New Year's Evil

The '70s and '80s saw quite a few holiday-themed slasher flicks.  One that I find to be quite a lot of fun to watch, especially on its respective holiday, is New Year's Evil.  It may not be the most groundbreaking film, but I think it manages to give its audience what it wants and does it with style.  Also, there are some minor departures from the standard slasher formula.

DVD Edition
 

Let's start with one of the biggest differences from most slashers: you see the killer right off the bat.  Usually, you don't know who the killer is until he/she is unmasked right before the big final chase and face-off.  In this one, you know who he is the whole time, as he does not wear a mask (at least not until very late in the film).  Of course, you don't know his name or his relationship, if any, to the other characters in the film and he does put on some basic disguises in the film.  Still, his face shows up onscreen and you know he is the killer, so there are no scenes where you wonder if one character or another is actually the killer and his/her motive for doing something is actually a cover for killing somebody.  For example, two characters break off from the rest of the group to check out some room in a house.  Are they going some place private to bang each other's brains out or is one of them the killer trying to get the other somewhere secluded before bashing that person's brains in?

Another difference is that the film focuses on older characters, to an extent.  The main target for the killer is a woman who is probably in her 30s or even early 40s.  There are younger characters, as well, such as the various punk/new wave people that populate much of the movie, which largely revolves around the main character's New Year's Eve television broadcast, a call-in music show featuring a few different punk/new wave bands playing.  This movie is certainly dated, but in a good way, in my opinion.

I could go on a bit more or even a lot more, if I wanted to, but it is New Year's Eve.  So, track it down on VHS or get the special edition Blu-ray or even the on-demand DVD edition, if you like slasher flicks.

Put simply, I think this is a good movie to play around 10pm or so on New Year's Eve, so you get through the movie and still have time to see the new year in and watch the fireworks going off.


Happy New Year



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eibon Press- Zombie #1

Image
Earlier this year, Eibon Comics announced that it was redoing the old graphic novel of Lucio Fulci’s Zombie ( Zombie Flesheaters to those in the UK and Zombi 2 in its native Italy) originally released through Blackest Heart Media, this time in color and expanded into an ongoing series, from what I have read.   The first issue of this new version went on sale more than a month before it was due to ship and sold out rapidly.   Happily, I was able to order a copy before it sold out.   Eibon and since stated there will be a second printing of the issue and that future issues will be printed in higher quantities. My copy of Zombie Issue #1 arrived recently and I am quite pleased with it.   It is just as Eibon advertised it.   The presentation alone is remarkable, including the outer sleeve each copy comes in.   My copy also came with a liner note booklet about Eibon and the development of the comic sleeves Eibon is putting all of its comics in, as well as a “Fulci Lives” bump
Read more

Necrophagia- 35 Years of Death Metal

Image
A long time favorite band of mine is Necrophagia, which initially formed in the early/mid '80s before splitting then eventually resurfacing with a new lineup in the late '90s, continuing on until the death of its founder, Killjoy, in 2018. Set list from Necrophagia show, plus flyer and stage-used drumstick from drummer Shawn Slusarek There are a couple of recent releases from two different labels released as tributes to the band and the memory of Killjoy.  The first is a best-of compilation and the other is a cassette release containing the band's demos from the '80s. Best-of collections are generally a bit of a weird thing for me, personally, as they are derivative by nature.  However, they are good for people who are trying to get into the band, but don't know where to start.  I also find them good for situations where you want to listen to a specific band, but want to hear stuff from different albums, which I find does happen to me from time to time.  Th
Read more

Halloween Music Recommendations 2022

Image
 I have neglected this blog this year, mostly due to focusing on music and just daily stuff like work. Still, I wanted to get some Halloween music recommendations out there for this year.  I think I will do this a little differently this time, with most of these being releases I discovered through Bandcamp.      Fleshrot - Unburied Corpse First up, we have a new band that is putting together some pretty old-style death metal.  Nothing groundbreaking, in general, but it is just plain good.  This isn't a band preoccupied with being technical and playing faster than anybody else.  This is a band trying to make some good, old-fashioned, memorable death metal, which I think the band succeeds at. Hailing from Lubbock, Texas, Fleshrot released a demo on Bandcamp, which also was released as a cassette and a 7".  This was the release that introduced the band to me.  When the album came out, I snagged a copy and have been enjoying it quite a bit.  The album is only seven songs and clock
Read more