April Fool's Day (2008)

Wonderful Movie

good back-story, and good acting

Admirable film.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I hadn't planned on watching, but it was a quiet Saturday night on Halloween weekend and it was a featured film on Crackle.com. I loved the original as a girl and even watched it a fairly recently with my cousin who loved it more. I never considered it a serious thriller, always a black comedy. BTW, not only was no one actually killed in the original, it was all a trial run for a mystery weekend (wholesome fun, people).This movie was a shallow, tacky, cheap rip-off of the original meets Dallas. The acting and cinematography reminded me of Skinamax late-night softcore porn, except the only topless shots were of a dancing, fat man. Most of the actors behaved like they were in a melodrama, although Senator Pete was consistently funny. I also have to assume the dog was meant to be a repetitive sight-gag, and I'm girly enough to admit that Josh Henderson with the pup gave me the giggles.On a side note, there was a shocking number of black actors used in small parts and as extras. I don't think there's any particular reason for it, but it stood out because it's rare to see that when it doesn't relate to the plot.

"April Fool's Day" is an utterly terrible and nearly pointless slasher entry.**SPOILERS**At a special party, Torrence Caldwell, (Scout-Taylor Compton) finds that Desiree Cartier, (Taylor Cole) welcomes her into the society that friends Blaine Cartier, (Josh Henderson) Barbie, (Jennifer Siebel Newsom), Peter Welling, (Samuel Child) Milan Hastings, (Sabrina Aldride) Charles Lansford, (Joseph McKelheer) and Ryan, (Joe Egender) aren't that happy with, figuring it's merely a set-up for a cruel prank. As the party goes on, they catch her in the middle of a prank only for one of the guests to be accidentally killed during the event. When the pressure from the public has died down from the high-profile incident, they start to wonder about the validity of a series of incidents that have them convinced someone's pulling a prank on them, but when the group suddenly starts to die off, they race to find the killer before it's too late.The Good News: There was a few parts to this that can be managed to say were decent about it. There's a couple of actually really good stalking scenes in here, namely the first one done through the web-cam as the killer goes about his job. As it's filmed through the killer's viewpoint, it has a real hint of suspense to it as they wind their way through the surroundings up to the unsuspecting victim, the interactions set-up our feelings toward it quite easily as it's a proved suspense tactic, and then finally the way they're dispatched is quite shocking and ends the scene nicely. Another rather well-done stalking is the one in the parking garage, for it's a hectic scene within the cramped space, the fact that there's no idea who's behind it all, and with the way the action unfolds within, including being chased down on a straightaway section and chasing behind in their car, make this one quite thrilling and injects some excitement into this one. The last good stalking scene is that big one at the end, which is a prolonged and extremely extracted sequence within the mansion. Due to the large rooms, the number they visit and the thrill of trying not to be caught because of the killer appearing there, it manages to become quite chilling and highly creepy, which is what it should be. Once captured and tied up, it becomes a little better due to the hint of not knowing what's going to happen next, and it really plays this section up right. The last good part to this one is that the opening party scene prank is actually well-done, set-up nicely and feels like an appropriate sequence done at real-life parties of this type, and it feels really good. That's all that's right with this one, though.The Bad News: This one here has a ton of problems with it that really drag it down. The biggest issue with this one is the fact that the film has utterly no suspense at all from the kills, since the stalkings are done with absolutely nothing done to make them involving or thrilling for the viewer. A victim feels something is wrong, is given evidence to the contrary and believes it's safe, then comes the kill-shot every time. It doesn't work when it's repeatedly done, as despite the few good ones mentioned above, the majority are played off as lame, boring and just drag on so long, they eventually can't become anything more than tired and cliché-riddled. The fact that the victims in here are terrified of the killer through the lame stalking shown in here is a joke and wipes out a ton of feelings from the film. That also makes the fact that the kills are just down-right bloodless and utterly uninteresting another monumental flaw to get over. Since there's absolutely nothing about these kills to get worked up, excited or even grossed-out over, mentioning them accomplishes nothing but merely derision for the fact that they were allowed to remain in a film and not at all be changed to make a slasher fan interested in what happened in here. It's tame, lame and just makes it that much easier to despise this film. One more big hurdle to get over is the fact that this one has a rather tame feeling across the board, in spite of the gore, since it features an MTV-like feeling with it's pretty, popular faces lining the cast, bland stalking in sure-fire suspenseful sequences, and it's rather big issue, not a lot of scares but placed instead with them pouting or looking sullenly at each other no matter the situation. Coupled with the hyper-excessive editing when it doesn't need it, this one's glossy look and feel will wear thin with many of the more traditional fans of the genre out there. The last flaw to this one is the fact that there's just no way around explaining the stupidity amongst the final twist at the end. It manages to re-write the entire film so that it can appear to be shocking when it's finally revealed, and is just lame, and all for merely being able to say it fooled the audience. There's no purpose to it, and it even ends the film on a sour note. Some might find a problem with the fact that this is a remake, but it's a personal preference bit and has nothing to do with the film itself.The Final Verdict: Filled with a lot of problems and not a lot of positive good ones to raise it up, this one here is a pretty bad film without a lot going for it. Really only give this a chance if you're a fan of an actor or the style appeals to you, while the fans of the original or hardcore horror traditionalists should avoid this one.Rated R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence

This movie was so bad. The acting was mediocre. The cinematography was that of something you'd expect from a college student handing in his first assignment. The script was terrible.Not to mention this was the exact plot as I Know What You Did Last Summer, except it takes place on April's Fools Day rather than the Fourth of July.As I was watching it, I thought the film was decent, but then the ending came, and it was the most predictable ending ever. This coming from someone who ALWAYS guesses wrong during these whodunit mysteries. I predicted the killer and the twist within the first half hour. However, the final jump actually did make me jump. Rather unnecessary, in my opinion, but one last attempt to surprise you.Don't waste your money on it.2/10 stars. It would have been one, but I've seen movies that are worse so it gets an extra star for effort.

This movie has nothing in common with the original "April Fool's Day" from 1986. The story is taken directly from "Prom Night" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" (without any imagination). "Prom Night" also had a remake last year, and not a good one either. So no original story, what about the gore, because after all, it is supposed to be a slasher. Well, again disappointment. It all has the look of a PG-13 movie and that is actually the case here. No thrills, no excitement, and the story has been done way too many times. Although the acting isn't bad, the worst thing has yet to come: the so called "surprising ending" with a twist you did not see coming !! Yeah, right... this was so lame and poorly executed, a complete waste of time. If you did not see that one coming, you must have been asleep during the whole story. I didn't expect much to begin with, but this is below all standards. Watch the 1986 version instead. Or "I Know what you did", but forget this one.