New Year's Evil

Yet another entry in the "psychotic killer on the loose" genre. The premise of this one is somewhat original, but apart from that it has nothing else to distinguish it from dozens of similar films, so you're just sitting there waiting to see how it will tie everything up in the end. It does come up with an unexpected, out-of-left-field plot twist, but the "motivation" part is fumbled. Still, if you're tolerant of low-budget early-80s thrillers, you'll probably have an OK time. (**)

Punks lead us to the biggest New Year's bash going on to bring in 1981. Roz Kelly plays Diane Sullivan or Blaze who is going to be the host for the New Year's Eve party in Los Angeles. Three other time zones are linked in to the party from New York City, Chicago and Aspen, Colorado. A dark and mysterious stranger (Kip Niven) calls the show and tells Blaze that he will kill at the stroke of midnight, then leading to the cops trying to catch the madman before he kills in each time zone.

I enjoyed the movie even though there was no question as to who the killer is, but there are a couple twists later in the movie, that yeah I could see coming, but I still enjoyed it. I thought Niven did very well as the homicidal maniac and makes me perhaps want to watch it again sometime. The acting in general was I thought above what you see in average slashers. In addition I thought the music was very good by bands like Shadow and Made in Japan. Catchy title song with same name as movie as well.

Must say the ending was sort of setting up for a sequel and it never came. Not sure if the writers set it up for a sequel and the movie did not perform well enough at the box office to have a sequel made. Anyways, you may find it passable entertainment if you give it a chance.

A rock show host dubbed Blaze gets threatening phone calls during her New Year's Eve gig. The caller informs her that he'll murder a different person each time the clock strikes midnight in one of the four continental U.S. timezones, and odds are that she'll be his final victim.

One of the few slashers to have eluded me over the years, it was nice to finally scratch this off the list. It's far from a top-tier effort in the sub-genre, however. The killer, played by Kip Niven, isn't the least bit threatening. He only dons a mask towards the end of the film, so he doesn't have that to fall back on either. Also, too many scenes of dancing punk rockers and filth masquerading as music for my taste. Now, there are some quality stalk and slash sequences. Most notable is one victim's unpleasant surprise in a garbage dumpster. We also get a hefty helping of cheese, mainly from the killer himself and Blaze's dopey son. The bit with the former dealing with angry bikers at a drive-in is gold.

Overall, I was entertained, but it's not exactly good. Not even close.

A madman vows to murder someone at the stroke of midnight in each time zone in 'New Year's Evil'. Roz Kelly plays a 'Blaze', a famous punk music icon who is hosting a New Years Eve bash at a large hotel. During her television broadcast that night, a callers phones in and says he will kill someone each time the clock strikes midnight around the world. So that means that every hour on the hour, someone is getting killed. This isn't a whodunit slasher film, we know the killer's identity from the start. The movie follows him around as he stalks various women in Los Angeles, making sure he records each murder on a tape recorder. He calls Blaze after each murder and plays the tape leaving her frightened. Eventually, he makes his way to where she is at the hotel leading to a bit of a disappointing ending.

Call me crazy, but I really enjoyed this film. enjoyed it so much so, that it's become a tradition to watch it during the holiday season. I've always loved holiday horror, and 'New year's Evil' delivers. It is full of eighties cheese; the lights, the music, the hair - all of it. And the plot is actually interesting AND original! Having him murder at midnight in each time zone was smart, and it set 'New Year's Evil' a part from other forgettable slashers made at this time. The stalking scenes with the killer was done well too. He disguises himself before each murder, and makes his way around LA to different places (a bar, a drive in movie theatre) to collect his next victim. Some of the scenes with his next victims are pretty tense, and you feel for the women.

Where 'New Year's Evil' fails is with the killer's motive. They give a lame explanation, and I think the whole movie would have been better with a different motive. There is also the sub-plot with Blaze's son, who is clearly deranged. It is never fully explained what is wrong with him. Oh and the ending was sort of disappointing too. But other than that, this is a holiday horror film that all horror fans MUST check out at least once!

Happy New Year! :D

7/10

I just wanna point out that this is the year 2022, and in all horror circles this is considered a cult classic. The music alone is worth a watch. People that review these movies need a revoke on their horror card.