Macabre...ish Horror Review: New Years Evil

New Years Evil, 1980/ 89 min

Airing from a Hollywood hotel, Blaze (Roz Kelly), is hosting a New Years countdown celebration party, televised live. It’s a good time until someone with a ridiculous voice calls, on air, calling himself, Evil (Kip Niven), and announcing that he will be killing someone she knows and when the clock strikes midnight in every time zone, a girl will be murdered. And she, Blaze, would be saved for last.

The studio takes the threat seriously and heightens security as a string of murders across LA, break out. After each murder, the killer records it and calls the show back to play the recording.

Meanwhile, something has happened to her friend, Yvonne. And a man is traveling around, putting on disguises and luring women to their deaths.

He was almost thwarted when he hit a bunch of bikers and ran and hid in a drive-in theatre. It starts unravelling pretty quickly from there but doesn’t slow down his killing spree.

Evil eventually infiltrates Blazes party and upon confronting her, outs himself to her. Turns out she knows him and he his excuse for killing, women’s neglect and treatment of him.

This is typical 80s slasher fare. Not particularly gory, very little effects and only a little bloody but this is more of a thriller with plenty of jump scares. Nostalgic 80s horror.