April Fool’s Day (1986)

Alright I might be dating myself here with this one but hey, I really liked this movie.

The Gist: A group of college students head to their friend’s island for a weekend of fun only to terrorized by a killer who knows their darkest secrets.

The Fools: Deborah Foreman (Muffy/Buffy); Deborah Goodrich (Nikki); Ken Olandt ( Rob); Amy Steel (Kit); Griffin O’Neal (Skip); Thomas F. Wilson (Arch); Leah Pinsent (Nan); Jay Baker (Harvey)

My Take: This is among one of the first horror movies I saw and to this day, it is still one of my tops. I watched it again last week, and I think even with the ’80’s hair, it has stood up well over 26 years.  One of the things that I like about this flick is the setting; the house and the location.  Such a lovely setting on the ocean and much to my surprise, as I found out recently, the movie is filmed practically in my backyard.  But aside from the aesthetics, I enjoyed the story.  Yes, there have been many movies about college friends cutting loose for the weekend only be stalked and systematically killed but this was good and it didn’t have to feature gratuitous violence or lots of boobies.  I don’t have a problem with either of those in movies, I’m just saying this movie works without it. The characters develop as Arch films them on the way to the island and just from their general chatter and interaction.  The acting is well done but I do have to say, I don’t think I’ve seen any of these performers in anything else since aside from Ken Olandt and Leah Pinsent.  Sadly, the quality of the film hasn’t held up and has not been restored (at least I haven’t seen a restored version) but the overall production was good and I really liked the ending.  Not too surprising but still good.

Critique Much: No real criticism on this one.  It’s one of my old school favourites that I can still enjoy today.

Yah or Nah: A definite Yah.  Nothing new in the way of storyline but in 1986 it wasn’t nearly as overdone as it is today and it was done well.  Quality acting and production and the setting can’t be beat – beautiful ocean views, lush greenery.  As my favourite beer says, it’s good to be here. (doesn’t everyone’s beer talk to them?)