Graduation Day

Graduation Day is far from perfect, but it does stand proudly alongside many other 80s slasher flicks that swamped the theatres and video stores of that era as an entertaining genre flick - although not always for the right reasons...

Starring seasoned actor Christopher George - one of my favourite things about Enter The Ninja - as Coach Michaels, a tough sports teacher who likes to push his track team to the limits.

Unfortunately, within the opening few minutes of the film, he pushes one of them just too far and watches as she falls down Dead due to a blood clot at the finish line.

As graduation day is just a week away, the dead girls sister arrives to stand on behalf of her, and at the same time the rest of the track team start getting killed off in some inventive (and some silly) ways!

I kinda like Graduation Day. Its sometimes slow, a little rough around the edges, but I think it has enough of that classic, gritty 80s slasher charm to pass the mark.

It's not quite so simply as predictable as you would think, and all becomes clear towards the end which leads to a mad climax which is hilarious for being so ridiculous - but in a fun way!

Highlights for me were the end attack, a few inventive kills, some ridiculous writing, the detective's running, and the legs on that pole vaulter which weren't shown enough in my opinion...

Give it a go! It does entertain and certainly makes me miss the kind of films from that era that I was too young to catch on the big screen!

Make no mistake - Graduation Day is no lost masterpiece. It's a bit slow, the acting isn't great, and the cheese is overflowing throughout, but there's some stuff to recommend.

A young track star dies during a meet and her fellow teammates begin getting slaughtered one by one. Is it the pushy coach? The victim's sister? Her boyfriend? The creepy janitor? Pretty much everyone is a suspect here, but the mystery is nothing to write home about.

Come to think of it, the death scenes aren't either. A lot of them are either off screen or blink and you'll miss it. This could be forgiven if there were better characters or a more interesting plot, but they're both pretty ho hum. The most interesting character is Anne, the sister of the dead track star, who appears to be our lead for a few minutes before getting lost in the ensemble and only appearing periodically. This leaves us without anyone to really root for or drive the story along, so it can be a bit of a slog to get through.

Linnea Quigley shows up and adds some fun to the mix, so there's always that. There's also an amusing death by football, which you can't hate.

Graduation Day might be a bit slow and not sure of which direction to take, but it's not the worst slasher flick you'll see.

GRADUATION DAY is not a "good" or original film by any stretch, but it has plenty that others of its ilk do not and is pure entertainment from start to finish!

Laura, a young high school track star, accidentally dies, prompting someone to start killing off the entire team for revenge. The black-gloved and sweatsuited killer keeps a picture of the team in a locker to X out the faces of those dead and kills characters in very silly ways (a pole vaulter jumps on spikes, a lanced football, a fencing sword through the neck...) So, who exactly is responsible? Just take a look at THIS roster of suspects (whew!):

Could it be Christopher George as high-pressure a$$hole coach George Michaels? E. Danny Murphy as Laura's disgruntled, harmonica-playing boyfriend? Michael Pataki as the school principal, who cuts an apple with a switchblade? Patch MacKenzie as the dead girls butch marine sister, Anne? E.J. Peaker as harried secretary Blondie? Vanna White (!) as a giggly blonde who discovers a corpse in a locker? Linnea Quigley as a pot-smoking teen tramp who blackmails the horny music teacher? Carmen Argenziano as a lurking detective? Virgil Frye as a narking, slow-witted cop? With this crew, is it possible to watch and NOT be entertained?

Make sure you don't overlook the THREE long musical numbers, disco roller skating sequence and flash editing cuts that make you think you're on speed. I think I like it!

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

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 ****