Directed By: Fred Walton
Starring: Deborah Foreman, Griffin O'Neal, Clayton Rohner
Tag line: "Childish pranks turn into a bloody battle for survival!"
Trivia: The film's French title was Weekend of Terror, while in Germany release was titled The Horror Party
April Fool’s Day, a 1986 horror / comedy directed by Fred Walton (the man behind 1979’s excellent When a Stranger Calls), is one of the more unique slasher films to emerge from the ‘80s, but despite the fact it plays fast and loose with some of the subgenre’s conventions, the movie is still a fun watch.
Muffy St. John (Deborah Foreman), a college student from a well-off family, invites a group of her fellow classmates to spend the weekend at her island mansion. Following a near-fatal accident that badly injures a ferry deckhand (Mike Nomad), Muffy’s friends, including Harvey (Jay Baker), Nikki (Deborah Goodrich), Rob (Ken Olandt), Nan (Leah King Pinsent), Kit (Amy Steel), and Arch (Thomas F. Wilson) arrive at the island, only to find that their host has planned a few practical jokes to help celebrate April Fool’s Day. The fun quickly comes to an end, however, when Muffy’s cousin Skip (Griffin O’Neal) goes missing. It isn’t long before some of the others disappear as well, leaving behind clues that suggest they may have been murdered. Hoping to survive this terrifying ordeal, the remaining friends band together to find a way off the island, all the while trying to figure out who the killer might be. But are things truly as they seem?
Based on the opening few minutes of April Fool’s Day, you’d think you’re in for a standard ‘80s slasher flick (following a flashback sequence in which Muffy recalls a traumatic childhood birthday party, we join the others on the dock as they’re waiting for the ferry, during which they act like typical movie teens, talking about sex and generally having a good time). Once the gang arrives at the mansion, however, the film veers off in an unexpected direction, hitting us with a series of well-planned practical jokes that Muffy arranged beforehand; some basic (whoopee cushions and dribble glasses), others a bit more advanced (in the room Rob and Kit share, Muffy’s rigged the lights so that, whenever one is turned off, another switches on). In addition to its humorous start, April Fool’s Day also lacks the gore found in such genre classics as The Burning, The Prowler, and My Bloody Valentine (most of the kills occur off-screen, with little or no blood left behind). Yet, despite its breaks from the norm, April Fool’s Day presents us with a mystery that is, at times, quite intense (a scene set at an outdoor well is sure to get your pulse pounding), and while many viewers will undoubtedly feel cheated once the movie ends, I give Walton and the film’s writer, Danillo Bach, points for at least trying something new.
Those in the mood for an ‘80s slasher will likely be annoyed by what they find in April Fool’s Day, but given a chance, it’s a film that’s sure to entertain.
