10 Awful Twists That Ruined Awesome Horror Movies

9. April Fool's Day

High Tension
Paramount Pictures

To give this 1986 slasher flick some credit, it showed incredible restraint by not featuring a single character named April.

Unfortunately, that's the only praise we'll be giving April Fool's Day in this entry.

The movie follows a pretty standard teen horror formula for most of its run time. A group of friends turn up at a secluded mansion, they discover that one of them is actually a crazed murderer, and they attempt to survive the weekend with varying degrees of success.

What sets April Fool's Day out from its peers is its ending, which reveals that all the murder and mayhem was just one big trick.

The "killer" is actually an actor and all of her "victims" are willing extras helping her rehearse. She plans to turn the mansion into a retreat where people can experience simulated horror for fun. She never actually killed or injured anybody.

On one hand, this is a very inventive twist, turning the conventions of slashers completely on their head. On the other hand, what a way to make your audience feel like they just wasted an hour-and-a-half of their lives.

Contributor
Contributor

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.