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For myself and many other horror fans, the 1986 classic April Fool’s Day (watch it Here) is a must-watch every April 1st – and next year, thanks to the folks at Kino Lorber, some of us are going to be able to watch the movie on a brand new 4K Uhd disc! They’re giving the film a 4K Uhd release on January 21st, and copies are available for pre-order at This Link.

Directed by Fred Walton from a screenplay by Danilo Bach, April Fool’s Day has the following synopsis: When a group of college students decides to spend spring break at the secluded island estate of their wealthy classmate, Muffy St. John, what starts out as a fun, hedonistic weekend turns into something more sinister. Muffy is very fond of practical jokes, and sets up numerous gags throughout her mansion. But, when friends begin going missing and turn up dead,...

April Fool’s Day will be the life of the party when it hits 4K Ultra HD on January 21 from Kino Lorber.

The 1986 holiday slasher has been newly restored in 4K from the original camera negative with Dolby Vision/Hdr.

From Friday the 13th franchise producer Frank Mancuso Jr., the film is directed by Fred Walton (When a Stranger Calls) and written by Danilo Bach (Beverly Hills Cop).

Deborah Foreman, Jay Baker, Deborah Goodrich, Ken Olandt, Griffin O’Neal, Leah King Pinsent, Clayton Rohner, Amy Steel, and Thomas F. Wilson star.

Disc 1 – 4K Uhd:

4K Restoration from the Original Camera Negative Dolby Vision/Hdr Presentation of the Film Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson (new) 5.1 Surround and Lossless 2.0 Audio

Disc 2 – Blu-ray:

Horror with a Twist: 2-Part Interview with Director Fred Walton Well of Lies: Interview with Actress Deborah Goodrich Royce Looking Forward to Dessert:...

By now, the outcome of 1986’s April Fool’s Day is well known: an heiress’ guests are misled to believe their party is being picked off by a killer among them. However, had the producers not requested a last-minute change, the film would have turned the tables on the elaborate prank’s orchestrator; she would have died for real. Fans had hoped to see footage from this shot-but-unused ending on Shout! Factory’s Blu-ray. No such luck, unfortunately. And it was likely not for a lack of trying on the distributor’s part, either. Although the final cut of Fred Walton’s film features no actual deaths, Jeff Rovin’s novelization was based on an earlier draft of Danilo Bach’s script. Which means this now out-of-print adaptation used that sought-after “lost” ending.

Before taking a deadly turn, the novelization is not all that different from its cinematic counterpart: Muffy St. John...

A new episode of our Best Horror Party Movies video series has just been released, and with this one we’re looking back at the 1986 classic April Fool’s Day (watch it Here). We may be a few days beyond the day the movie is named after, but any time is a good time to watch April Fool’s Day. And to find out how we party to this movie, check out the video embedded above!

Directed by Fred Walton from a screenplay by Danilo Bach, April Fool’s Day has the following synopsis: When a group of college students decides to spend spring break at the secluded island estate of their wealthy classmate, Muffy St. John, what starts out as a fun, hedonistic weekend turns into something more sinister. Muffy is very fond of practical jokes, and sets up numerous gags throughout her mansion. But, when friends begin going missing and turn up dead,...

Mirrors reflect who we are, or at least how we want to appear to others. Director Mike Barker’s “Luckiest Girl Alive” uses them as a motif throughout this tale centered on a woman whose pristine, calculated image disguises a mess of insecurities and intense psychological pain. Yet the picture portrayed in author Jessica Knoll’s adaptation of her own novel struggles with its tone, poor character construction and annoying screenwriting contrivances. Utilizing a traditionally glossy, chick-lit-retrofitted heroine as a mouthpiece for somber, serious activist sentiments isn’t so much provocative as just downright batty.

Ani (Mila Kunis) seemingly has it all: She’s sharp-witted, gorgeous, holds a coveted position at a Cosmopolitan-like magazine and shares a palatial apartment in New York City with her loving, upper-crust fiancé Luke (Finn Wittrock). She’s even earned her demanding boss Lolo’s (Jennifer Beals) adoration. But she’s also secretly abrasive, judging by her acid-tinged voiceover.

The dramatic thriller Luckiest Girl Alive is coming to Netflix on October 7th, and today the streaming service has unveiled a trailer for the film, which stars Mila Kunis (Black Swan). Check it out in the embed above!

