The presence of about ten scriptwriters should have warned me just how bad this remake of a '80s-era slasher would be. That, and the name of the directors, The Butcher Brothers. If that doesn't say it all then I don't know what does.
APRIL FOOL'S DAY is an appalling film, so cringeworthy, so awful that I can barely believe it exists. The script is awful, mind-numbingly bad and with no discernible wit, skill or intelligence present at any spot in the narrative. The actors are equally terrible, delivering their lines in a stilted way reminiscent of automatons. Watching the end result, I can't help but liken this to a particularly poor episode of BEVERLEY HILLS 90210.
Horror fans should look elsewhere, too. There's plenty of full-blooded horror on offer in cinemas today, and this is anything but. The various kill scenes are silly indeed and the movie reaches a real nadir when it comes to the big twist at the climax, which is the most ridiculous, SCOOBY DOO-type thing I've ever seen. Please, please do yourself a favour and avoid this movie like the plague.
April Fool's Day
2008
Action / Horror
April Fool's Day
2008
Action / Horror
Plot summary
The new "April Fool's" revolves around a party given by two rich siblings for their friend. Tragedy strikes when a friend falls over a balcony and dies. One year later, the teens responsible for the accident become the targets of a twisted killer who begins to hunt them down one by one.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Ties with When a Stranger Calls as the worst remake ever
April Fool's Day
I was intrigued to see this remake of April Fool's Day after enjoying the 1986 classic. This 2008 version offers a modern take on a slasher film taking place on a day full of tricks.
A debutant type named Desiree and her brother Blaine are hosting a party on April 1st to introduce a girl named Torrance into their elite society, a group of rich The O.C. types who enjoy drinking and drugs and country clubs. During the party, one of the young women named Milan is accidentally killed during what should have been an April Fools gag. The whole thing gets recorded on film.
Exactly one year later, we see one of the people involved in the tragic gag getting murdered in a swimming pool. Desiree gets a letter telling her to go to the cemetery where the young girl is buried, in the note it also states that the person has proof of something. The entire film follows the group around the city as the killer knocks them off one by one, challenging the true killer of Milan to come forward or they'll kill everyone before the day is up.
Josh Henderson and Taylor Cole as brother and sister Blaine/Desiree are pretty good. They suit these roles of elite snobby spoiled rich kids very well. Scout Taylor-Compton as Torrance doesn't seem to fit into the whole scene of stuck up teens. The rest are just background.
I didn't mind the April Fool's Day remake as much as I thought I would. It definitely isn't as good as the original, but isn't as bad as critics paint it. A watchable slasher flick that copies ideas from I Know What You Did Last Summer and has a decent twist that is easy to figure out about halfway through.
5/10
Unfortunately Terrible
This is a movie very lightly based on the '80s slasher of the same name. The original wasn't anywhere near the best of the slasher movies so I could only think that this movie could easily equal it's predecessor. The acting was pretty bad for most of the supporting characters but I still am having a hard time figuring out if it's the actors fault or the directors. I don't know. Blaine and Desiree did on OK job with the material they were given.
Its cinematography was terrible. The quick zooms of the camera was very much something I'd expect from a teenager filming skits with friends. The score in this film was laughable. I don't know where they got the idea to use some of the music but it ruined any little bit of suspense that they managed to build.
This was one of the worse movies I have seen in a long time. I had very low expectations for this film but am baffled at how bad it really was.