Synopsis
The movie New Year’s Evil (1980) is a slasher film directed by Emmett Alston. The plot follows a Los Angeles punk rock and new wave show host who receives a series of phone calls during a televised New Year’s Eve bash from a killer warning of impending murders that he plans to exact as the New Year dawns on each time zone.
As the movie unfolds, the tension rises as the host, played by Roz Kelly, tries to identify and stop the killer before the clock strikes midnight in each time zone. The film takes place on New Year’s Eve and features multiple locations and time zones as the clock counts down to midnight.
New Year’s Evil (1980) was theatrically released in the United States on December 19, 1980, by Cannon Film Distributors. Although it had limited theatrical screenings, it gained a cult following in later years, with occasional screenings at venues like Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles, California.
Cast
- Roz Kelly as Diane Sullivan
- Kip Niven as Richard Sullivan
- Chris Wallace as Lieutenant Clayton
- Grant Cramer as Derek Sullivan
Trivia
- New Year’s Evil (1980) is a relatively early entry in the Golden Age of Slashers.
- The film features a clever premise, an urban setting, and an antagonist with more in common with a regular old serial killer than a typical slasher.
- The movie’s soundtrack is notable and adds to its atmosphere.
Anonymous on November 1, 2023