Colegio infernal

If you love late seventies and early eighties horror/terror/thriller/slasher flicks, this one is a must see. It is in the same league as "Prom Night" and "Hell Night". "Graduation Day" captures a feeling, a mood, a place in time that only exists in the imagination. The music, the acting, the camera work, the characters are a way we can remember 1981. Movies simply don't have the qualities of "Graduation Day" anymore. There are rough edges here. There are simple characters and characters that are not fully developed. Is Ann, the victim's sister, a lesbian? This is only touched on a little during the story. Why doesn't the police office who investigates the disappearance of the victims dislike schools? How did the principal and his secretary begin their affair and what keeps it going? A scene in which a beheading takes place is intercut with a girl rollerskating who likes a lot like the Alice character from "Friday the 13th". As the initiated know, Alice beheaded Mrs. Voorhees. Was this scene a nod to "Friday the 13th"? Has anyone noticed this scene? What happened to Kevin's parents? Does he live alone with his crazy grandmother? They really don't make them like this anymore. I'm not sure if anyone even tries. "Scream" was said to have paid homage to "Graduation Day" and several other movies of that era. I am going to watch it again while keeping that statement in mind. "Graduation Day" is the real deal. Of all the "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th" clones it is one of the highest caliber. Christopher George, Patch McKenzie and the guy from "Fame" (I think) lend star quality. Today's independent films try to capture the spirit of movies like this.

If you're looking for a disposable 80's slasher, you can do a lot worse, but you can certainly do way better. A high school runner dies and someone starts killing everyone on the team. They try to make you think it's her estranged sister, but it seems too obvious. They throw in a few more red herrings and a whole lot of meandering filler scenes in between the somewhat inspired death sequences.

Pretty lame and awful slasher about someone killing the members of a high school track team after their star runner dies during a meet.

Christopher George gives a hilariously over-the-top performance as the track team's coach. I don't think ANYONE has ever taken track and field as seriously as Chris does here - not even in the Olympics. It's a typically divine CG performance, and if you are a fan of the man/the legend, you should run right out and grab a copy.

But we watch slashers for the murders (you know it's true), not the performances, and Graduation Day fails to deliver on most counts (there is one really good kill). True horror only comes during a performance by the band "Felony". Never heard of 'em? Watch Graduation Day and find out why.

Why, of all the slasher films to come out of the early '80's, that Graduation Day is so well remember I will never know. Graduation Day is a far cry from some of the better '80's slashers, but it isn't the bottom of the barrel either.

After a high school track star literally runs herself to death, someone begins to kill the remaining members of the track team. But for what reason?

Graduation Day is a slasher film that's served with a big slice of cheese. You've got some corny characters, some unneeded musical numbers (not including the funky song in the opening montage), and some bad acting - no wonder Vanna White is only spinning letters now. But it has some merits too. There are some amusing murder sequences and the story manages to be engaging - if only for the campy elements.

So when all is said and done, you can do worse. But it's not worth missing The Burning, Curtains, or House on Sorority Row for.

** out of ****

I'll start by saying that I am a huge fan of the slasher movies of the early 1980s; flicks such as "Friday The 13th", "Final Exam" and "The House On Sorority Row" hit the spot rather nicely.

"Graduation Day" was one of the first films in this category. Released in 1981, the plotline tells the story of a track-team star runner who drops down dead after a particularly taxing race. Despite the fact that no-one actually killed her (she fell victim to a blood clot), the blame for her death has rested with the track-team coach for the past six months... it appears he worked her too hard.

The runner left behind a loving boyfriend, a loving sister, a loving mother and a hate-filled stepfather. All of these are reunited on Graduation Day, when the sister is invited to receive a special award on behalf of the deceased star. However, the day before graduation -- and literally minutes after the sister appears on campus -- one of the track team is brutally murdered in the college grounds.

Her body is not discovered immediately, and so the usual pre-graduation celebrations are taking place. But, in between these parties and rehearsals, more of the track team are dispatched in truly original style. Still the bodies remain unfound.

So who is this killer? Is it the sister, jealous of the team who survived her younger kin? Could it be the boyfriend, who only true love was taken when an artery burst in her left leg? Has the coach cracked up, after losing his job and being widely blamed for her death? Or is someone else hiding a terrible secret?

"Graduation Day" is a wonderful movie; full of suspense, above average acting and some ingenious plot twists. Various sub-plots are added in an attempt to cloud your prediction of the killer's identity and the ending comes as somewhat of a shock (it did to me, anyway!). When you consider that this is one of the first "campus slashers", it is rather amazing.

Most movies have a few shortcomings, however, and "GD" is no different. I feel that too many 'false scares' were implemented by the director (the first two or three are genuinely scary, but they get rather tiring after this) and about half way through the film we get a five or ten minute 'drag' period which you feel like fast-forwarding through. On the whole, though, these are certainly not major failings and do not impair the film overall.

In summary, I would recommend "Graduation Day" to anyone fond of whodunit slashers like "Final Exam", "Scream", "I Know.." and "Prom Night". Fans of flat-out gore will likely be disappointed as gore is de-emphasised in the movie, but this is all the better IMHO. And whilst "GD" isn't going to win any Oscars, you could do a whole lot worse if you're looking for a fun, scary and clever horror movie.

8 out of 10, BuffyAngel