April Fool's Day (1986)

One of the best of the 80s teen/slasher films, 6 February 2005

The basic plot of April Fool's Day is similar to many of the teen horror/slasher movies of the 1980s. For the most part, the story of the first three quarters of the movie isn't really anything special. A group of eight friends travel to the island estate of Muffy St. John (Deborah Foreman) to spend the weekend. Soon, the inevitable happens - people start disappearing and bodies start piling up. Of course, there's no way off the island, the phone isn't working, and Muffy is acting very weird. But, just when you think you've got things figured out, the big ending comes out of nowhere.

About the ending (and I'm not going to give it away) - from what I've read, it seems to be a love it or hate it proposition. There's not much middle ground. You will either feel cheated and want to throw your remote at the television or you will love it and appreciate it as something different. Put me in the love it category. I think it is a nice change of pace from the normal horror movie from the period. There are a few (very few) clues as to what's coming up, but it takes a repeat viewing to pick them up.

Most of the 80s teen horror movies have interchangeable characters - there is a nerd, a jock, a slut, a good girl, etc. And even though the characters in April Fool's Day can be put in these categories, they are not as exaggerated as you find in most similar movies. The writers should be given credit for at least attempting to write somewhat "real" characters. By no means do we get in depth characterizations, but these characters are more like people I actually knew in the 80s.

As usual, I do have a couple problems with the movie. The biggest complaint I have is the idea that the whole scheme could be pulled off without anyone knowing or discovering what was going on. That notion requires an extra large leap in any sort of known logic. And, I have a problem making a jump that large.

By the way, what ever happened to Deborah Foreman? After the 80s, she seems to have dropped off the planet.

7/10