Review of New Year's Evil (1980) by Zach M — 11 Feb 2016

Okay, first off, this isn't a good film. However, there was something about it, which I couldn't really put my finger on that kind of charmed me about this otherwise routine slasher film. I'm pretty sure if I'd watch this film back in 1980, I'd be a lot harder on this film's lack of originality and it's generally poor filmmaking craftsmanship, but watching it now in 2016, the film is an irresistible time capsule of 1980 LA where there was kind of an interesting transition from the disco era (represented by the older more establishment characters) and the emerging punk rock and new wave scene (as shown by the younger characters).

The story is kind of interesting and takes up the popular slasher film trope of basing the killings around a holiday, with the killer this time calling in to an LA DJ's show saying he'll kill someone as the new year rings in at each time zone across the US.

So overall, this film is really not a well made film. It was directed by Emmett Alston, who followed up this film with a string of unmemorable 80s ninja film, but like I said before, this film is an awfully fun time capsule representation of the punk rock, new wave LA scene in 1980 and the corner slasher elements only add to the fun.