On N List of Movie Reviews
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New Year's Evil (1980)
Rate:
3
Viewed:
4/15
4/15:
There can be many variations of a slasher film, but there's no reason to explore them all.
That's the case with New Year's Evil. It might be the most pointless horror movie I've seen in a while.
The killer is revealed very early, and there are no interesting characters worth caring about. Not even the neglected son can
muster enough pity from me. His transformation, after seeing his father laid dead on the asphalt parking lot, suggests
there's a second part in the works, but thankfully, it never materialized.
The lead actor, Kip Niven, sports an uncanny resemblance to Steve Railsback who's known for playing Charles Manson
in Helter Skelter. Hence, it's easy to be confused by these two. On the other hand,
Roz Kelly showcases some of the worst makeup I've ever seen on an actress. She should've adhered to the following adage: "Less
is more." Plus, her acting is the pits.
Although the pace is okay for most of the time, it's the last twenty minutes that loses me for good. And what happened to
the concept of killing a person at the stroke of midnight per time zone? It seems to be abruptly dropped at some point.
Amusing is the detective telling Blaze everything pertinent to the investigation. Here are two words: "Never happens."
All in all, New Year's Evil is a by-the-numbers slasher flick that's riddled with bad acting and third-rate dialogue.