When
it comes to genre flicks, I prefer monsters to madman, but that
hasn’t stopped me from enjoying a sliver of slasher flicks and
forming a small collection of them in my DVD cabinet. When it comes
to NEW YEAR’S EVIL, this is a movie I have always been aware
of but have never seen. So, when MGM released it last month on their
MOD Program, I figure I’d request it and see if it’s any good.
Before
the movie begins a chick is pulled into a shower and killed with a
switchblade. The killing is not shown, just heard, then we meet,
Diane Sullivan, played by Roz Kelly, whom we all know from HAPPY
DAYS, and if you’re a Dan Curtis fan, from his Made-For-TV
horror film, CURSE OF THE BLACK WIDOW. She’s a famous TV
personality, from what I could gather, and this night she’s in
charge of a New Year’s Eve telecast.
Before
the killing spree really kicks into gear we learn Diane has a son,
Derek, played by Grant Cramer (KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE),
but she isn’t a very attentive mother. Her celebrity lifestyle
seems to take priority over everything and she ignores her kid when
he comes to tell her he’s gotten a new role on some show.
During
the show, she takes a call, and the caller has a strange and weird
voice. He calls himself, “Evil,” and tells Diane he’s going to
kill someone as New Year’s Eve strikes in each time zone.
This
killer is not kept in the shadows, we see what he looks like, and we
see him using a device to conceal his voice as he places the call
over the payphone. The real mystery is who this person is,
which eventually gets revealed towards the end. I’ll admit I was
not particular taken with this movie, though I did like the twist on
who the killer was, and the downbeat ending, both which I wasn’t
expecting.
It
had a couple of nice cameos, one from Taaffe O’Connell . . .
remember her? She played Dameia in GALAXY OF TERROR, the
ill-fated explorer who gets her worst fear turned against her and
ends up getting raped to death by a giant maggot. Here, she plays a
nurse, “Evil’s” second victim. The second cameo I didn’t even
recognize until the credits played. The teen chick in the backseat of
the car, getting her tits felt up by her boyfriend at the drive-in,
was 80s mainstay, Teri Copley.
I’ll
always remember her from that 80s sitcom, WE GOT IT MADE, and
from the “Rain Dance” episode of one of my favorite horror
series of the late 80s, MONSTERS.
As I
mentioned before MGM has put this out on their MOD Program, with
theatrical poster cover art, which is a rarity, and sporting only its
trailer as an extra. The movie and the trailer are anamorphic, both
being 1.85:1. Didn’t have a problem with the transfer at all,
looked crisp and clear to me.
Written By Shawn Francis
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