Graduation Daze

 Graduation Day (1980)

My daughter will be graduating next year while my son moves into high school, so she has been preparing our graduation slasher day for weeks. She had been wanting to watch this and Prom Night (1980) so after completing her 11th grade Friday, today was the day.

The kids in this film looked as elated as my daughter was to put one more year behind her. I vomited out a lot of review on March 26th, so I'll leave a thought that came across my mind. Christopher George seemed to be told to just be an asshole in every scene. Just act a dick to everyone. He's good at it. I guess since his coach is considered a murderer for Laura's blood clot death and he was shit canned from the track team for it, he sort of seems to have a reason for it. Nah, I figure he's just always that way.

I do remember how cool it was to be at that point in 12th grade where my passing was locked in and the pressure was off...back in 1996. 🥴

The principal, played by Pataki in those era-defining pants, is just lazy, trying to seduce his secretary into doing almost all his work.

Prom Night (1980)

My daughter was very emotional towards the beginning, really mouthing off at screen at the brats for their pressing little, sweet Robin, so panicky she was stuttering pleas for them to stop, out a window. But that second glass window really did the finishing-off. This is my daughter's very first viewing of Prom Night. It's my gazillionth. That very first rent on VHS, we just hated it. I remember us (my siblings were excited to see this since we knew Nielsen at that time from the Naked Gun) just feeling so robbed of our rental money. Now it's a classic to me. Not sure about them. Perhaps they don't give this -- or ever did -- a second thought.

Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan...again.

I was watching this yesterday (AMC cut) and my daughter was like, "Hey! I thought we were watching it together!" So, here I am one more time. It does fit with our graduation marathon of slashers. When the AMC cut didn't show Julius getting that head knocked off by a Jason punch at the top of a building, I figured why not combat my Friday fatigue one last time for the year. You know if someone asked me what had the best camera work of the first 8 this would be in contention. A cruise ship is just not my ideal setting, though I don't discredit Hedden. Today you could manage to use CGI trickery and place Jason in NY if you hire the right folks. Anyway, even if you poke holes all in it, I think Hedden had some very creative setpieces, lighting, some really solid technical work. So its more on the director's writing, really. But, ffs even I recognize this is a slimy zombie slasher monster movie.

JJ died way too early!