"The Initiation of Sarah", a remake of the 1978 television film, is also a TV-movie that aired on ABC Family's "13 Nights of Halloween" special. The film is about two sisters, Sarah and Lindsay, who are off to college. Turns out, unfortunately, that the sorority that Lindsay plans on attending is run by a coven of evil witches who practice in the occult, and they have been rivals with Sarah's sorority for generations. As Lindsay's behavior becomes increasingly strange, Sarah begins to worry about her sister's well being. But these sorority witches will have to make some sacrifices to initiate Lindsay into their sorority, and Sarah plays a large part in their dark ceremony. Now it's up to Sarah to save both herself and her sister from the sorority sisters before they both become victims.

This is a made-for-television movie, so I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this film, but I was pleasantly surprised by the film's overall quality. The story is pretty interesting and well written, I have never seen the original television film so I can't compare the two, but as far as I'm concerned the plot was fairly well constructed. It's a little corny at times, but I was expecting that so it wasn't too big of a deal. The acting was pretty well done, extremely good for a TV movie. Mika Boorem is the leading lady playing Sarah, and she does quite well. Morgan Fairchild plays Sarah's mother (or whom she believes is her mother, who is actually an evil witch herself),which was rather interesting because she also had a role in the original film. And Jennifer Tilly (who played in "Bride of Chucky") plays her role also very well, as usual. There were a few really neat moments and sequences throughout it, and the special effects were decent enough, but nothing spectacular.

Overall, "The Initiation of Sarah" is an enjoyable, fun little horror movie. It's not really "scary" by any means and those who are immune to the horror genre won't find anything remotely startling, but it serves well as a good little movie to enjoy during the Halloween season. While "The Initiation of Sarah" is no masterpiece, you have to admit, it's pretty good for TV-movie. 7/10.

Corinne (JoAnna Garcia) leads a ritual sacrifice but the girl turns out not to be 'The One'. Eighteen years later, twins Sarah (Mika Boorem) and Lindsey Goodwin (Summer Glau) are freshmen at Temple Hill University. Sarah has supernatural powers. Lindsey is desperate to be popular by joining the best sorority Alpha Nu Gamma. Corinne is the big sister and still looks exactly the same as 18 years ago. The secretive sorority Pi Epsilon Delta led by professor Eugenia Hunter (Jennifer Tilly) is in a timeless fight against Alpha Nu. Sarah befriends outcast Vita (Amber Wallace) while dorm RA Finn (Ben Ziff) falls for her.

The movie is trying to do a lot of things and ends up rather bland. It's definitely not scary especially on ABC Family. It has the looks of a TV movie. There is no tension as a thriller. The movie spills its various secrets in unexciting ways. It's also rather blasé about dangers. She's told that they're trying to kill her and she's simply chatting it up with the boy in the library. Jennifer Tilly really plays down her character. Lindsey is a really dumb character. She is somehow mentally defective. There seems to be some good story material but it's not put to good use here.

I saw this movie on ABC Family's "13 Nights of Horror". I began watching it because of the cast, specifically Summer Glau of Firefly and Serenity (The 4400, Sleepover, etc) renown. It's a slow starter, but if you're a fan of mild horror and teen flicks, I think you'll find enough to keep you interested. The actors seem to take some time to get into their roles, but around the halfway mark the performances become quite sound and the plot really starts to click. Jennifer Tilly delivers a solid, if slightly bizarre, performance as the nutty occult professor, and Morgan Fairchild can't help but please as the image-conscious, pushy sorority mother. Basic plot, no spoilers: twin sisters arrive at Temple Hill University as legacies to the elite sorority Alpha Nu Gamma. Sarah, the blonde one (Mika Boorem) is trying to live down a history of being "the weird one" and a cutter. Lindsey, the dark one (Summer Glau),is trying to live down a history of being Sarah's sister. They elect to rush Alpha Nu Gamma until strange things start happening and Sarah decides to rush the rival sorority and discovers that the rivalry is not just about who dates the hottest guys or throws the best parties.