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NEW
YEAR'S EVIL
PLOT
During a televised New Year's Eve new-wave concert, the hostess receives
a phone call from a psycho killer who threatens to murder someone when the
clock strikes midnight in every timezone across the U.S..
The killer then plays back the screams of his victims for her, promising
that she will be his last victim.
REVIEW
Ah, where to begin? This movie has taken quite a blasting from slasher
fans (and probably feminists), but there are a select few who seem to really
like it. As usual, my feelings fall somewhere in the middle of it all....
I've seen a lot of shitty slashers in my time, and while "New Year's Evil"
is not THE worst, it certainly doesn't provoke any strong reactions in me.
Roz Kelley (Pinky Tuscadero from "Happy Days") plays an aging new-wave goddess
named Blaize, who gyrates around stage in whore get-up and raps at her
audience like a low-rent Bette Midler out of "The Rose". The story drives
home the point that she's pretty much a self-centered bitch who snubs her own
mentally imbalanced son (who sits in her hotel room through most of the movie
with a red stocking and sunglasses on his head (!)).
One of my big gripes about this movie was the killer himself; he uses various
(bad) disguises to lure his (all female) victims to their deaths, charming
them in the process like some bastard offspring of Ted Bundy. He calls
Blaize after each murder, using a really annoying voice modifier...a nuance
that doesn't quite resonate until the lame "twist" ending.
Another thing, what's with the mask? You see the killer's face through the
whole movie, yet he whips out a (very, VERY, creepy) rubber mask during the
film's final moments...why the mask wasn't used to a fuller extent is beyond me,
as it had so much potential.
In fact, there are quite a few elements in "New Year's Evil" that show
potential. It's got some enjoyably campy moments which, given the premise,
would have worked more in it's favour...but it eschews most of it for
poker-faced cruelty. One of my favourite scenes is the one where the bubbly
blonde gets suffocated with a bag of weed...funny in itself, but is overshadowed
by the apparent hatred the killer has for women....all the girl wanted to
do was party!
The whole idea of a killer murdering a victim for every time zone is pretty
good too, and the new-wave concert is a great backdrop. These elements (along
with that damn mask) could only have made this movie better....instead, they
take a back seat to a script full of underdeveloped characters and derivative action.
GORE
Not much to be seen and not very original...mostly stabbings...the dopey detective
alludes to the fact that the victims had their breast mutilated, which you never
see (makes the suggestion even more idiotic)...anyway, nothing really special for
the gorehounds out there, although the suffocation-by-bag-of-dope gets my props.
SOUNDTRACK
I, for one, did enjoy the vaguely familiar new wave/punk rock acts that fill out
the movie's running time...I thought they gave it sort of a "Get Crazy" feel.
Watch for a hilarious crowd scene where the punks lethargically twitch around
to a blues song!
BOTTOM LINE
I can't really recommend this one in good consciousness...if you do decide to
watch this, you'll probably formulate your own opinion, so it doesn't matter
fuck-all what the bottom line is. If you fancy yourself a slasher fanatic and
haven't seen it, you might as well give it a go...but proceed with caution.
I guess the bottom line, for me, is that you can do worse...plus it's an excuse to
watch a slasher on New Year's Eve...lord knows we all love it when a maniac goes
crazy on these holidays!
Review
By: The Scaremaker
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