April Fools Day – Original (**) vs. Remake (½ a star)
I think we have a winner..! And by winner I mean that this could be the worst remake EVER..! The original ‘April Fool’s Day’ (1986) wasn’t one of my favourite 80’s slasher flicks, I know it has a cult following but I found it trite, boring and the alleged twist ending was predictable. However the original is an awesome movie compared to this version.
In the original, a group of friends head off for a weekend at an island mansion where they discover that they each have a hidden secret, which when revealed, they end up dead. The only person who seems to know what’s going on is hostess Muffy, is she the killer? Surprise! There’s a twist ending. Filled with alleged humour and poorly executed kills; if it had been made any time in the last 10 years it would be a PG-13 horror flick.
The 2008 version is a remake in name only as the story is more reminiscent of ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ than the 1986 version. A group of rich, spoilt brats led by brother and sister, Desiree (Taylor Cole) and Blaine (Josh Henderson) host a coming-out party for Torrance (Scout Taylor-Compton) and play an April fool’s Day prank which of course goes wrong and Milan (Sabina Aldridge) dies. Jump forward a year and the self-centred group all receive invitations to be at Milan’s grave at noon, the reason being that the person responsible for Milan’s death will be revealed. Not that you should care, but they then start to die one at a time, seemingly at the hands of the dead Milan.
The script is terribly written, an attempt at characterisation early on falls flat as we just hate these people and don’t want to spend any time with them. The dialogue is cheesy and although delivered earnestly enough by the cast, sounds and feels like one of those awful midday soap opera style dramas that litter most midweek television channels. The cast themselves are decent enough for this type of fare though I doubt that I’ll be following any of their careers with much interest.
The movie is directed by the aptly named ‘The Butcher Brothers’ however I suspect that the irony in that name would be lost on them. I imagine they named themselves that in an attempt to appear to the horror fraternity as a hardcore horror directing partnership. The only thing they seem capable of ‘butchering’ is the opportunity afforded them to make these movies… any sensible studio would revoke that privilege ASAP.
Oh, and in an attempt to stop anyone watching this movie, the twist ending is ‘the group of kids are all faking their deaths in the hope that it will force Desiree to confess that she drugged Milan at the party, she does confess and is promptly killed, allegedly accidentally’ Was it an accident? Who cares? Predictable rubbish, unintentionally hilarious, avoid at all costs.
Quality: 1 out of 5 stars for the cast
Any good: No, none stars
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