Graduation

Laura Ramstead, a senior athlete, suddenly collapses during the high school track meet and dies of a cardiac embolism. The crowd and teammates rush to her side as medical staff work to save her, but the tragedy is undeniable. The town's mood shifts from celebration to shock in an instant.

Two months pass after Laura's death. Anne, Laura's elder sister and a U.S. Navy officer, returns to town to participate in the graduation ceremony honoring Laura. She harbors anger toward Laura's coach, believing the pressure contributed to the tragedy. The town braces for the upcoming ceremony amid unresolved grief.

As Anne walks through downtown, she sees Paula, Laura's teammate, entering the jogging trails in the woods. Paula is later found murdered, stabbed by an unseen killer. The first chain of disappearances begins to hint at a hidden menace in town.

Anne attends a graduation rehearsal at the high school as a special guest, rehearsing her role in the ceremony. The atmosphere is tense as nerves run high among staff and students. The looming tragedy casts a pall over what should be a celebratory moment.

After the rehearsal, Anne visits Laura's boyfriend Kevin and gives him one of Laura's medals as a keepsake. The exchange underscores the fragile web of relationships tied to Laura's death. Kevin's mood swings hint at deeper tensions within the group.

In the locker room, Sally is startled by her classmates Doris and Joanna. She is unable to perform her routine for a photoshoot, and a figure in fencing attire stabs her through the throat. The brutal murder shakes the team and raises questions about a hidden killer among them.

The next day, Ralph encounters Doris and Joanna on the trails and retrieves their football from the brush. The killer impales him with a metal spike attached to the ball, leaving a chilling signature. The stalker continues to operate with cold precision.

That night, a graduation dance takes place at the high school. Dolores and her boyfriend Tony leave the dance to explore the wooded trails, where the killer decapitates them with a sword. The spree expands beyond the track team to other students.

Principal Guglione fields frantic phone calls from worried parents of Paula, Sally, Tony, and Dolores, all of whom have gone missing. Inspector Halliday arrives to investigate the growing list of disappearances, adding official scrutiny to the town’s fear. The investigation accelerates as testimonies emerge.

On the track field, Pete attempts a pole vault, only to find the pit has been rigged with steel spikes. He is killed on impact, a brutal reminder that the killer is methodical and unrelenting. The body count rises and suspects narrow.

Halliday questions Coach Michaels about the disappearances; Michaels, furious and defensive, is fired from his position. The investigation begins to pivot toward the coach as a possible suspect, though no one has a clear answer yet. Tensions flare as blame shifts among staff.

Doris and Joanna discover Sally's corpse stuffed in a locker in the locker room, triggering screams that alert others. Kevin arrives and accuses Coach Michaels of being the killer, leading to a confrontation and a heated fight. The atmosphere thickens with mistrust and fear.

Anne and Halliday arrive as Michaels flees toward the wooded trails, while a locker-room photo reveals every team member's face crossed out except Kevin’s. The eerie clue points toward Kevin and the chase intensifies as authorities close in. The pursuit underscores the killer’s calculated nature.

The killer's identity is revealed: Kevin, Laura's ex-boyfriend, has been orchestrating the slayings and blaming others for Laura's death. In the climax, Michaels is killed by Halliday, but Kevin presses on, forcing a tense confrontation with Anne. The struggle ends with Kevin mortally wounded, leaving Anne to survive the nightmare.

Anne enters Kevin's house and finds Laura's corpse in Kevin's bedroom, confirming Kevin's gruesome crime. A crazed Kevin attacks, but Anne ultimately pushes him onto Pete's spike, killing him. She then hallucinates an undead version of Kevin before realizing it is her drunken stepfather. The next morning, she leaves town by taxi as the Graduation Day banner hangs over the main street.