Cast Members Arriving for 'April Fool's Day' Remake

Just when you thought there were no mid-'80s slasher flicks left to be remade, we're reminded (by The Hollywood Reporter) that Fred Walton's 1986 horror flick April Fool's Day is still being "re-imagined." The remake is being directed (at this moment!) in North Carolina by Mitch Altieri and Phil Flores -- also known as The Butcher Brothers. (Their first effort was last year's The Hamiltons.) Sony's new "Stage 6" division will be releasing the remake some time next year -- possibly theatrically, but most likely ... not.

We've also got a little casting news: Among the new "Fools" we have Josh Henderson, Scout-Taylor Compton and Taylor Cole. The IMDb page also offers a bunch of actors' names, none of whom I'm all that familiar with -- which is kind of a shame because the original April Fool's Day was like a who's who of '80s almost-stars. (Clayton Rohner, Amy Steel, Thomas F. Wilson, Ken Olandt, Deborah Foreman, etc.) The new producers could have at least snagged a bunch of horror actors, just to keep in step with the original ... but that's just the nerd in me talking. (That, and I just can't seem to get enough of Erica Leerhsen!)

For those who care to remember more important things: April Fool's Day was about a bunch of WASPy college kids who throw a party at a deserted mansion, but guess what? There's a killer out there! Said the co-directors to THR: "It's kind of more a twisting and turning story ... There's some really good scares in there ... It's pretty much contemporized, with off-beat humor, different settings -- something that would jell with today's audience."

Obviously the old-school horror fans will all be checking in to see what Altieri and Flores do with that ending. Heh.