New Year’s Evil
Director: Emmett Alston
Cast: Roz Kelly, Kip Niven, Chris Wallace
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons
This is why I love Scream Factory so much. Who else would bring this forgotten 1980 slasher to Blu-ray, take the time, money, and effort to make it look so good, and even do some special features for the release? Okay, there are a few other companies that would do that, but that does nothing to diminish the fact that Scream Factory is awesome, and I am so happy this fright flick is back in print and better than ever. But should you be happy about it? Well grab your paper party hat, always remember to drink responsibly, try to avoid anyone that seems eeevil, and let’s crash this party to find out.
This flick starts with a woman getting Psycho-ed in the shower by a switchblade-wielding killer. Things then jump to a punk rock club in LA on the eve of the New Year. And man, there is nothing like 80s punks, I love them. Visually, they’re the most punkish punks ever, but I digress. The woman that hosts the club and the live New Year’s Eve telecast, in addition to dealing with a mopy grown son who still has daddy issues, has to deal with a wacko that calls up, says his name is Eeevil, and threatens to kill someone at midnight. Lo and behold, the caller isn’t just the usual crank, and at midnight someone does fall under the killer’s blade. Then the psycho calls back and says he will do it again when it’s midnight in the next time zone, and then again, and then, well you get it.
New Year’s Evil isn’t your typical slasher, but then it was made in 1980 before the blueprint that most of the other murderous maniac movies that came later would follow. It’s almost like a mystery or police procedural, only with slightly bloodier kills. I said slightly because it’s never all that gory, and isn’t a body count flick, either, as the number of people who get sliced and diced are relatively small. The usual slasher feel is further watered down by way too many scenes of punk rockers dancing, making out, and just rocking out in the LA club. Also odd bits, like our killer being chased by a gang of bikers and having to hide, further make this movie stand out from the rest. I mean, I’d like to see bikers try to scare off Jason or Freddy. But before all you horror fans out there write this one off completely, there is still enough of the slasher trappings to make fans of that subgenre happy, including some good old gratuitous nudity. Yay.
Something else that always makes me go yay are special features, and thankfully Scream Factory have a few good ones on this new Blu-ray. There is a commentary track with writer/director Emmett Alston, a making of/retrospective on the film that runs 37 minutes, and the compulsory trailer. So there’s not a ton of special features, but more than what you might expect for a mostly forgotten slasher flick.
Now lest you think I don’t like this movie, that’s not the case. I actually like it a lot, but I want to make sure horror fans know what to expect when going into this for the first time. If you want a bloody splatter flick, this might disappoint you. If you want an effective thriller with some effective fright scenes, set in a time capsule of pure 1980s nostalgia, this will do that for you. New Year’s Evil doesn’t drop the ball (ha) and gets a recommendation from me.
