Holiday-themed Horror films were at the top of the genre back in the 1980s. Of course, with Christmas being the biggest of all holidays, you had many in this departing, including 1980’s Christmas Evil and 1984’s Silent Night, Deadly Night, among others. However, this is Horror we are talking about, and clearly, the biggest holiday to celebrate in the genre would have to be Halloween with films like 1982’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch, as well as 1988’s Night of the Demons, set around it.
Then you have what some may call secondary holidays, like Valentine’s Day (which was the subject of 1981’s My Bloody Valentine), New Year’s Eve (which was the feature theme of 1980’s New Year’s Evil), Thanksgiving (which was entwined into 1980’s Blood Rage), or Easter (which indirectly surrounds 1988’s Critters 2: The Main Course). Think all the major dates are covered? Think again because, in 1986, a Horror film named April Fool’s Day emerged.
Straight forward, named directly after the famously recognized day, April Fool’s Day itself actually has origins that day back to the 1500s. All very interesting; everyone knows that annually, upon the arrival of April 1st, it is a time for pranks, practical jokes, and hoaxes. A practice that can sometimes be cruel to the one playing the fool, this is exactly where the feature film takes its cue. Written by Danilo Bach (who actually wrote the script for 1984’s hit Beverly Hills Cop), it seems almost perfect to have someone with a sense of humor on board for a film like April Fool’s Day. With this box checked, Fred Walton (who had directed the effective 1979 Slasher When a Stranger Calls) was called on to direct.
So, you had a balance of Horror and Comedy experience behind the scenes, while the cast also takes that balanced approach with stars like Deborah Foreman (who lit up screens with the 1983 Romantic Comedy Valley Girl), Deborah Goodrich (who was quite memorable from the 1985 Comedy Just One of the Guys), joined by Amy Steel (who had gained fame as a led in 1981’s Horror classic Friday the 13th Part 2) and Thomas Wilson (who left an impression with his role as Biff Tannen in 1985’s Back to the Future). A pretty strong cast of recognized faces, it also included Clayton Rohner (who also started in 1985’s Just One of the Guys), Griffin O’Neal (from 1982’s The Escape Artist, among others), Ken Olandt (who went onto 1987’s Summer School and 1993’s Leprechaun), among others.
With these pieces in place, there was also a fantastic soundtrack from Charles Berstein (who famously composed for 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street), making for a surefire hit for Paramount Pictures. Or was it? Well, it did well financially, but it could have actually done better had it been marketed better by Paramount Pictures, which arguably led people into thinking they were in for a traditional Slasher. Maybe this was part of the practical joke, but in hindsight, April Fool’s Day is sold a bit short in terms of Horror cinema history.
Certainly keeping you on the edge of your seat for much of the runtime, it is the constant guessing of what was really happening to the characters and what was not. Was it all one big gag, or was this group of friends and strangers invited to a remote island for the weekend really being offed one by one?
This is a question you need to figure out for yourself if you have yet to see April Fool’s Day in the nearly forty years since its release. After all, there have been plenty of opportunities to catch April Fool’s Day with VHS and LaserDisc releases in the ‘80s and several DVD releases in the early 2000s before Scream Factory put it out on Blu-ray in 2020. This is not to mention in the last decade, it has been pretty accessible on streaming services, but now, in 2025, you can get your hands on April Fool’s Day for the first time ever in 4K Ultra HD.
A new release from Kino Lorber, this first-ever 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray arrived on January 21st, and it trumps any prior edition to date. Offering a 4K scan from the 35mm original camera negative, it is far and away the most pristine imagery ever available of April Fool’s Day. Saying a lot considering Scream Factory’s 2020 Blu-ray was a really fantastic transfer, the colors and textures for Kino Lorber’s 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray take it to a new level.
Offered as a two-disc set (a 4K UHD disc and a Blu-ray with the film plus special features), there is also a nice slipcover and sleeve that features the original classic artwork. As far as the special features, they are comparable with the 2020 Blu-ray from Scream Factory, so it is a no-brainer with the 4K upgrade that this Kino Lorber is an edition to look into.
Perfect if you are new to this film, or if you are a long-time fan, it is highly recommended to indulge in this 4K presentation. A fitting companion to the 2024 expanded 2LP Deluxe Edition April Fool’s Day soundtrack release from release Varèse Sarabande, Cryptic Rock gives Kino Lorber’s 4K Ultra HD April Fool’s Day set 5 out of 5 stars.
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