The Initiation of Sarah (1978)
Shortly after Carrie became a huge success, there was an onslaught of rip-offs and imitators. Over 30 years later most of them have been virtually forgotten. One of the few exceptions is The Initiation of Sarah, a 1978 TV movie that was remade (again for TV) in 2006, complete with one of its original stars, Morgan Fairchild. Like most modern remakes (I detest the term "reboot" when speaking of films), the 2006 version only bore a passing resemblance to the original and seemed like it was probably meant as a pilot for a TV show. But anyway...
When Patty Goodwyn (Morgan Brittany) and her adopted sister Sarah (Kay Lenz) head off to college, they find themselves bunking in rival sororities. Patty goes with the popular girls at A.N. S. and Sarah ends up with the outcast "pigs, elephants and dogs" at P.E.D. Naturally, this drives a wedge between the previously close siblings...
But what Jennifer (Morgan Fairchild) and the other bitches at A.N.S. don't realize is that Sarah has certain telekinetic abilities which she's been doing her damnedest to repress, and their childish taunting is chipping away at the mortar that she's hidden those abilities behind.
Adding further complications, Mrs. Hunter (Shelley Winters) the creepy house mother at P.E.D., not only recognizes Sarah's gifts, but she encourages the girl to use her powers. You see, Mrs. Hunter is herself a practitioner of magick!
So when Jennifer encourages her boyfriend Scott (Robert Hays) to help pull a prank on Sarah, there's no turning back -- Sarah finally succumbs to Mrs. Hunter's urgings and embraces her powers to get revenge on the snotty bitch...
Although they also swiped elements from the original Satan's School for Girls, this movie absolutely reeks of being a Carrie rip-off. Telekinesis, a shattered mirror, humiliation in front of peers, a horrific shower scene... I could go on and on. Still, the film does have its merits. The biggest asset is Fairchild, who plays the bitchy Jennifer with gusto. If only this had been a theatrical film, she probably would've bared her tits (the audience is annoyingly teased with the prospect -- and it would've worked in the film's favor), but still, she never looked better and she plays the role with zeal.
Fairchild lends one element of camp to the movie, but Shelley Winters brings her own patented brand, which absolutely runs amok in this film. Unlike Jennifer Tilly, who took over the role in the remake, Winters' is so far over the top that it's difficult to sympathize with her character. And much like Margaret White in Carrie, that doesn't make her unlikable.
For years and years (and years and years!) the film was a staple of late show, Saturday afternoon and Halloween-themed airings, but like all classic TV movies it's totally fallen off the map. It did get several VHS releases, though it's not available on DVD (with the exception of an overpriced Asian import that's doubtlessly a VHS bootleg).
