Gurlyndrobb
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Loui Blair
It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
Francene Odetta
It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
Sam Panico
By 1981, all manner of slasher had been slashed. From dates on the calendar to holidays to high school, college, probably every trade schools, if you could kill someone someplace on some special day, there was a great chance that cinemas, drive-in and video stores had documented evidence of the murders. But a track team getting offed? What a twist!At one of their track meets, star runner Laura Ramstead collapses at the finish line, pushed too hard by her coach and dying of exhaustion. Soon, her sister Anne is on leave from the Navy, back home with the mother and stepfather she desperately wanted to leave behind.Meanwhile, a killer is wiping out the track team one by one, complete with giallo-like black gloves and a stopwatch. With each kill, he or she uses bright lipstick to cross another member off of the team's photo. If Anne has gloves just like the killer, is it all a coincidence? Hmm?There are all manner of people of interest, from Kevin, Laura's boyfriend, to Dolores (Linnea Quigley!) the team's bad girl and Principal Gugilone (Michael Pataki, who is in almost every movie that we watch), who has a stopwatch and plenty of knives in his desk drawer. And oh yeah, Coach Michaels (Christopher George, Gates of Hell/City of the Living Dead, Day of the Animals, Mortuary, Pieces, pretty much every movie that I watch that doesn't have Michael Pataki in it, so this is a rare crossover), who isn't allowed to coach any longer, despite the fact that it was a blood clot that really killed Laura.Hey look! There's Vanna White as a school bully! And more dead bodies! Soon, Kevin and Coach Michaels get into a huge argument over who the killer is, but the cops get there and shoot the wrong guy. Yep, it's Kevin and he has Laura's corpse all made up in her graduation cap and gown. He also has a sweet Vampirella poster on his wall.A fight ensues and Anne ends up pushing Kevin into spikes - but not before body after body is revealed. That night, he comes back to kill her - an undead version of him at least - but it's all a dream. It's just her asshole stepfather, which makes it even easier to leave the town behind forever.I ended up liking this one way more than I thought that I would. It has some elements of style, plenty of gore and lots of ridiculous moments, like a bed of spikes killing a high jumper. Plus, there's a heavy metal concert with the band Felony, a roller disco scene and a combination football/knife murder weapon. Truly, something for every member of the family to enjoy.
liambl
A high school massacre takes place after the tragic death of a female track runner. Yeah, not the most interesting premise, but it could've turned out well if there was any effort put into it. What does this movie do wrong you may wonder, what doesn't it do wrong? What doesn't this movie do at all? I'll tell you, build tension or develop it characters. Yeah, who needs people you can care about, whether they die or not? Oh yeah, I guess that's all we wanna watch them do, die. The only character with, I guess, the most development is the deceased girl's older sister, who's name isn't that important enough to remember; honestly though, she is not the least bit interesting. With all that said, this is not the worst horror film ever, but I would definitely call it the worst slasher film of all time.
Toronto85
Graduation Day is a film about murder, revenge and eighties cheese. A young girl running track and field tragically dies from a heart attack. Her coach was pushing her to hurry up and make the finish line when it happened. Months later it's graduation time, and all of the students are preparing for the big day. The sister of the girl who died shows up, and the moment she does, the members of Laura's track and field team begin being murdered in horrific ways. IS the killer Laura's sister Anne, the intense track and field coach, or someone else entirely?I had mixed feelings about 'Graduation Day'. It was effective in many ways. The story was pretty good, and I liked the character development of the sister Anne. I also thought that having the killer cross off each victim by marking an 'X' on their faces on the track and field team's picture was a nice touch. But the story loses focus after the thirty minute mark, and Graduation Day becomes a jumbled mess. I honestly didn't know who half the people were that were getting killed, the film didn't seem to care enough to introduce the students to us. There were some tense moments when the killer chases the victims through the woods, but that's about it. The acting wasn't anything too great, but it wasn't atrocious. The ending was strange, I'm not a huge fan of the killer's identity but it had a bit of a cool twist. I'd recommend 'Graduation Day' to horror fans/completests and that's about it. It isn't one of the better slashers of the eighties, but definitely worth a watch.5/10
Lucien Lessard
When the team's star runner, Laura Ramstead (Ruth Ann Llorens) died of a blood clout. When she was running in the track, most people felt she was pushed too hard by her coach Michaels (Christopher George). In a couple of days, school is over for the summer and high school students are going to graduated. Especially the members of the track team. But there's an murderer is killing those, who are in the track team before Graduation Day. But there's plenty of suspects... including Laura's older sister Anne (Patch MacKenzie), Coach Michaels, Principal Guglione (Michael Pataki) and Laura's Boyfriend (E.Danny Murphy).Directed by Herb Freed made an passable slasher movie in the wake of "Friday the 13th", although the violence in the movie is lame and unimaginable. Although it is watchable, thanks to a decent cast. Perphas one of the most profitable movies coming from the Troma Team, who disturbed the movie and turned into an box office hit.The DVD from Legacy Entertainment, DVD has an surprisingly clean Pan & Scan (1.33:1) transfer and an decent if unremarkable Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Sound. "Graduation Day" is for the die-hard fans of slasher movies of the 1980's, although this movie is actually more of a suspense thriller. But to be warned...the movie is very slow moving at times. (***/*****).
