May 102013
My Bloody Valentine / April Fool’s Day (Double Feature)
The comedy/chiller “April Fool’s Day” follows a gang of teens at a remote mansion where a maniac with no sense of humor is killing them one by one. Hey, put that axe down! Can’t you take a joke? Apparently not, because the gore starts flowing fast.AAHHH! Deborah Foreman, Griffin O’Neal star. Also includes “My Bloody Valentine” (1981). Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English.
List Price: $ 12.98
Price: $ 4.93
This DVD answers the question of “what fun is a holiday without the threat of being slashed?”,
First off I have to state that I’m one of the cheapest S.O.B.’s around these parts(at least that’s what my friends and family say!), so when you see the 4 star rating for this double feature of mediocre slasher fare you can be rest assured that it gets extra marks for costing me a measley $7.00 brand new and not because I in any way believe that these are “the greatest films from the Slasher Frenzy Era that ran amok during the mid seventies to mid eighties(as quoted from a fellow reviewer here).” These movies are far from slasher heaven(with Halloween and Black Christmas), but then again they aren’t deserving of slasher hell either(with Driller Killer and every Hollywood slasher remake)… let’s just put them comfortably in slasher purgatory where they belong(with House On Sorority Row and Maniac Cop). My Bloody Valentine tells the tale of a town cursed to never celebrate Valentines Day again without unleashing the wrath of a miner who was the only survivor in a horrible accident that happened years ago on that day. The premise is laughable in that all they have to do is NOT celebrate Valentines Day(at least on February 14th) and nobody dies… but apparently they love the holiday so much that they just can’t resist– do real people even celebrate Valentines Day?! Anyhow, they throw a Valentines dance even with the possibility of certain doom and the slashing begins. My Bloody Valentine plays like a slightly(and I do mean slightly, no gore here at all) edgier episode of Scooby Doo with the eventual unmasking of the “evil miner” by a hero who even dresses like Shaggy from the cartoon(I’m talking shirt open from the belly-button up with a scarf!). A decent time waster though, with solid acting and a few nice moments of tension (a big budget remake is in production… because an 11 year old in Calgary demanded it LOL!). April Fools Day(which has already had it’s awful remake released) is the other movie included here and is the far better of the 2 films. It starts with a group of college students heading out to a friends isolated island home to celebrate April Fools Day(again, do you know ANYONE who actually celebrates this?!). A horrible tragedy takes place as soon they reach the island(the ferryman has his head crushed against the dock by the boat!) and shortly thereafter people begin getting slashed. April Fools Day is a film that I absolutely loathed as a youth, with a finale that had me nearly to the point of putting my head through the TV screen… now that I’m older though, I can actualy appreciate the movies desire to deliver something original as well as some of the cheeky charm that when I was a kid I couldn’t pick up on. The movie also has a great cast and good direction throughout. So like I said before, this double feature is a nice slice of slasher purgatory in that it probably won’t wow you, but both films still deliver most of what a genre fan is after. The DVD from Lionsgate is very good with both films shown in the Widescreen format with Dolby audio(though the levels seemed lower on My Bloody Valentine).
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|Buy the Feature for April Fool’s Day (1986),
This double-feature was very good and had a very reasonable price. I loved and enjoyed April Fool’s Day, but I despised My Bloody Valentine. I like to think that April Fool’s Day was $11.95 and My Bloody Valentine was a freebie.
April Fool’s Day had a beautiful cheese factor to it (which I adored) but it was a bit too creepy for it’s time. The actors were very attractive and provocative. The language and innuendo was extreme, but the violence and gore was low!
MY Bloody Valentine had a boring plot and I found myself snoring throughout. The film had a disturbingly stupid opening and the ending results in the same manner. Very predictable. The Unrated/Uncut version may be best, but please pass up the TV-PG Version!
Related Films and Items are:
My Bloody Valentine (1981):
- My Bloody Valentine by Jo Gibson (Book)
- My Bloody Valentine (DVD/BLU-RAY/3-D) (2009)
- The Prowler (DVD/BLU-RAY) (1981)
April Fool’s Day (1986):
- April Fool’s Day by Jeff Rovin (Book)
- April Fool’s Day (DVD) (2008)
- Happy Birthday To Me (DVD) (1981)
- Scream Series
I would Rate these films:
April Fool’s Day (1986) Rated R For Some Horror Violence/Gore, Strong Sexuality and Graphic Language Throughout 8.7/10.0
My Bloody Valentine (1981) Rated R For Violence, Language and An Opening Scene of Bodily Sensuality 3.9/10.0
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|OLDIE BUT GOODIE HORROR MOVIES,
I WAS A PRE-TEEN WHEN I SAW APRIL FOOL’S DAY, BUT I DON’T REMEMBER SEEING ALL OF MY BLOODY VALENTINE. SO THIS DUO WAS PERFECT FOR ME!!!
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