A friggin’ nanosecond hasn’t gone by since we told you about the STEPFATHER remake (as well as some movement on the LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT remake) – and now word is out that another 80s slasher flick (that term used loosely) is set to get a new coat of paint. APRIL FOOL’S DAY is getting “the treatment” from The Butcher Brothers, the guys responsible for last year’s creepy THE HAMILTONS.
For those unfamiliar with the original, it concerns a group of eight college friends who gather together at an island mansion belonging to heiress Muffy St. John to celebrate their final year of school. They soon discover that each has a hidden secret from their past which is revealed, and soon after, they turn up dead. Of course, given the title, you’re never quite sure if it’s all a big joke, and if so, being pulled by who?
The one thing that puzzles me about this news is that APRIL FOOL’S DAY has an ending that makes you want to throw tomatoes at the screen, so The Butcher’s might be in trouble if they stick with it. And if they DON’T, then what’s the point of remaking it, other than, I suppose, to steal the title? On a positive note, the original’s trump card is its humor, somewhere between darkly comic and tongue and cheek, so if that stays intact, it’ll be more than just “Generic Slasher Movie #3423.”
I think a lot is riding on Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN. If that does poorly, or is met with major fan disapproval, what little goodwill given to these remakes by tentative fans might erode completely.