April Fool's Day: An Underrated Slasher Flick

Time to pop in the DVD of a classic 80s slasher flick which, 26 years later, still holds up as a nifty, little thriller that stands above most of its holiday-horror brethren from the blood-soaked era (Silent Night Deadly Night, My Bloody Valentine, Graduation Day).
April Fools Day begins a la Ten Little Indians, Agatha Christie's classic murder mystery also known as And Then There Were None. Eight people (in this case, college students) gather together for a weekend at an old, isolated house on an island owned by heiress Muffy St. John (Valley Girl's Deborah Foreman), and soon enough each guest gets knocked off one by one by a mysterious killer.

AFD isn't your average B-grade slasher flick from the 80s. First of all, it does reasonably well in the department of character development. Our group of youngsters aren't complete cardboard cutouts or easily disposable horror movie cliches. During the prank-filled dinner scene (and introductory prologue that's reminiscent of today's "found footage" trend) we actually get a peek at some nuanced performances. Second, the movie moves along at a swift pace, establishing a foreboding atmosphere and dropping little hints at what's to come (or not to come). And finally, there's that twist ending, a surprise denouement that sets the movie apart from its predecessors. When all is said and done, there isn't another movie in the genre that quite matches the entertaining resolution to this frightfest.

H.P.M.
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