Graduation Day is a 1981 cult slasher film, directed by ex-rabbi Herb Freed (Beyond Evil) and produced by Troma Entertainment for Columbia Pictures. It stars Christopher George, Patch Mackenzie and Michael Pataki. Scream Queen Linnea Quigley makes an early appearance.
Plot teaser:
After a high school track runner, named Laura, suddenly dies from a heart attack after finishing a 30-second 200-meter race, a killer wearing a sweat suit and a fencing mask begins killing off her friends on the school track team one by one. The suspects include the track coach Michaels, Laura’s sister Anne who arrives in town for the funeral, the creepy school principal Mr. Guglione, and Laura’s strange boyfriend Kevin…
The blonde girl in the number 46 track jersey was cut out of the film as much as possible since she was fired due to refusal to fulfill the nudity requirements. Linnea Quigley was hired to replace her.
The film grossed $23,894,000 in the U.S. against its $250,000 budget, making it a box office success.
Buy Graduation Day on Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk. The UK release contains an exclusive Scream Queens documentary
Reviews:
” …Graduation Day will never be remembered as a classic or even a good film. But this is a picture littered with strange little moments that I keep returning to when I need something just a little different while serving up the typical slasher mystery and tropes. Plus any Movie that has the sense to cast Christopher George as a cranky coach, Michael Pataki as a weird Principal, Linnea Quigley as the school slut and Wheel of Fortune’s Vanna White as a giggly for-no-apparent-reason student is absolute tops in my book.” Cinema du Meep
“It is by no means the worst entry in the slasher genre. After all, there are countless efforts where the picture is too dark that it is almost impossible to make out what is happening on screen. But the fault lies with every aspect of the film, from its script right through to the score (composed by Arthur Kempel, who would later work on Wackoand Double Impact). Sadly, Graduation Day is not camp enough to be fun (like Don’t Go in the Woods…Alone!) and instead simply comes across as boring.” Retro Slashers
“The twist in revealing the killer to the audience, but not the other characters, is madcap, as is the final chase, and most of all, a creative game of dress up with a corpse. The insane glee guarantees you will never forget Graduation Day. And that’s a good thing, as it’s a hoot.” Death Ensemble
WH
