April Fool's Day (2008 film)
Encyclopedia
April Fool's Day is a 2008 horror film
, which is a direct-to-DVD remake
of the 1986 film of the same name. It is directed by The Butcher Brothers
, also known as Mitchell Altieri
and Phil Flores
, who also directed the vampire film The Hamiltons
. April Fool's Day is described by star Scout Taylor-Compton
as "Mean Girls
crossed with horror", and was released straight to DVD release on March 25, 2008. The film received negative reviews from critics and fans.
As another in her long string of April Fool's pranks, Desiree suggests Blaine get Milan tipsy on champagne and pork her in his bedroom upstairs. Desiree and several of the others hover by the cracked-open bedroom door, prepared to videotape the affair with the camera Desiree lifted from Ryan. However, Milan has a seizure and falls off the balcony to her death. The group goes to court, and Blaine loses the control of the family's fortune which shifts to Desiree, but they are considered innocent and the death of Milan is considered a fatal prank.
One year later, Desiree, Blaine, Peter, Barbie, Torrance, and Ryan receive anonymous invitations to meet on Milan's grave at noon, April 1, 2008, with the cryptic P.S. "I have proof." Just after the entire sextet is back together, a messenger comes to the grave with a box containing a letter and a laptop computer. The letter says one of the six murdered Milan, and if that person does not confess, all of them will be dead by midnight. As a show of intent, the computer has footage of Charles drowning in his pool.
Everyone goes from the cemetery to the pool to confirm this mishap. Subsequently, an increasingly frantic Desiree sees one "suspect" after another "murdered" before her eyes (though the bodies keep disappearing). Barbie is electrocuted in a beauty pageant dressing room, Peter's campaign truck runs him down in a parking garage, Ryan's throat is slit in his humble apartment, and returning home, Desiree and Blaine discover even their long-time butler Wilford has been butchered in the kitchen.
After a brief separation from her brother, Desiree finds him tied to a chair. Worse yet, gun-wielding Torrance soon has Desiree tied inches away in another chair. After some back and forth, and Torrance fatally shooting Blaine in the chest, a chagrined Desiree finally admits it was she who spiked Milan's fatal drink, while allowing brother Blaine to become the "fall guy." At this point Blaine cannot contain a chuckle, and soon the whole crew of 2008 "victims" are surrounding a still-tied Desiree, telling her what a bitch she is, and how they have conspired to prove it to her. Special effects people from Torrance's Boogie Nights 2 set have equipped Blaine and the others with "squibs," and other cast members faked Desiree out by dressing as cops and "confirming" Ryan's murder as she and her brother were fleeing the scene.
To illustrate her end of the charade involving a revolver shooting blanks, Torrance pulls the trigger once more. Unfortunately for Desiree, this time the cartridge in the chamber is real, and the bullet blows off the top of her head. The next scene involves the same inquest-probate judge from a year earlier absolving Torrance of any guilt for Desiree's death, and confirming Blaine as sole heir of the family estate. The final scene shows Blaine driving off in what was Desiree's red Mercedes, a slowly building smirk on his face.
, and the two have also re-written the script for the remake with Mikey Wigart. Picked up by Stage 6 Films
for distribution, it was filmed in North Carolina
under producers Tara L. Craig and Frank Mancuso Jr.
. Mancuso had also produced the original. Scout Taylor-Compton
noted that the filmmakers plan to make April Fool's Day an R-rated film.
Taylor-Compton confirmed her role in the film in July 2007, and at the time of this writing, Jessica Stroup
, Katheryn Winnick
, Beau Garrett
, Corey Sevier
, Andrea Bogart
and David Clayton Rogers
were also rumored to star. However, Taylor-Compton is the only of those rumored in July to have confirmed a role since filming began.
The film would retain most of the original's humor; however, Flores said it is "pretty much contemporized, with off-beat humor, different settings -- something that would gel with today's audience." Altieri noted that "It's kind of more a twisting and turning story" with "some really good scares".
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, which is a direct-to-DVD remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of the 1986 film of the same name. It is directed by The Butcher Brothers
The Butcher Brothers
The Butcher Brothers are the filmmaking alter-egos of American film directors Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores.-Biography:Their first feature film The Hamiltons was the winner of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Malibu International Film Festival and released by Lions Gate...