Directed by Mike Barker (whose credits include a dozen episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale), Luckiest Girl Alive is based on a novel by Jessica Knoll (get it Here), who also wrote the film’s screenplay. The story centers on

Ani FaNelli, a sharp-tongued New Yorker who appears to have it all: a sought-after position at a glossy magazine, a killer wardrobe, and a dream Nantucket wedding on the horizon. But when the director of a crime documentary invites her to tell her side of the shocking incident that took place when she was a teenager at the prestigious Brentley School, Ani is forced to confront a dark truth that threatens to unravel her meticulously crafted life.

A film I’ve talked about ad nauseam for like decades now, Fred Walton’s April Fool’s Day has been a favorite of mine ever since I discovered it on VHS during the summer of 1987.

[Spoiler warning if you haven't seen April Fool's Day.] To me, it’s always been the perfect anti-slasher, where no one in the film really dies (unless you count the film’s missing ending), and instead leans into the whodunit aspects that are driving the mystery of just who exactly is terrorizing Muffy St. John (played by Deborah Foreman) and her friends during what’s supposed to be their idyllic lakeside weekend away from the stresses of college life.

What it may lack in an official body count, April Fool’s Day more than makes up for with its whip-smart script, charismatic performances, and a whopper of an ending that I certainly wasn’t expecting at all the first time I saw it.

A film that has been a longtime favorite of mine ever since I discovered it on VHS as a kid decades (and decades) ago, April Fool’s Day recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. To mark the occasion, I was fortunate enough to round up several cast members, as well as director Fred Walton, to chat about the horror comedy that dared to turn the slasher subgenre on its head back in 1986.

April Fool’s Day brought together a talented crew of young actors, including Deborah Foreman, Amy Steel, Tom Wilson, Deborah Goodrich, Ken Olandt, Clayton Rohner, Leah Pinsent, Jay Baker, and Griffin O’Neal, who all gathered on Victoria Island in British Columbia to create a mystery-fueled horror comedy that’s hugely underrated and was certainly ahead of its time.

For many of the cast, the twists and turns of April Fool’s Day were part of the film’s...

Creating a slasher movie in 1986 wasn’t a monumental feat, as the horror genre had seen its fair share of cinematic killers over the years, but it was a culmination of many elements that made April Fool’s Day one of the best of its era. With a focused and experienced director at the helm, a clever script filled with laughs and unexpected thrills, and an affable ensemble of actors who were infectiously likeable and endlessly talented, April Fool’s Day is an underappreciated gem and is truly unlike any other genre film of its, or any, time.

Written by Danilo Bach and directed by Fred Walton, April Fool’s Day follows a group of college students—Kit (Amy Steel), Rob (Ken Olandt), Nikki (Deborah Goodrich), Chaz (Clayton Rohner), Arch (Tom Wilson), Harvey (Jay Baker), Skip (Griffin O’Neal), and Nan (Leah Pinsent)—who head out to their pal Muffy...

Today, the cult horror comedy April Fool’s Day celebrates its 30th anniversary. Written by Danilo Bach (Beverly Hills Cop) and directed by Fred Walton (1979’s When A Stranger Calls), the film follows a group of college students who spend spring break at their friend Muffy St. John’s family estate, unaware that the weekend will be filled with frights and unexpected surprises.

Released the same weekend as The Money Pit, April Fool’s Day became a modest success for Paramount Pictures, taking in $13 million during its three-week theatrical run and finding even more of an audience once it was released on VHS. Even though it has largely flown under the radar over the last 30 years, Walton’s slasher send-up with an Agatha Christie flair has remained a beloved cult film among genre fans and this writer in particular.

Looking back at the horror comedy, Walton discussed how his involvement...

Film Circuit™, Tiff’s national film outreach program, revealed that audiences across the country awarded Don McKellar’sThe Grand Seduction and Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox as winners of the 11th annual Film Circuit People’s Choice Awards. The Grand Seduction was named Best Canadian Film and The Lunchbox was selected as the Best International Film.

Film Circuit operates through domestic grassroots networks and strong community partnerships, bringing Canadian and international independent films and artists to communities across Canada. From Prince Rupert to Charlottetown, Film Circuit has 174 groups in 155 locations. 2014 saw record attendance, with 342,091 people attending 2,116 screenings.

