229 - The Burning (1981) & Joy Ride (2001) →

CW: Sexual Assault

It’s April Fools' Day on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey commit a prank that—believe it or not—goes wrong!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: The Burning (1981)
"A former summer camp caretaker, horribly burned from a prank gone wrong, lurks around an upstate New York summer camp bent on killing the teenagers responsible for his disfigurement” (IMDb.com). If you're expecting us to have a lot of good things to say about The Burning... don't. For the sin of kickstarting Harvey Weinstein's career, it could've at least had the common decency to be interesting.

The Modern Film: Joy Ride (2001)
"Three young people on a road trip from Colorado to New Jersey talk to a trucker on their CB radio, then must escape when he turns out to be a psychopathic killer” (IMDb.com). 2001 was a hell of a time—movies like Joy Ride seemed a lot more compelling then. It's not bad by any means, but we both remember liking it more "back in the day."

Audio Sources:
"April Fools" (2007) produced by Links Entertainment & Pa Pa Productions
"The Burning" (1981) produced by Cropsy Venture & Miramax
"Club Dread" produced by Broken Lizard Industries, et al.
"The Fast and the Furious" produced by Universal Pictures, et al.
"Joy Ride" (2001) produced by New Regency Productions, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones

129 - Killer Party (1986) & Cry_Wolf (2005) →

CW: Homophobia, Ableism

Worst of 2020 - #10 Cry_Wolf

Read our afterthoughts for this episode at https://twitter.com/PodSematary/status/1244379902666665984

It’s April Fool’s Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey prank themselves by watching these two beauts.

The Classic Film: Killer Party (1986)
"Set just before April Fools Day, the story centers on a trio of sorority pledges who attend a dance held at a... frat house where two decades before a pledge lost his head in a hazing gone awry” (rottentomatoes.com). An oddly paced plot where an almost uncountable number of murders happen (but not until the very end), the final twist seemed to come out of left field only if you don't read any synopses.

The Modern Film: Cry_Wolf (2005)
"Eight unsuspecting high school seniors at a posh boarding school, who delight themselves on playing games of lies, come face-to-face with terror and learn that nobody believes a liar - even when they're telling the truth” (IMDb.com). An awful collection of mid-00s horror and other film clichés, Cry_Wolf thinks it is the Usual Suspects of horror and it very much isn't.

Audio Sources:
"April Fools" (2007) produced by Links Entertainment & Pa Pa Productions
"Best Times" written and performed by Alan Brackett & Scott Shelly
"Christmas Wrapping" written by Chris Butler and performed by The Waitresses
"Cry_Wolf" produced by Rogue Pictures & Hypnotic
"I Know What Boys Like" written by Chris Butler and performed by The Waitresses
"Josie and the Pussycats" produced by Universal Pictures, et al.
"Killer Party" produced by Marquis, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"You're No Fool (April)" written by Garry Brandon, et al. and performed by White Sister

078 - Slaughter High (1986) & April Fool's Day (2008) →

CW: Suicide, Bullying, Date Rape, Homophobia

Worst of 2019 - #3 April Fool’s Day (2008)

It's April Fool's Day on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey discuss an 80s slasher that's greater than the sum of its parts and a remake of an 80s classic that never should have been made!

The Classic Film: Slaughter High (1986)
"Eight people are invited to their old high school for their ten-year reunion where a fellow former student, disfigured from a prank gone wrong, is out to seek revenge" (IMDb.com). It's a worn-out plot. It's made by people with little knowledge of the country where it was supposed to take place. The accents are so bad that they're funny. It has a twist that makes the movie worse. But if you love 80s slashers, this one is a can't-miss!

The Modern Film: April Fool's Day (2008)
"A year after an April Fool's Day prank which resulted in the death of one of their set, a group of friends find themselves targeted by someone who is out for revenge" (IMDb.com). This was supposed to be a remake of the 1986 original of the same name (the reason Slaughter High had to change its name), but when they couldn't get the rights, they were forced to reWRITE instead. With our affection for the original and the quality of this stinker, that was probably for the best...

Get more at podsematary.com! Read our afterthoughts for this episode at https://twitter.com/PodSematary/status/1112104098378047488

Audio Sources:
"April Fool's Day" (2008) produced by 360 Pictures
"Bring It On" produced by Wonderworks Films, et al.
"Clue" produced by Paramount Pictures, et al
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Pretty in Pink" produced by Paramount Pictures
"Science Fiction/Double Feature" written by Richard O'Brien & Richard Hartley and performed by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
"The Secret Fate of All Life" (True Detective S01E05) produced by Parliament of Owls, et al.
"Slaughter High" produced by Spectacular Trading International
"Split" produced by Universal Pictures, et al.
"Steve Martin/The Blues Brothers" (Saturday Night Live S03E18) produced by NBC Productions & National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

026 - April Fool's Day (1986) & April Fools (2007) →

CW: Abortion

Worst of 2017/18 - #10 April Fools

Happy Easter, everyone! This week, Chris and Kelsey do absolutely nothing for Easter and instead focus on April Fool's Day! There are a handful of horror movies themed around this "holiday" and we picked the best and the absolute worst for this episode. First up is the classic from the 80s era that tried to cash in on the Halloween and Friday the 13th holiday horror craze, 1986's April Fool's Day! Find out which characters f**k on the first date! Then it's on to the absolutely abysmal April Fools from 2007 (featuring Li'l Flip!) that we stumbled on several years ago completely by accident and could never get out of our minds. I know I say I refused to buy this movie but, sadly, I had to in order to capture audio... my iTunes movie library is a wasteland.