Graduation Day
After the accidental death of a star sprinter, the track and field athletes at Midvale High are being picked off one by one in mysterious retribution. Is it the victim’s sister, a bitter but beautiful Navy officer? The principal, a high-strung administrator? Maybe the head coach, a ruthless taskmaster? Or could it be one of the athletes themselves decked out in a pair of black leather gloves doing the deed?
There’s a giallo-esque approach to the script, but the actual movie is much more straightforward, staging a handful of entertaining stalk and slash moments involving footballs, fencing blades and booby-trapped pole vault equipment. The gore certainly isn’t up to Savini's standards but it gets the job done. The most amusing aspect of director Herb Freed’s film is the world built around it: roller skating parties, new wave rock bands, uncomfortable family drama and high school politics. Graduation Day spends way more time on these offbeat moments than it does the plot, which sounds counterintuitive, but winds up being more memorable because of it.
A few interesting asides: watch for future Wheel of Fortune letter spinner Vanna White drifting through several scenes and horror queen Linnea Quigley going topless once again. But it’s editor Martin Jay Sadoff who makes the biggest contribution to the film, crafting music-video inspired sequences the same year MTV hit the air and creatively cutting one or two-frame flashbacks into the otherwise predictable slasher format. His work actually makes you stand up and pay attention.
This is becoming a habit. Pricey Vinegar Syndrome special editions fall back into the hands of Troma Entertainment who release their own version with the same transfer and extras but minus the fancy packaging. For those more worried about how the film looks on the screen rather than on a shelf it’s a total no-brainer. The transfer looks terrific and all the old extras, including commentary and interviews with the actors and filmmakers, are packed in as well. It’s a budget-friendly, no-compromises addition to your slasher library.
There’s a giallo-esque approach to the script, but the actual movie is much more straightforward, staging a handful of entertaining stalk and slash moments involving footballs, fencing blades and booby-trapped pole vault equipment. The gore certainly isn’t up to Savini's standards but it gets the job done. The most amusing aspect of director Herb Freed’s film is the world built around it: roller skating parties, new wave rock bands, uncomfortable family drama and high school politics. Graduation Day spends way more time on these offbeat moments than it does the plot, which sounds counterintuitive, but winds up being more memorable because of it.
A few interesting asides: watch for future Wheel of Fortune letter spinner Vanna White drifting through several scenes and horror queen Linnea Quigley going topless once again. But it’s editor Martin Jay Sadoff who makes the biggest contribution to the film, crafting music-video inspired sequences the same year MTV hit the air and creatively cutting one or two-frame flashbacks into the otherwise predictable slasher format. His work actually makes you stand up and pay attention.
This is becoming a habit. Pricey Vinegar Syndrome special editions fall back into the hands of Troma Entertainment who release their own version with the same transfer and extras but minus the fancy packaging. For those more worried about how the film looks on the screen rather than on a shelf it’s a total no-brainer. The transfer looks terrific and all the old extras, including commentary and interviews with the actors and filmmakers, are packed in as well. It’s a budget-friendly, no-compromises addition to your slasher library.
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