After being dissatisfied with being a rabbi, Herb Freed was convinced by his wife to pursue his true passion: film. Freed really wanted to make arthouse films but recognized that there was no money to be made in arthouse films. He made his debut film A.W.O.L. in 1972, which was followed by the horror film Haunts in 1976. While working on that film, Freed met David Baughn, an executive who worked with MGM and Russ Meyer’s company. The two entered a partnership to produce and distribute their own films, agreeing that the real money was in horror. Together, they produced the supernatural horror film Beyond Evil, which was released the same year as Friday the 13th. Seeing that slasher films were becoming popular, they decided to find a holiday that hadn’t been made into one yet. They settled on Graduation Day, which was released in May of 1981.
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Synopsis
At Midvale High School, young athlete Laura Ramstead (Ruth Ann Llorens) dies from a blood clot during a track meet. Months later, her older sister Anne (Patch Mackenzie) comes home to take part in the high school’s graduation. Meanwhile, someone is killing off the remaining members of Laura’s track team and crossing them off a team picture. Right before the killer strikes, they pull out a stopwatch to make sure they kill their victims within 30 seconds. The track team is killed in various methods, including a football with a metal spike and a steel spike pit. As more and more students are disappearing, Principal Guglione (Michael Pataki) is having to deal with their parents. Anne confronts Laura’s track coach George Michaels (Christopher George) who’s still dealing with being blamed for her death. Who is this mysterious killer, and who will survive and make it to graduation day?
Review
Graduation Day is not only a solid slasher, but it also works as a great mystery film. Throughout the film, there are various red herrings placed about, and each one makes sense for being the killer. Between the grieving sister Anne, the angry coach George, and the eccentric principal, any of them could be the killer. Admittedly, one thing that somewhat drags the film is that there isn’t one central character to focus on. While Anne is initially the lead early on, she disappears for much of the film until the third act. Also, we don’t really get to know much of the track team aside from their names up until they’re killed. That being said, for an early 80s slasher, the film has some fairly likable characters that you honestly care about. Plus, slashers aren’t really known for their deep characterizations or rich backstories.
Though she disappears for much of the film, Patch Mackenzie makes for a solid lead, being both sympathetic and tough. One of her best scenes is when she’s confronting the coach, and she bounces off of Christopher George with ease. Speaking of, Christopher George delivers a great performance as always, and Michael Pataki has some funny moments as the principal. However, the biggest name here is a then-unknown Vanna White, who got the job since George was her uncle. Plus, we get an early appearance of future 80s scream-queen Linnea Quigley from Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama. What really makes the film stand out is the editing, which incorporates a lot of quick cuts and split-second shots. While some may find it distracting, it’s used just enough here to make the scenes more energetic and tense. Overall, Graduation Day is a slasher classic that should be talked about more.
Buy Graduation Day from Amazon: https://amzn.to/2S48mLI