, also known as Mitchell Altieri
Mitchell Altieri
Mitchell Altieri is an American film director, producer and writer.His first feature film Lurking in Suburbia was discovered by Sundance Film Festival programmer Trevor Groth...
and Phil Flores
Phil Flores
Phil Flores is an American film director, producer and writer.-References:* http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0282921/...
, who also directed the vampire film The Hamiltons
The Hamiltons
The Hamiltons is an independent horror film directed by the Butcher Brothers and the winner of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Malibu International Film Festival...
. April Fool's Day is described by star Scout Taylor-Compton
Scout Taylor-Compton
Scout Taylor-Compton is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in numerous small television roles and in feature films that range from dramas to those in the horror genre....
as "Mean Girls
Mean Girls
Mean Girls is a 2004 American teen comedy-drama film directed by Mark Waters. The screenplay was written by Tina Fey and is based in part on the non-fiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman, which describes how female high school social cliques operate and the effect they can have...
crossed with horror", and was released straight to DVD release on March 25, 2008. The film received negative reviews from critics and fans.
Plot
On April 1, 2007, Desiree Cartier is hosting a party at her mansion for her friend actress, Torrance Caldwell. Present for a pre-festivities toast are - Blaine Cartier, Desiree's brother, who controls their joint inheritance (to Desiree's dislike), U.S. Senate candidate Peter Welling, Peter's "Miss Carolina" fiancee Barbie Reynolds, and the quintet's less wealthy videographer friend Ryan. With the party in full swing, Desiree's social nemesis and Ryan's not-so-secret crush Milan Hastings, arrives. Also present is chihuahua-toting society reporter Charles.As another in her long string of April Fool's pranks, Desiree suggests Blaine get Milan tipsy on champagne and pork her in his bedroom upstairs. Desiree and several of the others hover by the cracked-open bedroom door, prepared to videotape the affair with the camera Desiree lifted from Ryan. However, Milan has a seizure and falls off the balcony to her death. The group goes to court, and Blaine loses the control of the family's fortune which shifts to Desiree, but they are considered innocent and the death of Milan is considered a fatal prank.
One year later, Desiree, Blaine, Peter, Barbie, Torrance, and Ryan receive anonymous invitations to meet on Milan's grave at noon, April 1, 2008, with the cryptic P.S. "I have proof." Just after the entire sextet is back together, a messenger comes to the grave with a box containing a letter and a laptop computer. The letter says one of the six murdered Milan, and if that person does not confess, all of them will be dead by midnight. As a show of intent, the computer has footage of Charles drowning in his pool.
Everyone goes from the cemetery to the pool to confirm this mishap. Subsequently, an increasingly frantic Desiree sees one "suspect" after another "murdered" before her eyes (though the bodies keep disappearing). Barbie is electrocuted in a beauty pageant dressing room, Peter's campaign truck runs him down in a parking garage, Ryan's throat is slit in his humble apartment, and returning home, Desiree and Blaine discover even their long-time butler Wilford has been butchered in the kitchen.
After a brief separation from her brother, Desiree finds him tied to a chair. Worse yet, gun-wielding Torrance soon has Desiree tied inches away in another chair. After some back and forth, and Torrance fatally shooting Blaine in the chest, a chagrined Desiree finally admits it was she who spiked Milan's fatal drink, while allowing brother Blaine to become the "fall guy." At this point Blaine cannot contain a chuckle, and soon the whole crew of 2008 "victims" are surrounding a still-tied Desiree, telling her what a bitch she is, and how they have conspired to prove it to her. Special effects people from Torrance's Boogie Nights 2 set have equipped Blaine and the others with "squibs," and other cast members faked Desiree out by dressing as cops and "confirming" Ryan's murder as she and her brother were fleeing the scene.
To illustrate her end of the charade involving a revolver shooting blanks, Torrance pulls the trigger once more. Unfortunately for Desiree, this time the cartridge in the chamber is real, and the bullet blows off the top of her head. The next scene involves the same inquest-probate judge from a year earlier absolving Torrance of any guilt for Desiree's death, and confirming Blaine as sole heir of the family estate. The final scene shows Blaine driving off in what was Desiree's red Mercedes, a slowly building smirk on his face.
Cast
- Taylor ColeTaylor ColeTaylor Quinn Cole is an American actress and former fashion model.-Early life and modeling:Cole was born in Arlington, Texas. Cole attended Mirabeau B. Lamar High School where she traveled with the Junior Olympics volleyball squad. It was also in high school she got her start as a model. Cole...
as Desiree Cartier - Josh HendersonJosh HendersonJoshua Baret "Josh" Henderson is an American actor and singer. He rose to fame as one of the male members of Scene 23, a pop singing group that were selected as the winners of The WB's singing competition Popstars 2. After the group disbanded, he began focusing on an acting career...
as Blaine Cartier - Scout Taylor-ComptonScout Taylor-ComptonScout Taylor-Compton is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in numerous small television roles and in feature films that range from dramas to those in the horror genre....
as Torrence Caldwell - Joe Egender as Ryan
- Jennifer SiebelJennifer SiebelJennifer Lynn Siebel is an American documentary filmmaker, actress and the wife of former San Francisco Mayor and current Lieutenant Governor of California Gavin Newsom. She is the director, writer and producer of the film Miss Representation, which premiered in the documentary competition at the...
as Barbie Reynolds - Samuel Child as Peter Welling
- Joseph McKelheer as Charles Lansford
- Frank Aard as Wilford
- Sabrina Ann Aldridge as Milan Hastings
Production
April Fool's Day was directed by The Butcher BrothersThe Butcher Brothers
The Butcher Brothers are the filmmaking alter-egos of American film directors Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores.-Biography:Their first feature film The Hamiltons was the winner of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Malibu International Film Festival and released by Lions Gate...
, and the two have also re-written the script for the remake with Mikey Wigart. Picked up by Stage 6 Films
Stage 6 Films
Stage 6 Films is a label created by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions in fall 2007 that acquires, produces and distributes 10-15 low budget films and direct-to-DVD releases per year. It is Columbia TriStar's fifth specialty label. Overall, it's the 7th theatrical label by Sony Pictures...
for distribution, it was filmed in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
under producers Tara L. Craig and Frank Mancuso Jr.
Frank Mancuso Jr.
Frank G. Mancuso Jr. is an American film producer.Mancuso was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of former Paramount Pictures president Frank Mancuso, Sr. Mancuso produced all of the sequels to Friday the 13th under Paramount's distribution , co-created the unrelated Friday the 13th: The Series...
. Mancuso had also produced the original. Scout Taylor-Compton
Scout Taylor-Compton
Scout Taylor-Compton is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in numerous small television roles and in feature films that range from dramas to those in the horror genre....
noted that the filmmakers plan to make April Fool's Day an R-rated film.
Taylor-Compton confirmed her role in the film in July 2007, and at the time of this writing, Jessica Stroup
Jessica Stroup
Jessica Leigh Stroup is an American actress and fashion model. Stroup is best known for her role as Erin Silver on The CW television series 90210, a spin-off to the original Beverly Hills, 90210...
, Katheryn Winnick
Katheryn Winnick
Katheryn Winnick is a Canadian film and television actress.-Life and career:Etobicoke-born Winnick, who is of Ukrainian descent and speaks fluent Ukrainian, has appeared in numerous studio films including Paramount's Failure to Launch and New Line's Amusement.She has guest starred in multiple...
, Beau Garrett
Beau Garrett
Beau Jesse Garrett is an American actress and model.-Career:She was first hired by GUESS in the late 1990s. She is currently a spokesmodel for Revlon cosmetics, along with Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Connelly and Jessica Alba, and has also modeled for Double D Ranch and CosmoGirl...
, Corey Sevier
Corey Sevier
Corey Daniel Sevier is a Canadian actor. He is perhaps best known for his role on the Fox television series North Shore as Gabriel McKay or as Timmy Cabot on the television series Lassie from the late 1990s.-Life and career:...
, Andrea Bogart
Andrea Bogart
Andrea Bogart is an American actress. She is best known for starring in Dark Ride.-Career:Bogart has appeared in episodes of Grounded for Life, CSI: NY, and Ghost Whisperer....
and David Clayton Rogers
David Clayton Rogers
David Rogers or known as David Clayton Rogers now is an American film producer, writer and actor. He has co-starred in films such as Sublime , Dark Ride and Skylight, which he also wrote...
were also rumored to star. However, Taylor-Compton is the only of those rumored in July to have confirmed a role since filming began.
The film would retain most of the original's humor; however, Flores said it is "pretty much contemporized, with off-beat humor, different settings -- something that would gel with today's audience." Altieri noted that "It's kind of more a twisting and turning story" with "some really good scares".