"The Initiation of Sarah" tells the tale of a college freshman (Kay Lenz) with telekinetic powers. She is pressured to join a sorority after her sister (Morgan Brittany) is recruited to a rival chapter run by a group of popular bullies. It just so happens that the house Sarah pledges is run by a witch (Shelley Winters). She wants to use the girl to exact revenge on the daughter (Morgan Fairchild) of the sorority girl that spurned her when she was a student 20 years earlier. Will Sarah give into the temptation to put her and the house mother's tormenting rivals in their place or resist the unrelenting anger brewing within her?Although it's a bit slow, "The Initiation of Sarah" serves up some fun TV-safe scares. I can see this airing the week of Halloween in 1978 and doing quite well in the Nielsen ratings. No one can deny the influence "Carrie" had on this movie. Shelley Winters ("The Poseidon Adventure") effectively plays the creepy old house mother with diabolical plans for the naïve Sarah. Morgan Fairchild ("The Seduction") is perfect as the venomous leader of the mean sorority girls who pick on poor Sarah. Morgan Brittany ("Dallas") and Kay Lenz ("Moving Violation") are wonderful as the two sisters torn apart by their rival houses.

This is one of the most entertainingly ridiculous TV movies ever made. It has often been written off by many smug critics as "Carrie Goes to College", but that's not entirely accurate. It has a bit more of an occult angle for one thing (Why not "To the Devil, a Coed"?). Mostly though, unlike "Carrie" it's pretty hard to take seriously, and I think most of the people involved in it were perfectly aware they were making a cheap TV movie and were in on the joke.The casting is pretty ridiculous. There is ugly and then there is "Hollywood ugly", but Kay Lenz wasn't even "Hollywood ugly", and it's pretty hard to buy her as a socially shunned girl who has to join the loser sorority. Lenz (who was married to 70's heart-throb David Cassidy at the time) was actually a lot prettier than walking, talking Barbie dolls like Morgan Brittany, who plays her much more popular sister, or Morgan Fairchild, who heads the popular sorority. Anyway, it is testament to her acting ability that Lenz is at all believable in this role. Tisa Farrow who plays a put-upon character named "Mouse" is highly annoying but not exactly ugly either. (She is famous for three things: she is Mia Farrow's sister,she was the female lead in Lucio Fulci's "Zombie",and she was involved in a famous falling out the Beatles had with the Maharishi in the 60's after the transcendental mystic couldn't transcend the urge to pinch the butts of her and the other young starlets in their entourage).Of course, the best thing as usual is Shelley Winters as a house mother with an interest in the occult who encourages "Sarah" to use her latent telekinetic powers against their popular rivals. Winters was derided by some for gaining a lot of weight late in her career, but given all the scenery she typically chewed (or simply swallowed whole), I thought she stayed remarkably svelte. (Around the same time as this movie, Winter squared off with a giant octopus in Italian "Jaws" knock-off "Tentacles", and frankly she was far, far scarier than the octopus). The handsome but rather bland Robert Hays ("Airplane"), on the other hand, has an especially bland role as the Morgan Fairchild character's boyfriend and mostly just fades into the 70's wood paneling.This doesn't really compare to "Carrie", but I would definitely recommend it highly to fans of cheesy 70's TV horror flicks.

I won't pretend that this made for TV film is one of the greatest horror movies I've ever scene (what made for TV horror film is?). However, it has a certain unexplainable quirky charm about it that makes it a very enjoyable film. I often feel the same way about 80's films that love watching and I don't know quite why. It has that certain unexplainable magic similar to the 1986 "The Canterville Ghost" (which is a Family Comedy). I tend to like all sorts of mystery's with secret rooms and antient stories. I liked the story, however I wasn't 100% satisfied with the ending. All actors involved gave great performances, which alone is worth the viewing.This is perfect for a midnight movie when you just want to sit back and throw something one when you're tired. Don't hope for a masterpiece, but enjoy the overall feel and vibe of this pleasantly quirky film.

I always felt that this movie was chopped to pieces and that there was so much more to the story than what we got to see. I wish I could have read the original script for it. This is such a classic Carrie-type story, sort of a Revenge of the Nerds meets Carrie. But for some reason I just love the story. Maybe because both Morgan Brittany and Morgan Fairchild are in it. If you want a college horror story with a twist, this is it. It's creepy and fun.