April Showers (2009) - 6 stars out of 10

April Showers (2009) - 6 stars out of 10

"April Showers" is a chilling recreation of the Columbine High School shooting.  Andrew Robinson, a senior at Columbine during the shootings, writes and directs this film to create a once-in-a-lifetime perspective of these events from the inside.  I appreciate that the names and some of the details were changed out of respect for those who were killed during this tragedy.  DISCLAIMER: This film is really difficult to watch, particularly if you are a teacher, student, or parent with a child in school (so basically everybody).  They are tasteful in not directly showing people being killed, but the panic is enough to send chills down your spine.  The film reenacts the shooting several times from the perspectives of students in different areas of the school.  Following the tragedy, each student copes with their experience in a different way.  The main emotion the the students struggle with is guilt, questioning why their life was spared, feeling responsible for the death of another, or never telling someone that they loved them.  Every scene is important, from the shootings to the tearful funeral.  The most chilling part of the film occurs at the very end as the names of every innocent person killed in a school shooting scrolls by on the screen, from the University of Texas in 1966 to Dillard High School in 2008.  This film is dedicated in loving memory to all of those who we lost, and to those who survived.  I think that tears are inevitable at the end of "April Showers.  This film isn't designed for entertainment; it is a tribute to those who lost their lives and a necessary empathetic device to help us avoid another tragedy like this happening again.