Graduation Day: Tromatic Special Edition – Troma Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1981
Director: Herb Freed
Writers: Anne Marisse, Herb Freed, David Baughn
Cast: Christopher George, Patch Mackenzie, E.J. Peaker, Michael Pataki, Carmen Argenziano, Virgil Frye, Denise Cheshire, Bill Hufsey, Linnea Quigley, Vanna White, Ruth Ann Llorens, Tom Hintnaus

Release Date: September 8th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 96 Minutes 44 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: R
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $19.95

"It's just weeks before high school graduation and members of the track team are being mysteriously and gruesomely murdered, one at a time. When the team's star runner drops dead at the end of a championship meet, her sister Anne (Patch MacKenzie) comes to town and a series of grisly murders begin. Is Anne responsible? Or is it coach Michaels (Christopher George) who has been fired because of Laura's death? Perhaps it's the campus policeman who is disliked because of his over-zealous drug investigations? Or is it Laura's boyfriend, Kevin (E. Danny Murphy), who can't reconcile himself to Laura's death? You won't want to see Graduation Day alone!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Graduation Day comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 35.8 GB

Feature: 21.7 GB

This release uses the same 4K restoration Vinegar Syndrome used for their 2014 Blu-ray release. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, and there are no issues with compression or digital noise reduction.

Audio: 3.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The track sounds clean, clear, and balanced.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival introduction by Lloyd Kaufman (2 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actress Linnea Quigley (4 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with editor Martin Jay Sadoff titled Cutting Class (7 minutes 14 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with producer David Baughn titled Graduation Day Blues (11 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actress Patch Mackenzie titled Acting Out in School (8 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with director Herb Freed titled Surviving the Class of ‘81 (12 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with David Baughn, and an archival audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues.

Other extras include Cannibal Lesbian Hoedown! (2 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Innards! music video (1 minute 50 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Radiation March (54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Troma in Times Square (1 minute 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), TA in 4K! (1 minute 10 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and trailers for Shakespeare’s Shitstorm, Eating Miss Campbell, Curse of the Werewolf, Sweet Meats, Kill Dolly Doll, The Toxic Avenger, Class of Nume ‘Em High, Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D., and Tromeo & Juliet. 

Summary:

Herb Freed directed Graduation Day. His other notable films are Haunts, Beyond Evil, and Tomboy. Graduation Day was made in 1981, what is widely regarded as the most prolific year for the slasher film. While Graduation Day was made on a modest budget, it is one of the more successful slasher films at the box office.

A psychopath targets a member of the track team after one of their teammates dies tragically during a track meet.

The premise takes on a familiar theme: revenge. The narrative does a great job balancing exposition with moments of carnage. When it comes to the kills scenes, they are not that gory, and many of them abruptly end. That said, despite having the core ingredients one expects from a slasher film, the narrative stalk and kill approach is very predictable.

While none of the performances are going to win any awards, the entire cast are enjoyable in their roles. The standout performance is Patch Mackenzie (Death Dimension), who portrays Anne Ramstead, the older sister of the young girl who died during a track meet. Her character has more depth than the rest, and she takes advantage of that with her performance. Rounding out the cast are several recognizable faces: Christopher George (City of the Living Dead), Michael Pataki (Dead & Buried), Linnea Quigley (Night of the Demons) and Vanna White (‘Wheel of Fortune’).

One of the tropes of the slasher film is misdirection, notably when it comes to concealing the killer's identity. Graduation Day’s attempts at misdirection are not as clever as they want to be, and it quickly becomes clear who the killer is. When it comes to the murder death set pieces, they are always creative, with each victim killed in a different way. Ultimately, despite its shortcomings, Graduation Day does succeed in one regard: it provides the audiences what it wants.

Graduation Day makes its way back to Blu-ray via a first-rate release from Troma Films that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and a wealth of extras.

Written by Michael Den Boer