Die Horror Party

One of the more fondly remembered horror entries of the '80's is this unique gem that's much more clever and amusing than the average slasher film.

Young woman invites her beloved college friends to her island home for a weekend of fun, but everything goes wrong. A freak accident occurs, mysterious things appear in the guests rooms, our hostess starts acting strangely, and bodies are starting to pile up!

With its clever combination of Agatha Christie-type mystery, teen horror film conventions, and quirky humor - it's not hard to understand why this film has developed a bit of a fan base. Even viewers who don't like horror films may find themselves enjoying this witty and twisted little venture. Director Walton does well in giving the film an air of mystery and spookiness. All the more adding to the atmosphere is the lovely music score of Charles Bernstein. The film is nicely shot in beautiful British Columbia.

The true highlight of this film though is its above-average cast. While there are really no known actors in the cast, they all deliver great performances and bring their characters to a wonderfully likable light! Deborah Foreman, in probably her best performance, is great as hostess Muffy. Ken Olandt and Amy Steel are great as a couple trying to solve the mystery of it all. Clayton Rohner and Thomas F. Wilson are a joy as two joke-happy friends. Jay Baker, Leah Pinsent, and Deborah Goodrich are equally good in their supporting roles.

As the tagliner says, April Fool's Day is certainly a 'cut' above the rest of its kind. It's a fun watch whether you enjoy the horror genre or not.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Definitely not the typical slasher fare you might expect from the 1980s, April Fool's Day takes the ordinary slasher formula and spices it up - and in the process makes a much more palatable film than most of the films it initially imitates. A group of nubile teens(OK, not so different to begin with)go to their friend's remote island home somewhere in the Northwest. Here, they laugh, have sex, joke around because it is April Fool's Day, and, oh by the way did I mention, have sex. Although this part of the movie is pretty typical, it is well-shot compared to other films of its ilk and we do get some character development(not a lot) but some. Soon, people begin to die and things get serious. For a slasher film, this movie is very well-paced and, more importantly, is not over-the-top in blood and guts. The acting is uniformly average(something a Friday the 13th films craves!). What really takes this film beyond the mundane; however, is the stylish twist at the film's end. This, almost all by itself, allows this film to rise in the ranks. The ending is deftly done and does not look foolish or silly or forced; all of these things could have easily happened. So if you are up for some slasher fun, want to see some nice looking girls(Deborah Foreman and Deborah Goodrich), and are intrigued by a creative ending - April Fool's Day is for you!

This is one of those "almost" movies. April Fool's Day has a very likable cast, a good plot and wonderful setting what is doesn't have is a lot of suspense and scares.

It looks like a lot of time was put into this film to make it a classy horror picture. Perhaps that's the reason that none of the kills are very interesting, while there is some gore the death scenes themselves seem to have been edited out. Perhaps this was due to the print used on the DVD, maybe there's a better version...I don't know.

The ending itself may put off hardcore horror fans but I found it quite amusing and it helped to make the rest of the movie gel together and answers some questions/concerns I had about about the movies story.

Overall April Fool's Day is quite enjoyable. The young cast is a lot of fun to watch and a few notches above other 80's horror fare, the story is original and the local, a secluded beach house is quite nice. However, it could have been much, much creepier! With more suspense and good scares April Fool's Day could have rated higher. April Fool's Day rates a 6 out of 10.

Ten youths about to graduate college celebrate at a remote island mansion in the Great Northwest, soon to be inherited by one them (Deborah Foreman). Unfortunately, they start getting hacked one-by-one. Who's the killer?

"April Fool's Day" (1986) is a slasher/horror in the cabin-in-the-woods mold; it's just that the 'cabin' in this case is a magnificent mansion. The presence of Amy Steel, who played Ginny in "Friday the 13th Part II" (1981), brings to mind that series but, besides Amy, the female cast isn't as notable, although it's okay. You might remember Deborah Foreman from "Valley Girl" (1983) and "Real Genius" (1985).

On the other side of the gender spectrum, Ken Olandt is a Kevin Bacon lookalike while Clayton Rohner is reminiscent of Val Kilmer.

Regrettably, the pacing is off and so not enough suspense is worked up. Any "Friday the 13th" flick is all-around more entertaining, not to mention "Slumber Party Massacre II" (1987), which has similarities. But "April Fool's Day" gets points for the outstanding location and something revolutionary that happens, which I can't give away.

The film runs 1 hour, 29 minutes, and was shot at St John estate, Victoria, British Columbia, with additional studio stuff done in Los Angeles. It was rebooted or reimagined (not remade) in 2008.

GRADE: B-

I first saw this in the early 90s on a vhs n was totally surprised. This movie came during the era of slashers but the kills were offscreen n the nudity nada. Revisited it recently n liked it very much. A group of friends take a trip on an island estate, on their way due to a prank gone wrong, a deckhand gets seriously injured. Later on the estate, one by one starts disappearing. The film has lots of twists n turns n a solid ending which was very surprising for those days. The location of the island estate is done well n the mansion really beautiful. It is a very different take on the slasher genre n a very clever one.



I think Michael Douglas' The Game is inspired by this movie.