April Fool's Day (1986/I)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Fred Walton

Writer:

Danilo Bach (writer)

Release Date:

27 March 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Last one out's... a goner.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Mansion | April Fool's Day | Secret | Southerner

Cast

Jay Baker	...	Harvey 'Hal' Edison
Pat Barlow	...	Clara
Lloyd Berry	...	Ferryman
Deborah Foreman	...	Muffy / Buffy St. John
Deborah Goodrich	...	Nikki Beshears
Tom Heaton	...	Constable Potter / Uncle Frank
Mike Nomad	...	Buck
Ken Olandt	...	Rob Ferris
Griffin O'Neal	...	Skip St. John
Leah Pinsent	...	Nan Youngblood (as Leah King Pinsent)
Clayton Rohner	...	Chaz Vyshinski
Amy Steel	...	Kit Graham
Thomas F. Wilson	...	Arch Cummings

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Norway:15 (DVD rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | West Germany:18 (cut) | USA:R (Certificate #28085) | Netherlands:16 (DVD) (2003) | UK:18 (original rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:16 (theatrical rating) (cut) | Norway:18 (video rating) (uncut) | Singapore:M18 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2002) | UK:18 (video rating) (1986) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The film was inspired by the Agatha Christie novel 'And Then There Were None'.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: As Arch dangles from the tree, the heavy boot rakes the snake aside. The floor under the dirt/grass is visible and even moves.

Quotes:

Chaz Vyshinski: Boy Muffy, you really know how to make a guy look forward to... dessert.
Arch Cummings: Please God, let it be Ding-Dongs!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

Soundtrack:

Too Bad You're Crazy

horror film with a twist

Here we have your usual assembly of would be slasher victims along with the spooky old house near the shore bit. But the noticable difference here is the amount of laughs injected into this that you dont see in 80s horror. And an ending never seen in any other typical slasher film. The cast is perfect; a wise cracking bunch constantly pulling gags on each other. Wilson (far from his "Biff" character he played in Back to the Future) is great, Foreman is spooky as the weirdo hostess, Baker as the stuck on himself southern guy, and Goodrich as the outspoken cutie, to name a few. Most have wavered about the ending; some say good, some say stupid, so just be prepared for something different.