April Fool's Day (1986) - Weasello Rating: {>>--} (Heh)
Please note that this review is laden with spoilers.

Also please note that the movie was spelled and in production as "April Fool's Day" as opposed to "April Fools' Day," the proper spelling. For the sake of the movie, I am going to put this review into the node under the incorrect spelling.

April Fool's Day is a late-80's horror movie that has always been on the shelf at the video store. It has a very catchy cover - one of a woman who's hair is arranged in a noose-like way. It always intrigued me and I finally got it.

The back of the box said "By the producer of Friday the 13th parts 3, 4, 5 and 6. I knew it had to be good.

Body count: Let's see... 4 males and 4 females equals 0 kills in this movie. Yes, zero. April Fools'! Hahaha... ahem.

Plot Outline: About 8 students pile into their cars and go on a summer vacation to a 9th girl's cabin out on a tiny little island. It is, of course, April Fools' Day, and the kids are constantly playing trick on each other. The most serious of which is the trick where EVERYONE DIES, but I'm getting to that.

As each student settles into a room at the cabin, there is many a mysterious and "tricky" thing going on. A woman who had an abortion found a casette player in her closet with a crying baby tape playing. Paintings with eyes that move. Mysterious writing on the basement wall. You get the idea.

That night, however, and the following day - the students start dying one by one. Most students got the same amount of air time, so there was no "lead role," and I couldn't tell who would live until the end of the movie. It turns out that the woman hosting the party has an insane evil twin sister and she was making her way back home after escaping an insane asylum. And it turns out that a particular male and female character figure the whole plot out and try to flee the island post-haste.

April Fooools'! People weren't being killed at all, it was just a huge, very elaborate (and dangerous) hoax. The woman hosting the party was going to receive the house in her father's will if she could prove that she could keep it financially secure herself. So she demonstrated that she could hold murder-mystery parties and it would become a popular vacation spot.

My Opinion: I think my opinion of this movie would rise above 2/4 if it was made a few years later. The camera quality didn't seem so hot and the whole thing was pretty... well... it was hard to beleive, and therefore "get into." Because noone was really dying in the movie, there were no scenes of gory violence or anything - it was all just "scream, cut to black" which got annoying pretty quickly. A few of the contrived death-plans were very dangerous as well - such as being crushed by a boat, being attacked by a snake, or "killing" a guy that has a gun in his pocket. Not smart!

Mind you, they were young kids - they must have been invincible.

Interesting Notes:
  • Biff, from Back to the Future fame (and as the nemesis in BTTF2) starred in this movie. You know, the "McFly! Hello, McFly!!" guy. This is his third movie (number two being BTTF).
  • Two of the guys (including Biff) played a crazy knife throwing game at the beginning of this movie. Apparantly, the two-player game is played like so:
    • Stand about two long paces away from each other.
    • Take out a switchblade and throw it into the ground between you two.
    • Keeping their legs apart at roughly shoulder-distance, the opponent then bends over and tries to pick up the knife.
    • The opponent will never succeed, and will instead fall over onto his side while everyone laughs.
    • The knife thrower can than laugh and dance, saying he won.
    It is a very confusing, stupid game. If anyone knows what it is supposed to be, please let me know.
Fun Quotes!
  • "Let's play Hide the Sausage!"
  • (Said in an ominous voice) "Sometime... Sometime tonight! Yes folks, it will happen tonight... Tonight... Before sundown... Someone will... PULL HIS WANG!!!" (cut to scene of hot-dogs being removed from their wrappers)
Lead roles: Directed by: Fred Walton (II)

Writing credits: Danilo Bach

Filmed In: British Columbia, Canada

Tagline: April Foooool's...
Sources: The oh-so-wonderful IMDB, my head, and the box.

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