With the rise of fake news, lies, more lies, and statistics, it seems modern culture is turning its back on April Fool’s Day. What might be taken with a tongue firmly in your cheek could be taken earnestly, and a growing population taking pranks to the extreme might cause them to lose their lustre. A shame, as a simple joke done well, can be a welcome break. In 2008, some young adults will learn that their jokes will have deadly consequences on April Fools Day.

On April Fool’s Day 2007, Desiree and her brother, Blaine, devise a very cunning joke for fellow young, rich, society gal, Milan, drugging her and taping her in the throes of passion. However, Milan reacts badly to the drug and ends up dead. The drug Desiree slipped her being blamed on her brother, and now Desiree gets a clean conscience and control of the inheritance. A year on, it appears someone knows about the conspiracy, and is silencing off the members one by one. Leaving the question of who knows? And how many lives are worth the truth?

With the name April Fool’s Day, you might recall that 80s slasher film that bears the same name, the one that brought a touch more humour to the slasher genre than its contemporaries may have. While April Fools Day claims to be a remake, it claims a lot of inspiration from other projects too. Yes, fans might recognise a dash of Sorority Row which came out roughly the same time, a hefty dose of I Know What You Did Last Summer. There’s also a tinge of The Young And The Restless, taken down south by a fraction, with the young attractive wealthy cast’s machinations. There are some slight gags, they feel typical of the turn-of-the-century slashers that this film tries to borrow from. It is safe to say that April Fools Day is an apt pupil of some greats of the genre that came before. It being a direct-to-D.V.D. affair, it doesn’t have some of the same resources as the other films listed above, but it does its best regardless.

April Fool’s Day pedigree is reflected in the cast list, too. Laurie Strode herself from Halloweens 1 and 2 joins this project as she takes the reins as Torrance, hostess of the ball Milan had the misfortune of passing away at. You might recognise the young cast from a few other places, particularly Jennifer Siebel who is currently residing in the governor’s mansion in Sacramento. I particularly liked the manservant Wilford, who is played by Frank Aard, and his reactions elicited a dark chuckle from me.

There must have been something in the air around 2008, for remakes of classic slasher films that aren’t quite remakes but are nonetheless. April Fools Day takes what works well in other genre thrills and manages to repackage it enough to make this Direct-To-D.V.D. film stand on its own two feet. Young adults playing deadly games is a tried-and-tested proposition, yet there’s something about April Fool’s Day’s whodunit that suggests that if you don’t seek it out, the joke may be on you.

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