April Fool's Day (1986)

Amid the glut of gory horror films that clogged the cable schedules and cineplexes in the wake of Halloween and Friday the 13th, April Fool's Day stands out as a fairly restrained exercise in the '80s teen-slasher genre. Low on gore and high on suspense, it uses the boy-who-cried-wolf scenario inherent in its premise to keep the audience guessing as to where the practical jokes end and the body count begins. With her Sheryl Lee-like features and facial expressions, Deborah Foreman makes an appealingly off-balance scream queen, while the rest of the young cast puts a nicely personal stamp on what could have been a collection of college-age stereotypes. It helps that Hollywood vet Danilo Bach (Beverly Hills Cop) laces the script's sexual hijinks with actual character development and a few decent plot twists. Some creepy music and a few freaky set pieces add a visceral edge to a workmanlike film that spends more time playing mind games than it does spilling blood. When all is said and done, though, April Fool's Day has more roller-coaster thrills than most slasher flicks with five times the gore. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide