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April Fool's Day: Unrated
R1 - America - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Andreas Petersen (24th March 2008). |
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The Film
 When I sit down to watch an “unrated” direct-to-dvd horror film directed by people calling themselves 'The Butcher Brothers' (Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores), I expect one thing: Grotesque, senseless gore. However, "April Fool’s Day" is quite a different movie than it’s cover might insinuate. While this movie wants you to think it’s a slasher film, it is really more of a thriller or a mystery. The story centers around socialite brother and sister Blaine (Josh Henderson) and Desiree (Taylor Cole). They throw a party on April 1st to honor the “coming out” of Torrance (Scout Taylor-Compton), an up and coming actress. The party is also attended by gossip columnist Charles (Joseph McKelheer), film-maker-wannabe Ryan (Joe Egender), beauty queen Barbie (Jennifer Siebel), and her husband Peter (Samuel Child). Also at the party is Milan (Sabrina Aldridge), a “friend” who doesn’t fit in, and is the target of a prank instigated by the aforementioned guests. One thing leads to another, and Milan winds up dead. Fast forward one year, and someone begins picking off each of those involved in the prank one by one. Concerning pretty much every aspect of this movie, the word “average” comes to mind. The directing really isn’t anything interesting; no shots ever really caught my eye. The most you’ll get is panning shots, tracking shots, and many static shots. This is the Butcher Brothers second film, so they have plenty of time to find their own style. The acting was also nothing amazing. I felt like the performances from I Know What You Did Last Summer were somehow magically transported into a new set of actors. The one glaring exception to this is Samuel Child’s performance as Peter, the would-be senator caught up in the whole mess. He, in short, is hilarious. Whenever he was on screen, it was a breath of fresh air. I am curious as to why this character was the only successful element in terms of humor in the film, as almost every other joke fell flat. My favorite line from the movie comes from a drunken Peter: “If that winds up on the interweb I will have you raped by a wizard.” Priceless. The movie ultimately builds up to an incredibly predictable climax, one that my brother, who walked in on watching the movie over halfway through, called within two minutes of watching. However, after the big “reveal”, something awesome and unexpected happens, that if had been the last shot of the movie, I would give the film a standing ovation. Unfortunately, the movie drags on a bit too long (which at 91 minutes is saying something). "April Fool’s Day" is not a bad movie, but there isn’t much about it that is terribly interesting. I can recommend this movie in regards to perhaps a rental, or if it’s on TV, give it a watch. But other than that, I couldn’t recommend a purchase.
Video
The film is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The movie does little to play around with colors and what not, giving it a very plain look. The actual picture quality was decent, but not as sharp as I have come to expect from DVD's coming out these days. At many times, the colors seemed inconsistent, sometimes looking far too dark, and sometimes way too bright, and no time in between for my eyes to adjust. All in all, "April Fool’s Day" is a very average looking movie, which suits the feel of a very average movie.
Audio
The film offers only an English Dolby Digital English 5.1 surround sound track. I feel as though the movie didn’t utilize its audio well enough, at least not in the capacity successful horror/thriller movies should. However, the audio was clean, as dialogue, sound effects, and music all came out clear. I just wish there was more movement with the sounds, though this sort of excellence is hard to expect from a direct-to-DVD movie of this all-around caliber. The film also includes French subtitles.
Extras
The only extras Sony have included on the disc are some bonus trailers for other movies. They are for: - "Blu-ray" promo, running for 33 seconds. - "Loch Ness Terror", running for 1 minute and 8 seconds. - "Revolver", running for 2 minutes and 33 seconds. - "Southland Tales", running for 2 minutes and 32 seconds. - "Boogeyman 2", running for 1 minute and 39 seconds. - "Bats: Human Harvest", running for 55 seconds. - "Gabriel", running for 1 minute and 53 seconds. - "The Tattooist", running for 1 minute and 45 seconds. - "30 Days of Night", running for 2 minutes and 21 seconds. - "Damages: Season 1", running for 1 minute and 37 seconds. - "I Know Who Killed Me", running at 2 minutes and 32 seconds. - "Fearnet.com" promo, running at 48 seconds.
Overall
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