VIA PRESS RELEASE | Varèse Sarabande and Craft Recordings are thrilled to announce a Deluxe Edition expansion of Charles Bernstein’s score for the 1986 black comedy classic April Fool’s Day.
Available to pre-order now and due out November 3rd, the Deluxe Edition features the synthesized performance of the original score, the first-ever release of the original 23-track orchestral film score, plus five previously unreleased bonus tracks from Charles Bernstein’s own vaults, and new liner notes from award-winning composer Brian Satterwhite.
In addition to the previously announced CD release (Varèse Sarabande’s CD Club series), the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack will make its long-awaited return on black vinyl at select-retailers while a Varèse Sarabande Vinyl Club edition (limited to 500 copies and pressed on Killer Crimson splatter vinyl) can be purchased exclusively at VareseSarabande.com.
Thomas F. Wilson (in his first starring role after his iconic performance as the villainous Biff Tannen in Back to the Future), Deborah Foreman, Clayton Rohner and other familiar faces from the 1980s star as college friends whose spring break trip to an island mansion unfortunately coincides with April Fool’s Day. Innocent pranks lead to a steadily rising body count as murders decimate the group—with a surprising twist climax.
The film received positive responses from film critics, with some commending it for its non-gratuitous violence and plot twists, while others lambasted it for its surprise ending. After a modestly successful theatrical run, the film went on to become a cult-classic after receiving a reappraisal from audiences upon its home video release.
Composer Charles Bernstein was one of the foremost voices of 1980s horror, from the original A Nightmare on Elm Street to The Entity, Stephen King’s Cujo and Deadly Friend. A master of visceral scares, disquieting suspense and moments of emotional grounding, Bernstein received a Daytime Emmy® Award, as well as two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
He found an unusual challenge in April Fool’s Day, which needed to evoke the slasher genre but also have an element of “winking” to its audience. “We’re having fun with the horror genre—but it’s not a horror movie,” he says in the new liner notes by Brian Satterwhite. “My challenge was how to score a movie that wasn’t a horror movie but used horror tropes.”
