'April Fools Day' had a hard time building the following it now has. When first released, the typical slasher movie filmgoer were very unhappy with many aspects of the film, including its twist ending and the film silently left the theater with a low box office gross. Strangely enough, despite the fanbase disliking the film 'April Fools Day' actually managed to obtain some higher critic scores than other slasher films of the day. The movie stars Amy Steel of 'Friday the 13th Part 2' fame as one of several guests invited to their friend Muffy's for the weekend, unknowing of the horrors awaiting them.
Right away you can see that 'April Fool's Day' has a much better budget and production than many slasher films of the day and overall, it feels much more classy if that makes sense. The characters are very likeable, another rarity of the genre and over time you really feel bad when several of them go. In regards to the film's ending, while we won't spoil here just in case it's difficult to review the movie without discussing it at least a little bit. The film is actually more of a horror comedy overall than a straight slasher and many people likely disliked the change in tone back then, leading to its brief obscurity.
The film is really clever with its wicked humor however and it's what makes 'April Fool's Day' truly stand out. The film's horror moments are a little weaker, with some rather cheap looking special effects. While some of this may have been intentional, its strange to see some cheap props in a movie with a higher budget. This was a Paramount film after all, so you would expect some level of 'Friday the 13th' type gore effects but I guess we can't have it all.
The film can also drag at times, leading to a slow climax that may have been for building the tension up, however it just comes off as aggravating. The movie also suffers from not knowing how to end, with multiple 'gotcha' endings in quick succession that just irritates me after the first few. Do I recommend 'April Fool's Day'? For the most part yes, but with caution. You may not be getting the slasher film you wanted when you first popped in the DVD. However, what is on the screen is for the most part a clever and at the time very original dark comedy that has stronger moments than your typical slasher at the time. Recommended, but mostly for hardcore fans only.
APRIL FOOL'S DAY: (B-)
No comments:
Post a Comment