APRIL FOOL'S DAY - The mid-eighties slasher faced a fork in the road - "do I carry on doing the same, or do I try something more interesting?" Some, like 'A Nightmare On Elm Street', brought in unexpected elements that would transform their niche. 'April Fool's Day' hedges, but still tries to tweak things a little. At first glance, 'April Fool's Day' stays solidly within the tried and tested post-Christie '... and then there were nine' format; rich idiots visiting their friend Muffy's island (!) during spring break are picked off one by one by a mystery killer (hot favourite is the boat guy mauled in an accident on the way over after a prank misfires). A typical kind of set-up and structure, but what makes a slasher at the end of the day? Is it the set-piece kills, the sense of grim destiny as the reaper closes in, the idea of ritual appeasement for some crime of the past? Even as it cleaves to the template, 'April Fool's Day' is quite lightweight when it comes to any of the traditional slasher elements that lend themselves to horror. What stands out is a strangely seductive sheen that chimes more with those eighties sub brat-pack dramas about post-collegiate naval gazing than exploitation thrills. There's also the end, two fingers in the face of anyone expecting the usual nihilism. An enjoyable watch for anyone who can get into the end of the slasher spectrum closer to 'St Elmo's Fire' than 'Nightmares In A Damaged Brain'.
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