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In this interview, I discuss with John Berardo his attempt, through his feature length debut  Initiation  (2020), to respond to cases of sexual abuse, how he calls his viewer to action, how  Initiation  developed, and its larger commentary. Through the film’s central mystery, Berardo weds together multiple cases of sexual assault and cyberbullying, a fraternity wherein the president wishes to have a member expelled, a university that takes little interest in its students, and a community the eyes of which seem forever locked in their phones. Berardo gained his MFA in Cinema Production at the University of Southern California (USC) and his BA from the University of California, Los Angeles. His short film ‘Dembanger’ (2013) is about the dangers of social media and it directly inspired  Initiation . This interview contributes to scholarship by revealing ways in which the horror genre can be used to examine pressing social issues and by showing how Berardo capitalizes on the unknown to challenge larger establishments, such as university fraternity cultures and toxic masculinity.

Toxic masculinity and the college scene: John Berardo on Initiation and the anti-establishment thriller