April Fools' Day is always an interesting day on the internet, as nearly every site on the web channels its inner Onion and comes up with fake news stories, in an attempt to fool readers. It's hard to trust anything you read on the internet on a day like April Fools', and quite frankly it would be wise to follow the immortal words of former WWE superstar “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and just plain not trust anybody.
Though you were likely tricked at least once today, and disappointed when you realized that some exciting piece of news simply wasn't true, there's no denying that April Fools' Day spices up the internet, and makes for a fun day of web surfing. We here on FEARNET were victims of a handful of pranks ourselves throughout the course of the day, and we wanted to share some of our favorites with you, now that the fun is coming to an end.
So here's a look at the very best April Fools' pranks of 2014, within this awesome horror community of ours!
Though one Walking Dead-themed prank suggested that Norman Reedus had been fired from the show, the more creative bit of April foolery came courtesy of the official Walking Dead website, which unveiled this first look at the cover for the 129th issue of the comic series. The character of Daryl Dixon was created specifically for the television series and this cover teased that Dixon would be making the leap from the small screen to the world of comics. As one fan pointed out in the comments section of the post, the image of “Daryl” was actually a modified image of comic book character Dwight, which spilled the beans on the clever prank.
Over on his official website, Stephen King got in on the April Fools' fun by teasing that he was writing a sequel to Christine, titled Christine Lives. 'Christine Lives picks up where Christine left off,' wrote King, 'and follows the trials and tribulations of Dennis' descent from school teacher to carnival barker as he attempts to evade the smoking tires of fate.' The announcement included a link to a video of King's announcement, which was actually a video of Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up,' in disguise. Rick-rolled by the King... a true honor!
Spoofing last year's Sharknado phenomenon, UK firm Fetch Publicity sent out this piece of promotional art for a faux film called Catfurnado, which promised to deliver “pussy at 100 miles an hour.” The plot synopsis described a tornado sweeping through London and creating 'a vortex of furry vengeance,' and oddly enough the concept for the prank was based on a real story that came out of England earlier this year, where a tornado indeed did sweep cats up into the air. Wouldn't be surprised if Syfy took this idea and ran with it, and I'm honestly not sure I'd be able to avoid tuning in!
You just knew that the pranksters over at Full Moon would partake in the festivities today and they indeed did, sending out a press release first thing in the morning that revealed the star of an upcoming Puppet Master remake; Justin Bieber. The remake has begun pre-production, company founder Charles Band wrote in the press release, with Justin Bieber attached to play the role of a young Andre Toulon. “With all Justin has endured as of late in the press and elsewhere,” continued Band, “we knew he would bring an authentic gravitas to the role that many other performers could not.” Of course, a Puppet Master remake isn't really in the works, though it sure is humorous to imagine Bieber in a Full Moon film, is it not?! Well played, Charlie. Well played.
Mere minutes after I vowed to myself that I wouldn't fall for any pranks today, the folks over at Fangoria managed to pull one over on me, writing up a news story that indicated Quentin Tarantino is working on a new horror film. Brilliantly playing on the fact that Tarantino's script for The Hateful Eight was recently leaked onto the internet, Fango wrote that Tarantino shelved the movie in favor of a home invasion thriller titled The Gawkers, based on his real-life troubles surrounding the script leak. “Sources claim Tarantino’s script follows a Hollywood director who finds himself facing off against a group of vicious home invaders who aim to steal his latest script at all costs,” read the article, which was capped off by the reveal that it was an April Fools' prank. The fact that I actually fell for this one, for a split second, just goes to show how much of a trusted news source Fangoria is!
Hulu had a whole lot of fun over on their website today, teasing fictional spin-offs of popular network shows, which they billed as airing exclusively through their service. One of those shows was In the Kitchen with Hannibal, a spin-off of NBC's brilliant show Hannibal, wherein Hannibal Lecter teaches you how to cook some of his signature dishes. They even went through the trouble of whipping up a teaser video for the show, which you can watch above. Not saying I'd recreate any of the recipes, but this is one cooking show that I'd most definitely watch!
Much like Stephen King, Wes Craven also played a prank on his fans today, over on his Instagram account. He claimed that he had made a horror film in the 70s that was never released and that he finally decided to self-distribute it, including a video that he advertised as being that film's teaser trailer. Seconds into the trailer, Craven popped up on screen and revealed it was an April Fools' joke, proving that the master of horror has still got some tricks up his sleeve. Head over to Craven's Instagram to watch the video for yourself!
And finally, film production/distribution company Lionsgate used the various Facebook pages of their most popular films to spread the word about a fictional movie called Fright Club, a 2015 release that brings together some of their most popular horror icons. As you can see, characters like Leatherface, Patrick Bateman, Cabin in the Woods' ballerina and Otis Driftwood are all advertised as being a part of the faux movie, and the poster successfully did its job of fooling many fans on Facebook. The first rule of Fright Club... is don't believe that it's real, because it unfortunately is not!
Did you spot any April Fools' pranks that we missed? Comment below and let us know about them!