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Roz Kelly, Kip Niven, Chris Wallace, Grant Cramer, Louisa Moritz ... see more see more... , Jed Mills , John Alderman , Teri Copley , Jon Greene , Richard E. Kalk , Taaffe O'Connell , Julie Kaye Towery , Mark L. Rosen , Tim Cutt , Richard Brown

In this horrific slasher outing, a punk rock disc jockey has a really bad night when a nutcase begins calling her every hour on New Year's Eve to inform her of his latest murder victim. ~ Sandra Brenn... read more read more...an, Rovi

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19% liked it

378 ratings

R, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Emmett Alston

Release Date: January 1, 1981

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Flixster Reviews (66)

  • FilmFanatik
    January 1, 2012
    FilmFanatik
    New Year's Evil is another in a long line of slasher movies based around major holidays. It also features a hard rock soundtrack based around the theme song to the movie, which tends to get old after a while. It's generally a decent movie, and the story is sort of nice for a chan... read morege. With a sort of 'Maniac' approach to the story, we know who the killer is all throughout the movie and follow his progress as he moves from victim to victim. The ending has a twist that I saw coming from a mile away, so I don't know what all this fuss is about eluding to some 'great twist ending.' The acting is generally terrible, and the kills aren't all that interesting. The actor who's playing the killer, Kip Niven, thinks he's doing this big theatrical part, as well, but he's too nerdy to pull it off. I wouldn't call this movie a great slasher, but it does have some interesting aspects to it that wouldn't make me write it off completely.
  • ajv2688
    January 8, 2011
    ajv2688
    For some reason I really liked this movie, I suppose it was mostly because of the great ending, it was a fantastic twist, if you ask me. But, yes most of the movie is an average slasher flick. Still, it's enjoyable.
  • threefolddado
    August 27, 2008
    threefolddado
    80's slasher is a rip off of much better films.
  • The80sExpert
    January 6, 2011
    The80sExpert
    This movie appears to be just another slasher flick in the beginning, but at the climax the killer is revealed, and it makes for a real great plot twist. I'm giving this movie four stars for the ending mostly, but the rest of the movie is alright too, it's just that the end is t... read morehe most suspenseful part, and the final scene is perfect. I enjoyed this movie, and if you like slasher flicks you'll enjoy it too. Plus, there's some good bands playing in the movie too.
  • eegahinc
    September 5, 2010
    eegahinc
    January 3, 2010: The Epiphany of the Lord (Year C)

    ?Call me eeeevil!? That?s how the killer in this movie actually says the line while speaking through one of those cheapo voice processors you can pick up at WalMart. Terror inducing? Hardly. Unintentionally laugh inducing? Oh ye... read moreah.

    Marketed as yet another holiday themed slasher movie, New Year?s Evil plays like more of a traditional thriller with the police trying to apprehend the taunting Eeeevil as he murders one victim every time midnight strikes in a different time zone. His final announced target is an aging MTV-type VJ, which allows the proceedings to be generously interspersed with all the excessive 80?s style clothing and hairstyles a person could want. And like any slasher/thriller worth its salt, there?s the obligatory BIG REVEAL of the killer?s true identity. (WARNING: Here there be spoilers!) In this case, the reveal is kind of bizarre as Eeeevil turns out to be the VJ?s husband who feels the woman?s intense focus on her career is driving their teenage son insane. And apparently he?s right as the final shot shows the young man donning his father?s mask, intent on finishing the job dear old dad started. Take that all you ladies who have to work outside the home. Guess the makers of New Year?s Evil didn?t take to heart the previous year?s Dolly Parton opus Nine To Five.

    If these kinds of shocking reveals appeal to you, then this is your week at mass. As the Catechism notes, ?The great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee.? Each of these events, in some form, reveals the messianic nature of Jesus to all the peoples of the world. What makes the Epiphany shocking, both to non-Christians and (sadly) those Christians who subscribe to religious pluralism, is that ?ALL THE PEOPLES? part, the idea that Jesus is the way and the truth for the whole world. For those folks, the Epiphany is as outrageous as any reveal ever put to celluloid.

    Now as Christians, we don?t discount the elements of truth to be found in other faiths. Commenting on the 2000 Vatican statement Dominus Jesus, Father John Lombardi notes that ?God's Life, Teaching and Way is not exhausted through the Catholic Church: an infinite God can never be explained by a limited entity even though it is divinely inspired. Thus, some of God's grace (esp. spread by the Holy Spirit) manifests outside the Catholic Church's domain.? But, the good father continues, ?since the Catholic Unity, established upon St. Peter and continued today, in and through [the Pope] and the magisterium (official teaching office) is God's "normal" manifestation for the world and salvation of souls, we should want to propose Jesus Christ as the singular Divine Manifestation of God to the world.? Simply put, we Christians are kind of required to keep the shocks coming.
  • theSwitchbladeSister
    February 10, 2010
    theSwitchbladeSister
    Holiday-themed slasher films have a special place in my heart, and this silly example does as well. An anonymous killer promises to kill a new person at every hour, coinciding with the new year's celebrations of different time zones. While he does this, he calls in the screams of... read more his victims in to the punk rock countdown show and terrorizes the host "Blaze" ... yeah, the show within a show is kind of the best part.
  • bristowjoelmcfly
    December 28, 2009
    bristowjoelmcfly
    The concept of a New Year's horror movie is delicious, but this is one steaming pile of missed opportunities. It was an interesting choice to follow the killer more than the protagonist victim, but it comes off as more of an inept writing oversight than as a focused decision to ... read moreshake things up.

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Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 21, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Scott Weinberg
July 27, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

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