Sarah has a power, though, which takes hold when she's angry. Her eccentric housemother, Ms. Hunter, is intent on helping her harness this power to use against their rival sorority.I actually like this made for TV 'Carrie' cash-in more than De Palma's horror classic. A large part of that is due to the likability of Kay Lenz in the titular role and the connection I feel to her. I also love the storyline centered around sororities, hazing and campus rivalry. Throw in Shelley Winters as Ms. Hunter, who views her sorority as more of a cult, Morgan Fairchild as the queen bitch and Mia Farrow's sister, Tisa, and you've got quite the cast. Honestly, this doesn't even feel like a TV film. It had been a while since my last viewing, but as I sat watching it again for the first time in years, I was taken with how it never once struck me as something made for television. There was even an absence of the typical fade-outs for commercials.This is much more than just a 'Carrie' copycat. The characters have real depth and there's a solid message about one's own self-image. The story leaning toward the occult makes for a unique take which I am all for. The addition of this aspect and Shelley Winters as someone who wants to use Sarah's abilities for her own personal vendetta makes for a very interesting climax. While the direction isn't anything out of the norm and there are no De Palma style flourishes, the lush photography is terrific.Even though it may always be seen as nothing but a copycat by certain people, I firmly believe that 'The Initiation of Sarah' is more than capable of standing on it's own as something special. I do love De Palma's film, but I also love that it inspired something like this. 'The Spell', on the other hand, not so much.