By now, the outcome of 1986’s April Fool’s Day is well known: an heiress’ guests are misled to believe their party is being picked off by a killer among them. However, had the producers not requested a last-minute change, the film would have turned the tables on the elaborate prank’s orchestrator; she would have died for real. Fans had hoped to see footage from this shot-but-unused ending on Shout! Factory’s Blu-ray. No such luck, unfortunately. And it was likely not for a lack of trying on the distributor’s part, either. Although the final cut of Fred Walton’s film features no actual deaths, Jeff Rovin’s novelization was based on an earlier draft of Danilo Bach’s script. Which means this now out-of-print adaptation used that sought-after “lost” ending.
Before taking a deadly turn, the novelization is not all that different from its cinematic counterpart: Muffy St. John...
Before taking a deadly turn, the novelization is not all that different from its cinematic counterpart: Muffy St. John...
- 4/1/2024
- by Paul Lê
- bloody-disgusting.com
A new episode of our Best Horror Party Movies video series has just been released, and with this one we’re looking back at the 1986 classic April Fool’s Day (watch it Here). We may be a few days beyond the day the movie is named after, but any time is a good time to watch April Fool’s Day. And to find out how we party to this movie, check out the video embedded above!
Directed by Fred Walton from a screenplay by Danilo Bach, April Fool’s Day has the following synopsis: When a group of college students decides to spend spring break at the secluded island estate of their wealthy classmate, Muffy St. John, what starts out as a fun, hedonistic weekend turns into something more sinister. Muffy is very fond of practical jokes, and sets up numerous gags throughout her mansion. But, when friends begin going missing and turn up dead,...
Directed by Fred Walton from a screenplay by Danilo Bach, April Fool’s Day has the following synopsis: When a group of college students decides to spend spring break at the secluded island estate of their wealthy classmate, Muffy St. John, what starts out as a fun, hedonistic weekend turns into something more sinister. Muffy is very fond of practical jokes, and sets up numerous gags throughout her mansion. But, when friends begin going missing and turn up dead,...
- 4/4/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
We have a relatively quiet week of home media releases ahead of us this week, but the titles that are coming out are a rad bunch of films nonetheless. Scream Factory is doing the Dark Lord’s work with both the Collector’s Edition of April Fool’s Day and the HD release of Frankenstein: The True Story. If you missed it in theaters back in January, Nicolas Pesce’s The Grudge (2020) is headed to various platforms this Tuesday, and Arrow Video has put together a stellar Special Edition release of Philip Ridley’s The Passion of Darkly Noon as well.
Other Blu-ray and DVD releases for March 24th include Endless Night, Cabal, Hunter’s Moon, The Zombinator, and The Wizard: Collector’s Edition.
April Fool’s Day: Collector’s Edition
Good friends...with some time to kill. When Muffy St. John invited her college friends up to her parents' secluded...
Other Blu-ray and DVD releases for March 24th include Endless Night, Cabal, Hunter’s Moon, The Zombinator, and The Wizard: Collector’s Edition.
April Fool’s Day: Collector’s Edition
Good friends...with some time to kill. When Muffy St. John invited her college friends up to her parents' secluded...
- 3/23/2020
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
A film I’ve talked about ad nauseam for like decades now, Fred Walton’s April Fool’s Day has been a favorite of mine ever since I discovered it on VHS during the summer of 1987.
[Spoiler warning if you haven't seen April Fool's Day.] To me, it’s always been the perfect anti-slasher, where no one in the film really dies (unless you count the film’s missing ending), and instead leans into the whodunit aspects that are driving the mystery of just who exactly is terrorizing Muffy St. John (played by Deborah Foreman) and her friends during what’s supposed to be their idyllic lakeside weekend away from the stresses of college life.
What it may lack in an official body count, April Fool’s Day more than makes up for with its whip-smart script, charismatic performances, and a whopper of an ending that I certainly wasn’t expecting at all the first time I saw it.
[Spoiler warning if you haven't seen April Fool's Day.] To me, it’s always been the perfect anti-slasher, where no one in the film really dies (unless you count the film’s missing ending), and instead leans into the whodunit aspects that are driving the mystery of just who exactly is terrorizing Muffy St. John (played by Deborah Foreman) and her friends during what’s supposed to be their idyllic lakeside weekend away from the stresses of college life.
What it may lack in an official body count, April Fool’s Day more than makes up for with its whip-smart script, charismatic performances, and a whopper of an ending that I certainly wasn’t expecting at all the first time I saw it.
- 3/23/2020
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
If you've listened to our Corpse Club member-exclusive audio commentary or you've read Heather Wixson's 30th anniversary retrospectives on the film, then you know we're big fans of Fred Walton's April Fool's Day here at Daily Dead, so we're especially excited that Scream Factory has revealed a March 24th release date and new cover art by Yannick Bouchard for their Collector's Edition Blu-ray release of the 1986 horror comedy. Scream Factory provided us with the official release details, including the list of bonus features:
Guess who’s going to be the life of the party? On March 24, 2020, Scream Factory brings the fan-favorite 1980s mystery slasher April Fool’s Day to Blu-ray™ for the first time! This Collector’s Edition release includes a number of brand-new bonus features including new interviews with director Fred Walton, actress Deborah Goodrich Royce, actor Clayton Rohner, composer Charles Bernstein, and cinematographer Charles Minsky, and more!
Guess who’s going to be the life of the party? On March 24, 2020, Scream Factory brings the fan-favorite 1980s mystery slasher April Fool’s Day to Blu-ray™ for the first time! This Collector’s Edition release includes a number of brand-new bonus features including new interviews with director Fred Walton, actress Deborah Goodrich Royce, actor Clayton Rohner, composer Charles Bernstein, and cinematographer Charles Minsky, and more!
- 2/14/2020
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
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