Cult Classic: Graduation Day (1981)

“They were all on your team.”

When senior track star Laura Ramstead collapses and dies after winning a race, her teammates mysteriously begin dying at the the hands of an unknown killer in 1981’s Graduation Day. Critically panned, the film was still a financial success, pulling in over twenty million dollars against a budget of only $250,000. The film was produced by IFI and Troma Productions and would later be distributed by Columbia Pictures.

In the film, Laura’s sister, Anne, arrives in town to accept an award in Laura’s honor at the upcoming high school graduation ceremony. The track team’s coach, George Michaels (yeah, I know), has been ostracized by the community, as he has been blamed for pushing Laura too hard and causing her death on the track. Laura’s teammates are getting ready for graduation. As graduation day approaches, Laura’s teammates are murdered or go missing. The principal doesn’t seem to be too phased by all of the deaths, but the local authorities begin a hunt for the killer. Anne, Coach Michaels, and others become suspects in the murders. Will the real killer be revealed? Watch Graduation Day to find out!

As stated before, the film was critically slammed. I actually enjoyed it, however, as it’s a rather unique film as far as Troma productions go. For starters, it’s pretty light on gore for a Troma film. It doesn’t have as much nudity as one would expect in a Troma film, either. It also has a pretty solid, if a tad generic, plot. The kills are excellent and a few of them are absolutely Troma-tastic. Without giving too much away, there are decapitations, impalements, a good ol’ fashioned football rapier stabbing, and, my personal favorite, a pole vault puncture pad!

While the acting performances are hit and miss, I cannot deny that the cast is actually pretty solid. Anne is portrayed by Patch Mackenzie. Coach Michaels is played by Christopher George. The teen cast is played by a lot of non-teens including Tomas Hintnaus as Laura’s boyfriend, Peter, Denise Cheshire as Sally, and Carl Rey as Ralph. Vanna White appears in the film as Doris. This is one of her earliest roles. She obviously went on to a very prolific career as the letter turner on Wheel Of Fortune. The film also featured Scream Queen Linnea Quigley who wasn’t initially in the film. She replaced the original actress that played Dolores in the movie as that actress refused to do the required nude scenes.

Overall, Graduation Day ain’t too shabby. It’s one of the many cookie-cutter slasher flicks that came out in the early days in an attempt to cash in on the success of prominent slasher films such as Halloween and Friday The 13th. Despite this, the fact that it features Linnea Quigley, Vanna White, and Christopher George, and the fact that it’s a very un-Troma-like Troma film, it’s worth checking out for yourself.

Thanks for revisiting Graduation Day with me. Are you a fan of the film? Let me know in the comments section.