In 1981 the slasher sub-genre was starting to gain some steam. After having the formula solidified by
Halloween in 1978 and popularized by
Friday the 13th in 1980, the genre began to take off. All manner of horror films sought to exploit the lurid and exploitative nature of slasher film. Sequels started to pile up alongside such early entries as
My Bloody Valentine,
Hell Night,
The Burning, and
The Funhouse. Each of these movies employed some crazed killer paired with creative and gruesome death sequences. There was even a film made satirizing the style,
Student Bodies, which bears a passing resemblance to the movie we are looking at today,
Graduation Day.
