Slashers have always been one of my favorite sub-genres of horror. However, not all slashers are readily available or the qualities we do get are horrible. Most of the slashers I have seen were on VHS and some of the scenes were so dark I could barely see what was going on in them. Then those films got remastered and released on DVD and the quality was improved but in some instances it was not much of an improvement. One of the few slashers that I have never seen but always wanted to was the Troma distributed Graduation Day. I have attempted to order to order the DVD several times but something always got in the way and that was actually my luck because the fine folks over at Vinegar Syndrome was about to release the film on blu. I reached out to Vin Syn and they were nice enough to send me a review copy. Thanks guys!
My blu reviews focus on three aspects of the release. Those are the film’s artwork, film quality, and special features. Check those out below!
Out of all the films released over the years I have to admit that my favorite posters are the slasher posters from the late 70s and early 80s. When I heard Vin Syn was releasing this film on blu I hoped and prayed that they would use one of the original posters from the film’s original release date. They listened and the film was released with the original artwork and can be seen above. I personally love this poster and I love the way it looks in my collection.
I recently watched the Vin Syn release of Christmas Evil and was very impressed with the film quality which only fueled my desire to see Graduation Day. The film has been restored to 4k and it looks absolutely amazing. Each scene looks great and this is another amazing release from Vin Syn.
Finally, the film has some solid special features that only add to this releases’ value. This film has the original theatrical trailer, interviews with Patch Mackenzie, Herb Freed, David Baughn, and Martin Jay Sadoff. The release also has commentary by David Baughn and The Hysteria Continues. However, I would have preferred to see more interviews from more of cast and crew. The ones we do get are great but I would have loved to see more from the cast now.
Overall, the Graduation Day blu release from Vinegar Syndrome is a great release that has everything a slasher fan would want. The film’s artwork looks great, the film’s restoration looks great, and the special features are decent. This is a great release so pick it up!
Artwork – 4/5
Film Quality – 3.5/5
Special Features – 3/5
