New Year’s Evil (1980)(Minor Spoilers)

 

**This post contains MINOR spoilers**

The Story- Diane Sullivan, known to her fans as Blaze (Roz Kelly), prepares to host Hollywood Hotline, a New Year’s Eve countdown celebration. But the bash is interrupted, when Blaze receives a series of disturbing phone calls from a stranger named Evil. Evil plans to kill a different woman at the end of each countdown to the New Year across different time zones throughout the US, saving Blaze for last.

Blaze is supported and protected by her manager, Ernie (Jed Mills), Lieutenant Clayton (Chris Wallace), and Sergeant Greene (Jon Greene). But Blaze suspects something is wrong, when her assistant, Yvonne (Alicia Dhanifu) goes missing. One thing is clear, Evil is not a harmless prank caller, he’s a cold-blooded killer, who wants to see Blaze suffer. Time is running out, as Evil closes in, and Blaze is forced to deal with shocking revelations from her husband, Richard (Kip Niven), and her son, Derek (Grant Cramer). 

My Thought- Roz Kelly is a nice fit for Blaze. She brings the kind of cool superstar persona you’d expect for someone, who’s supposed to be the “First Lady Of Rock.” The flashy clothes and the big red hairdo really pulls everything together for Blaze, and Blaze is a bit of a diva.

Evil is a crafty, smart, and sadistic killer, recording the sounds of each murder for Blaze. He’s a dangerous chameleon, switching identities including, a priest, a sanitarium worker, or a suave ladies’ man, who drives a Mercedes. Evil is a merciless psychopath, driven by misogyny. 

Evil targets promiscuous women, but there’s one scene that really sticks out for me. Evil, dressed as a priest, steals a car with a young woman (Teri Copley) in the backseat at a drive-in. She offers him sex, telling Evil they could “get it on,” because she’s scared, and she’s hoping Evil will let her go, if they do. Evil ignores the request, pulls out his switchblade, and he chases the woman around, hoping to kill her. This scene provides one of the many examples that shows how much Evil truly hates women. He never has sex with any of his victims, because it’s not about that. He wants to punish women. And you’ll notice Evil has a disgusted reaction, when the young woman mentions sex.

The voice? Oh, boy. Evil uses a distorted voice for his phone calls with Blaze. His phone voice is really over the top and silly.”It’s EEEEEEEVILLLLLLL!” Or, “I’m going to commit MURDER at midnight!”  The first time I heard Evil introduce himself over the phone, I laughed, and it gets funnier throughout the movie, especially during scenes, where Evil is trying to convince Blaze that he means business. Why is the killer talking in THAT kind of voice, when he’s describing how he murders women? The phone call scenes should’ve had a more serious tone, but I couldn’t stop laughing. 

Derek’s place in the story is a weird case. It’s obvious he’s not the killer, but Derek gets a good amount of screen time. Yes, I know he plays a big role in the cliffhanger during the ending. Still, there’s more than one scene featuring Derek being a weirdo and doing strange things, and nothing happens? The only reason I can think of for Derek’s appearances and all the teasing is, they were possibly setting things up for a sequel, where Derek becomes Evil’s successor.

New Year’s Evil has always been one of those mixed bag horror films for me. The kills are brutal enough, grisly images, and Evil is an effective slasher villain. Meshing the feel of the 1980’s with a strong new wave rock vibe, including the music, gives New Year’s Evil a unique identity. And a few decent laughs for the comical grunginess from the punk rock kids and the biker gang.

Working the New Year’s Eve countdown into the story for a holiday horror film builds a decent amount of suspense. You know for sure this is a movie about New Year’s Eve, but my big problem with New Year’s Evil is, the movie just drags too much and it’s kind of dull. Evil using the elevator to torture Blaze? That’s all I can think of for a big moment here. Outside of that scene, nothing really jumps off the screen to grab your attention.

New Year’s Evil is a decent enough 80’s slasher and a holiday horror film. A lot of corny moments, and New Year’s Evil has the kind of cheesiness you’d expect from an obscure 80’s horror flick. I also wish Evil had more scenes with the mask he wore at the end, because it’s a good mask. 

Honestly, there’s only so much you can do with New Year’s Eve celebrations as a foundation. Sure, you can put a spin on New Year’s resolutions, the countdowns, partying, drinking, champagne, and that’s about it? Still, some strong bonus points for a good performance from Kip Niven, because Niven pulls out all the stops for Richard. And Roz Kelly really holds her own well in the leading role.

Rating- 5/10