Troma Entertainment
Not part of a collection.
Graduation Day
The Class of ‘81 is running out of time!
After the death of a high school track star during a race, a mysterious killer in a fencing mask begins murdering her friends and teachers.
- Original title
- Graduation Day
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- —
Wuchak
Mar 30, 2020 · via TMDB
_**Fun low-rent slasher schlock from the early-80s**_ GRADE: C+
Wuchak
Mar 29, 2020 · via TMDB
**_Schlocky 1981 high school slasher, but entertaining_** After a high school girl falls dead from a blood clot during a 200-meter race, members of the track team are slain one-by-one. Patch Mackenzie plays the dead student’s sister, returning from the military, while Christopher George plays the harsh coach. E. Danny Murphy is on hand as the girl’s grieving boyfriend. “Graduation Day” (1981) is a cheap slasher that only cost $250,000. The high school setting is great for the genre, but “Prom Night” (1980) beat it to the theaters by 9.5 months whereas the parody “Student Bodies” (1981) debuted a few months after “Graduation Day.” Although not technically slashers, high school horror flicks “Carrie” (1976) and “Christine” (1983) are cut from the same cloth in spirit. The difference is that those films had considerable budgets while “Graduation Day” is decidedly low-rent; and it shows. Another issue is that the creators couldn't make up their minds if this was going to be a serious slasher or a campy parody. So they walked the balance beam between the two and it's an off-kilter vibe. But I got used to it and enjoyed the movie for what it is, a schlocky early 80's high school slasher. There are a several highlights on the female front, including Linnea Quigley (Dolores), Karen Abbott (Joanne) and Denise Cheshire (gymnast Sally). Even Vanna White shows up (Doris). The movie is overlong at 1 hour, 37 minutes, which is a tad too long to sustain a cut-rate fun slasher. Likewise, seven and a half minutes was probably a little too lengthy for the live performance of the song "Gangster Rock" by Felony, but it is a driving hard rock ditty and the sequence perks up the film. Besides, the movie kept switching between the live song/roller skating to the slayings in the nearby woods. Thus it’s assumed that the song either ran more around 5 minutes or the band simply did a longer rendition for the live setting, possibly because it was their local hit. Unfortunately, the lead singer, Jeffrey Scott Spry, committed suicide in March, 1992. Remember this: Once you’re dead, you’re dead for a looong time. The film was shot at La Cañada High School, La Cañada Flintridge, California, and nearby Pasadena (houses). GRADE: C+
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Christopher George
Coach George Michaels
E.J. Peaker
Blondie
Michael Pataki
Principal Guglione
Carmen Argenziano
Insp. Halliday
Linnea Quigley
Dolores
Billy Hufsey
Tony
Virgil Frye
Officer MacGregor
Vanna White
Doris
Viola Kates Stimpson
Mrs. Badger
Patrick Wright
Truck Driver
Linda Shayne
Paula Brentwood
James Winburn
Stunt Coordinator
Psique
The Easter Sunday Massacre
Cheap Thrill
X-Slasher
Benaam
Hide
Psycho
Dara
The Kindness of Strangers
Halloween
Teddy Told Me To
La mirada de un extraño
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Scream
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Carrie
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Chase
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Scream 2
Four Flies on Grey Velvet
The Hills Have Eyes
Friday the 13th
Amsterdamned
The New Kids
Jason Lives - Friday the 13th Part VI
Halloween
Seven Blood-Stained Orchids
Carrie
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
Angel
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Stream
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Big Monster on Campus
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Office Killer
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Happy Hell Night
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Cut
Make-Out with Violence
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PROJECTION
it's been ten years since everyone died
Scream
Fear Street: 1978
The Loved Ones
Silver Bullet
Scream
Fear Street: 1994
Halloween II
Halloween
Jeepers Creepers
Friday the 13th
Whistle
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May 1, 1981
