April Fool's Day (Fred Walton, 1986)/My Favorite Slasher Films!

MASSIVE SPOILERS!

 

I hate slasher films so much (their dread of difference, their hypocritical puritanism that punishes sexual activity but courts unfettered violence, their implicit Boomer ideology in calling for the annihilation of 1980s youth, etc.) that I applaud a terrible film like April Fool's Day. For a good 75 minutes or so of its 89-minute running time, it's a numbing experience with inscrutable character behavior and Mad Lib dialogue ("Boy, when she said 'well,' she really meant 'well.' Who dug this thing - Pocahontas?" Huh??). But then SPOILERS, it was all a prank! No one dies in this slasher film, not even in the cheat ending! In fact, it becomes a straight-up comedy in its penultimate scene. The hero's continued screaming when confronted with a no-longer-dead character is genuinely hilarious (albeit mean). No murders, no punishments, a good time had by all? That's progressive enough for me!

Grade: B+

Fun facts:

I saw this film in its first run at either Mann's Chinese Theatre or The Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. Can't recall which but either was Mecca for a young movie geek.

There was a novelization by Jeff Rovin, the author (I assume) of my beloved The Signet Book of Movie Lists. 

And here's a list of my favorite slasher films which should demonstrate how much I loathe the genre since most are either too early or too arty to be slasher films. 

April Fool's Day
Badlands
The Boston Strangler
Un couteau dans le coeur (Knife + Heart)
The Driller Killer
Follow Me Quietly
Frenzy
Gideon of Scotland Yard
I Spit On Your Grave (original)
M (Fritz Lang, 1931)
Peeping Tom
Psycho
Psychos in Love
Se7en
Stranger by the Lake
10 Rillington Place
While the City Sleeps