April Fool's Day (1986)
Clara: “Have a nice party.”
Muffy: “Nice? It's gotta be better than nice. It's gotta be bloody unforgettable!”
April Fool's Day is a rarity in the horror field. On one hand, it's an 80s slasher, envisioned by the likes of Fred Walton, the guy who previously directed When a Stranger Calls (1979) and Frank Mancuso Jr, the producer of Friday the 13th Part II, III, The Final Chapter and A New Beginning (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985). So, we should know what we're letting ourselves in for, right?
Rather, I was pleasantly surprised when I'd ejected the DVD, and held it aloft with a twinkle in my eye, and a dopey grin on my face. You see, April Fool's Day is so much more than a standard 80s slash-fest. Sure, it revolves the narrative around a holiday, much like Halloween (1978), Christmas Evil (1980) and My Bloody Valentine (1981). But, and here lies a MASSIVE SPOILER: the rarity lies in the body count, which is a big-fat zero. Rather than feeling duped, and wanting to hurl my remote control at the TV, I instead wanted to hug the DVD case, and perhaps caress the disk a little bit. It's a crafty little film, which plays with the conventions of the slasher film, and as a result -- its audiences expectations. I know many people felt rather cheated when they viewed the ending (and oh, what an ending), but I'm firmly placed in the "Love" category.
The story is standard slash fare: A group of college friends are invited to the island estate of Muffy St. John (Deborah Foreman) for the weekend. Tragedy soon occurs on their journey (yes, they haven't even made their destination yet . . .) when a prank goes wrong and Buck is seriously hurt in a ferry accident.
The group watch in shock as he zooms off to the mainland, clutching his mangled face. But that's nothing copious alcohol can't solve as the friends party their troubles away. As they sit at dinner, chairs with bendy legs, drippy cups and a variety of other hilarious gags have been installed, courtesy of Muffy. The good mood begins to dissipate however, when Muffy's cousin Skip (Griffin O'Neal) and token motor-mouth Arch (Thomas F. Wilson) disappear -- of course, it could all be an elaborate prank, couldn't it? But pretty soon, Kitt (Amy Steele) has spotted a blood-splattered corpse drifting under the docks, and Nikki has fallen into a well overrun by the freshly strewn bodies of their friends. Of course, Muffy herself is also acting rather strangely: her quirky, innocent personality has shifted, and she's acting oddly, daydreaming about nothing and saying uncomfortable shit like:
Muffy: "Sometimes with the tides . . . it takes somebody all night to get here from the mainland. And even then sometimes . . . they don't make it."
It's now a case of whodunit, with the gnarled finger of suspicion pointing at the unfortunately-named Muffy. It doesn't put the friends at ease when they call the police, and they're told to "Stay away from Muffy". As the "body count" rises, and the climax draws closer, it's up to Kitt and her boyfriend, Rob (Ken Olandt) to piece together Muffy's murky past, including a twist that'll make you re-think the entire film.
Given the twist-ending, the film rises above conventional slasher films, providing something fresh and original, even if not entirely satisfying for some horror-fans. The performances by the young cast are certainly above-average, especially for such a modest budget -- Amy Steele once again makes a great protagonist, and Deborah Foreman is in turns sweet and creepy as Muffy/Buffy. The characters could have easily fallen into the stereotypes of standard horror films. Sure, there's the presence of the jock, the shy girl, the geek and the sex-kitten (of course, Deborah Goodrich embodies Nikki with enough energy and feist, adding more layers to the archetype than many of her predecessors).
