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April Fool's Day (1986) 5.9
A group of nine college students staying at a friend's remote island mansion begin to fall victim to an unseen murderer over the April Fool's day weekend. Director:Fred WaltonWriter:Danilo Bach |
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Title: April Fool's Day (1986)
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
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Jay Baker | ... |
Harvey
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Pat Barlow | ... | |
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Lloyd Berry | ... | |
| Deborah Foreman | ... |
Muffy /
Buffy
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| Deborah Goodrich | ... |
Nikki
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Tom Heaton | ... | |
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Mike Nomad | ... | |
| Ken Olandt | ... |
Rob
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Griffin O'Neal | ... | |
| Leah Pinsent | ... |
Nan
(as Leah King Pinsent)
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| Clayton Rohner | ... | ||
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Amy Steel | ... |
Kit
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| Thomas F. Wilson | ... |
Arch
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
A group of eight college friends gather together at an island mansion belonging to heiress Muffy St. John to celebrate their final year of school. They soon discover that each has a hidden secret from their past which is revealed, and soon after, they turn up dead. Yet, are they really dead? Or is it just part of some very real and cruel April Fool's jokes? The hostess, Muffy, is the only one who apparently knows what's going on. But then again, is it really her doing the killing? Written by Losman <losman@express-news.net>
Taglines:
...A cut above the rest. See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
27 March 1986 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Week-end de terreur See more »Filming Locations:
British Columbia, CanadaBox Office
Budget:
$5,000,000 (estimated)Gross:
$12,947,763 (USA)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
DolbyColor:
Color (Metrocolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
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See more »
Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman
Performed by Three Dog Night
Courtesy of MCA Records, Inc.
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
As "Buffy" stabs the sliding doors that Kit runs through, you can briefly see a playful smile on her face; subtle foreshadowing to the fact that all the horror has been a hoax. See more »Goofs
When Buffy is standing on the dining room table, one shot reveals a camera shadow on the back of her shirt. See more »Quotes
Chaz Vyshinski: Hey guy, your fly is open and your Hostess Twinkie is hanging out.See more »
Soundtracks
"Mama Told Me (Not To Come)"Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman
Performed by Three Dog Night
Courtesy of MCA Records, Inc.
See more »
Muffy St. John (Deborah Foreman), a preppy college student at Vassar, invites her friends over to her exclusive island resort in early April. What sounds like a fun weekend quickly turns sour when the friends begin to die in rather horrifying ways. Is it Muffy, one of the group, or is it someone else? You'll have to wait until the end to be sure.
While considered one of the more notable slasher flicks of the 1980s, "April Fools Day" just doesn't work for me on the same level that other slashers -- "Friday the 13th", "Hell Night" and "My Bloody Valentine", for example -- were able to. And I can sum up pretty much the key reason why: the end of the film. Not only is it a complete cop-out and a slap in the face to horror fans, but it's completely implausible. If you watch the film knowing the end, you'll quickly see that the logistics are not very likely. According to HorrorHound magazine, this film has been called the slasher that killed the slasher film, and that's about right. If we place the slasher genre from 1976-1986, this one brought up the rear. Only one good slasher after this comes to mind: "Intruder".
The very last scene is the only really creepy part of the film, despite some attempts with decapitated heads, and even that gets the cop-out treatment. If this film hadn't been so readily available to kids scouring video store shelves in the early 1990s for horror tapes to watch, it would have faded away. Of course, the same can be said for the "Leprechaun" series.
Now, I can say that the people involved are respectable: director Fred Walton also did "When A Stranger Calls", the writer Danilo Bach wrote "Beverly Hills Cop", and actress Amy Steel was the star of "Friday the 13th Part II". So, yes, they've all come off of better projects. How much of that was brought here... not sure. (It's mostly the story that fails... the directing and acting are fine. And from all reports, it's at least better than the remake.)
If you're looking to complete your collection of 1980s slasher films, you'll need this one. And it is somewhat decent, to be fair. But my suggestion would be to hold off until a proper DVD release. To the best of my knowledge, only bare bones releases have come out so far, and this one might be superior if it came with the legendary alternate endings.