Graduation Day (1981)

While I continue to break in the new TV, it was time to venture back to my youth and see how a 1980s slasher comes across. My choice was the well known Troma entry Graduation Day.

Plot/ After a high school track runner, named Laura, suddenly dies from a heart attack after finishing a 30-second 100-meter race, a killer wearing a sweat suit and a fencing mask beings 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.

It was a blast from the past when I saw this on Netflix, I almost remember riding my bike to the video store. Ironically, even after all of these years, I came away from this flick with the same feeling, why did I watch this one? Yes, it is not the worst slasher from the era, but it is far from the top. The characters, acting, plot and soundtrack are pretty lame and often unnecessary, Couple that with the “B” Movie quality and you can see where this is going. To its credit, there are some good moments with some pretty funny murder sequences and it does have Vanna White and B-movie scream queen Linnea Quigley, but really, not much more. If you are into campy slasher flicks that cry 1980s, this one is for you, if you aren’t, stay clear!