Slasher EG6: April Fools Day

April Fools Day (Fred Walton, 1986)
PRODUCED BY: Paramount Pictures, Hometown Films, YCTM.

DVD cover

DISTRIBUTED BY: Paramount Pictures, United International Pictures (click here to see the full list).
BUDGET: $5m.
BOX OFFICE: $12.5m (USA).
RATINGS: 5.9 (IMDb).

• The first shot is home footage, of teenagers waiting for a ferry to take them across to an island their friend owns. The girl in the footage is blonde.
• The girl is describing herself and is talking about sex, which signifies she is the typical scream queen character of the group.
• There is another girl, who refuses to talk to the camera. This signifies she is more reserved and 'different' from the group.
• There are another two boys also making sexual references which signify they're the typical jocks of the group.
• The shot is then a close up of a plastic mannequin being dragged along the floor. The sound is amplified, which has the effect of making the audience jump.
• The character dragging the mannequin is a brunette girl, refusing help from another woman. This signifies independence and that she is the final girl archetype. She quotes 'It's going to be bloody unforgettable' which signifies something is going to go wrong.
• As the camera is panning the room, it stops and focuses on a jack-in-a-box. The girl goes to pick it up and there are then what appear to be flashbacks of the same girl receiving the jack-in-a-box as a present when she was a little girl. 
• A 'Happy Birthday' banner is shown and non-diegitic, high pitched music begins to play. Credits begin to roll and the music is happy. Everything seems normal until the little girl winds up the jack-in-a-box and a scary figure appears. There's a scream and the tone of the music changes. We go back to present day where the same girl stops winding up the jack-in-a-box and places it back on the shelf, and walks away smiling.