{"id":23083,"date":"2020-03-24T10:50:45","date_gmt":"2020-03-24T17:50:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=23083"},"modified":"2020-12-19T15:35:28","modified_gmt":"2020-12-19T23:35:28","slug":"review-april-fools-day-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2020\/03\/review-april-fools-day-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"April Fool’s Day: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>April Fool\u2019s Day<\/em><\/strong> is a fun horror-comedy with a respectable ensemble. The kills aren\u2019t bad and while some of the story elements stretched the plot a bit, I still found this to be an entertaining.<\/p>\n

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April Fool’s Day
\n<\/span>\u2014 Collector’s Edition \u2014<\/span>
\n(1986)<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Horror, Thriller<\/span>
\nShout Factory | R \u2013 88 min. \u2013 $29.98 | March 24, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 03\/24\/2020 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Directed by: <\/strong>Fred Walton
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Danilo Bach (written by)
\nCast: <\/strong>Jay Baker, Pat Barlow, Deborah Foreman, Deborah Goodrich, Mike Nomad, Ken Olandt, Leah King Pinsent, Clayton Rohner, Amy Steel, Thomas F. Wilson<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DISC INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Features: <\/strong>Interviews, TV Spots, Trailers
\nSlip Cover: <\/strong>Yes
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>No
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>1<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 2.0)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 2.35
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>44.66 GB
\nTotal Bitrate: <\/strong>42.95 Mbps
\nCodecs: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Shout Factory provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
\nThe opinions I share are my own.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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THE MOVIE \u2014 3.75\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Plot Synopsis: <\/strong>When Muffy St. John (DEBORAH FOREMAN) invited her college friends up to her parents\u2019 secluded island home for the time of their lives, she just forgot to tell them it just might be the last time of their lives. As soon as the kids arrive on the island, someone starts trimming the guest list\u2026 one murder at a time. And what starts out as a weekend of harmless \u201cApril Fool\u2019s Day\u201d prank turns into a bloody battle for survival.<\/p>\n

Quick Hit Review: April Fool\u2019s Day<\/em><\/strong>, on the surface, and that it\u2019s from producer Frank Mancuso Jr., is just another holiday horror movie in the vein of a Friday the 13th<\/em> or maybe Black Christmas<\/em> (1976 version ffs). Instead, it would seem this was a movie ahead of its time, more inlign with Scream<\/em>, though not nearly as meta. I came away rather entertained. It\u2019s by no means incredible, and parts didn\u2019t make a whole lot of sense, but a fun experience nevertheless.<\/p>\n

The film was under the direction of Fred Walton, better known for his suspense-thriller When a Stranger Calls<\/em> and its sequel, When a Stranger Calls Back<\/em>, both decent enough films, the first far superior, and with April Fool\u2019s Day<\/em><\/strong>, a solid entry for an unheralded (maybe even underrated?) filmmaker.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 3.75\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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This \u201cCollector\u2019s Edition\u201d release comes with a matted slip cover<\/strong>. The interior cover is reversible.<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Horror with a Twist (47:00)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 Director Fred Walton<\/li>\n
  • Well of Lies (16:32)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 Actress Deborah Goodrich Royce<\/li>\n
  • Looking Forward to Dessert (17:15)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 Actor Clayton Rohner<\/li>\n
  • Bloody Unforgettable (26:00)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 Composer Charles Bernstein<\/li>\n
  • The Eye of Deception (17:23)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 Cinematographer Charles Minsky<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Good selection of interviews here, with the one with Walton being so lengthy, it\u2019s split into two parts. Each of them provide backgrounds on their careers, and in a couple, even their upbringings. One again, Shout Factory has put together a good array of participants for a title that didn\u2019t get very much love in prior home video releases.<\/p>\n

    Lastly there is the Theatrical Trailer (1:42)<\/u><\/strong> and some TV Spots (1:35)<\/u><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

     <\/p>\n

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    \n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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    VIDEO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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    Shout Factory releases April Fool\u2019s Day<\/em><\/strong> onto Blu-ray, presented in its original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. Since there\u2019s no mention on the back cover or on Shout\u2019s website, the transfer was likely provided by Paramount with no apparent restoration, and it could be none was required. The picture here, looks quite good, nothing exceptional yet detail was fine, the film grain was visible, colors on point for the time period and outside of some specs, relatively clean.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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    AUDIO \u2013 3.75\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
    \n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

    The movie comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, pretty standard for an older release by Shout. Dialogue comes through with good clarity and although there\u2019s not a whole lot to judge in terms of depth, outside perhaps the screaming by would-be victims or Charles Bernstein\u2019s score, it\u2019s still a well done lossless track for a movie that\u2019s going on nearly 35 years old.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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    OVERALL \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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    April Fool\u2019s Day<\/em><\/strong> is a fun horror-comedy with a respectable ensemble cast with probably Thomas F. Wilson being the most recognizable today (Back to the Future<\/em> came out a year earlier). The \u201ckills\u201d aren\u2019t bad and while some of the story elements stretched the plot a bit, I still found this to be an entertaining little flick. This Collector\u2019s Edition release from Shout Factory offers up high-quality video and audio transfers and an okay selection of bonus features.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    April Fool\u2019s Day is a fun horror-comedy with a respectable ensemble. The kills aren\u2019t bad and while some of the story elements stretched the plot a bit, I still found this to be an entertaining.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,970],"tags":[2462],"class_list":["post-23083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blurayreviews","category-quick-hit-reviews","tag-shout-factory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23083"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25137,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23083\/revisions\/25137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}