April Fool’s Day (1986)

Apr 1

Written By Young, Wild & Freaked Media

Guess who's going to be the life of the party?

Starring: Jay Baker, Deborah Foreman, Deborah Goodrich, Ken Olandt, Griffin O'Neal & Amy Steel

Director: Fred Walton

Written by: Danilo Bach

Released: March 27, 1986

Budget: $5 million

Box office: $13 million

Distributed: Paramount Pictures

There’s an appreciation I have for holiday horror. It gives me something to watch or recommend annually, and usually in these types of films, everything is so on the nose and ridiculous, that it just becomes yet another popcorn flick to lose all your life’s worries to. Unfortunately, April Fool’s Day is not going to be one of those annual watches for me. While I didn’t despise the movie, but I can’t say I enjoyed it either.

For the majority of the movie, we are subjected to a bunch of jokesters, who only have one thing on their minds - sex. Now I’m no prude and I understand college is a horny time for many, but damn - how many times can we replace plot and characterisation for innuendos, sex quizzes, and crass humour. By the end of the film, I still don’t know anything about these characters, so there isn’t any sigh of relief on my part when the twist is revealed.

I also felt confused about the tone of this film. There are so many silly pranks and the characters constantly goofing around, that my mind just categorised it as a horror-comedy, but then there were other moments where it felt like it was trying to be thrilling and tense. I get that it’s not only trying to fool the characters, but mainly the audience watching this film. However, instead of creating any sort of mystery, it just created confusion. There was a lack of balance and fluidity between the comedy and horror, so it just wound up being lackluster. The fact that the plot and character development were so thin didn’t help either.

It’s a shame though, because the premise is very promising. Muffy said that she wanted to host a whodunnit, murder mystery that wouldn’t be something run-of-the-mill and ordinary. That sounds like fun and something I’d pay money to experience, especially on such a beautifully secluded property, but I’m afraid homegirl is going to have to go back to the drawing board if she wants some good reviews. Some newspaper clippings, a random photo in the study, and making your hair all frizzy ain’t gonna cut it honey.

Amy Steel’s Kit and Thomas. F Wilson’s Arch are the only two characters that I felt like towards. I think Amy Steel just has a naturally likable and relatable sensibility about her, which is also present in her Friday the 13th Part 2 character Ginny, and Arch, although goofy in his own right, isn’t as obnoxious as his other male friends. His humour and personality were tolerable.

The gore and practical dummy heads were well done. They resembled their real-life counterparts pretty well. However, we don’t spend too long on it to appreciate all that much.

Would I recommend this film? Not really if I’m being honest. It lacks the mystery and thrill one would expect from an Agatha Christie-inspired premise. If this wasn’t attached to a recognised holiday, I probably would never have known about this film. However, if you’re a lover of 80s horror and don’t mind seeing a bunch of 35-year-old-looking college students goof around, then perhaps this is for you.

I rate this movie 2 out of 5 Whoopie cushions.

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