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| A toast to dying young. |
Released on Friday March 28th, 1986, April Fool's Day was produced by Frank Mancuso, Jr., the man in charge of Friday The 13th sequels and the son of Paramount president of the time Frank Sr.
Following in the tradition of other Holiday-themed slashers of the era, April Fool's Day is remembered as one of the more popular '80s slashers, taking in over $12 million at the box office on a $5 million dollar budget.
Despite its popularity, the film has been credited for being the impetus for the downfall of Slasher films. In the documentary Going to pieces: the rise and fall of the slasher film, critics blamed the film's corny, jesting ending as an insult to the slasher genre. Though, I've always seen that ending as fitting for the holiday its named after and thought it was done rather cleverly. Plus, the whole film sustains a creepy aura throughout, making the viewer wonder if its a joke or not.
As a kid in the '90s, I was intrigued by the fantastic cover featuring the host of the party toasting to her guests, while sporting a noose ponytail and flourishing a knife to no one. It just teased treachery and bloodshed. It wasn't until the film was released onto DVD in the 2000s that i finally got the chance to view the film, and ever since, I try and rewatch it every spring around this time.
On a final note, I remain motivated to purchase the novelization, which supposedly features the legendary alternate ending where Skip attempts to murder his sister Muffy. It has also been rumored that they filmed this ending, but no footage of it has ever been released, though photos of it are out there.
The novelization is rare and only on Ebay sparingly at a price of around $30+. It was written by Jeff Rovin, a writer who also wrote the novelizations for Re-animator & Broken Arrow.
Here's a link to my in-depth review of the film, recorded in 2012:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6T_hLyn5TI