“Now in its 20th year, Film Circuit continues to grow and establish new groups across the country,” said Jesse Wente, Director of Film Programmes, Tiff. “Along with that growth, films are working Film Circuit into their release plans as a way to reach new and engaged audiences.”

In 2014, guests travelled to communities across...

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has unveiled its 2015 line-up which includes films representing 54 countries, 23 world premieres and 53 U.S. premieres. The U.S. premiere of Niki Caro’s McFarland USA will close out the 30th fest. Based on the 1987 true story and starring Kevin Costner and Maria Bello, the film follows novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California’s farm-rich Central Valley, as they give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Costner), a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school. The unlikely band of runners overcomes the odds to forge not only a championship cross-country team but an enduring legacy as well.

The festival runs from January 27-February 7.

Below is the list of World and U.S. Premiere films followed by the list of titles by sidebar categories.

World Premieres

A Better You, USA

Directed by Matt Walsh

Cast: Brian Huskey,...

A self-acknowledged "showcase for Academy Award frontrunners," the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is often overlooked for the actual films that earn it festival status. An amalgamation of international discoveries and ’merica’s circuit highlights, the Sbiff curates a week of best-of-the-best to pair with their star-praising. The 2015 edition offers another expansive selection, bookended by two films that aren’t on any radars just yet. Sbiff will open with "Desert Dancer," producer Richard Raymond’s directorial debut. Starring Reece Ritchie and Frieda Pinto, the drama follows a group of friends who wave off the harsh political climate of Iran’s 2009 presidential election in favor of forming a dance team, picking up moves from Michael Jackson, Gene Kelly and Rudolf Nureyev thanks to the magic of YouTube. The festival will close with "McFarland, USA," starring Kevin Costner and Maria Bello. Telling the 1987 true story of a Latino high school’s underdog cross-country team,...

So many films are devoted to chronicling the coming-of-age of teenage outcasts that these dramas may as well be their own genre. As filmmakers and screenwriters adapt elements of his or her own upbringing to the screen, the genre is often a tough one to tire from, since each creator lends their own perspectives to these stories of curiosity, heartbreak, new friendships and social pressures. Writer/director Lindsay MacKay has made a variety of shorts focused on youths; now, for her feature debut, Wet Bum, she focuses on both the delicate beauty and the danger associated with growing up.

In the Canadian coming-of-age drama, Julia Sarah Stone gives a performance of tremendous depth, spark and dramatic range. (The Toronto Film Festival crowned Stone as one of the festival’s four Rising Stars this year.) The young actor plays Sam, a pale, lonely teen that does not have many friends. After school,...

Every year 'round about this time the Toronto International Film Festival Group announces their selections as Canada's Top Ten Feature Films and Short Films. Selected by a jury of industry professionals it's general a pretty good guide for what's happening here in any given year.

This year's selections were announced today and while I personally consider the absence of Jacob Tierney's Good Neighbours to be a significant omission it's pretty hard to argue with the titles that are actually in there. The films selected will all screen at the Tiff Bell Lightbox beginning in January. Here's the full announcement:

Toronto -- Tiff revealed the top 10 best features and top 10 best short films of 2010 this evening at the 10th annual Canada's Top Ten industry event, hosted by Peter Keleghan and Leah Pinsent. Established in 2001, Canada's Top Ten celebrates excellence in Canadian cinema and raises public awareness of Canadian achievements in film.

Toronto -- Canwest Global Communications Corp. is to draw top Canadian TV stars to its fall 2010 schedule rollout on Tuesday, not to praise the domestic broadcaster, but to protest its recent Los Angeles Screenings purchases.

 

Actra Toronto, the local branch of Canada's actors union, on Monday issued a call to its members to rally outside the Hazelton Hotel in Yorkville as top Canwest Global execs unveil their latest American TV buys to the national media.

Leading Canadian actors Eric Peterson, Gordon Pinsent, Leah Pinsent and Colin Mochrie will be in attendance to urge Canwest Global and other Canadian broadcasters to buy Canadian shows as they pitch domestic advertisers on their recent American buys this week in Toronto.

Canwest Global came away from the L.A. Screenings with a slate of CBS Studios product, including the remake of "Hawaii Five-o" for Mondays at 10 p.m., and another package from 20th Century...