They Call Him "EVILLLLLLLLLLLL" : New Year's Evil (1980)

New Year's Evil (1980)
Rating: **1/2
Starring: Roz Kelly, Kip Niven, Chris Wallace

As 1980 closes to an end and the countdown for the new year begins, Blaze, the show hostess of "Hollywood Hotline" and self-entitled "Queen of Rock and Roll", finds herself dealing with a loon who calls himself "EVIL" creeping up the hotlines with promises of- wait... wait... let me say it line-by-line:

"I'm going to commit- muuuuurder- at midnight. I'm going to kill-someone you know. Someone-close to-you". (All said through an electric voice modulator that have him sounding like a grunting version of Elmer Fudd, or Fozie The Bear if he smoked ten packs a day while drunk. Fucking hilarious!)

And true enough, every time it strikes midnight at an American timezone, "Evil" murders one or two hapless victims, recording their screams so he can play it back for Blaze whenever he calls to taunt. Responding cops tell Blaze that she'll likely be "Evil's" final victim by the strike of their midnight, but assures her that they will catch him. Though obviously distraught, Blaze continues to host her rock-and-roll show, letting her crowd have their fun while "Evil" gets closer.

New Year's Evil (1980) is one of those strange early 80s slashers that tries to stand above the crowd by doing something entirely elaborate for its killer's modus operandi, going as far from giving him the amateur skill of disguising himself as a series of personas (a nurse, a photographer, a priest and even a cop), to the overly complicated goal of murdering innocent bystanders in accordance to a timezone system.

More odd is the characterization of our leading lady as it appears there's nothing worth rooting for her; Blaze is rude, demanding and a tad self-centered, hinted to have cheated on her husband which somehow leads to the massacre she's tied to right now. It's as if the film's going for a direction that sparks mean-spirited misogyny by making her this terrible, thus justifying our killer's pretentious reasoning behind the murders as he monologues at one point that women cause nothing but problems. It's undoubtedly problematic, but it could have been so much worse if it wasn't for the movie's cheesy execution dulling down and bordering away any sense of seriousness.

Yes, New Year's Evil (1980) hardly passes as a decent slasher given its short supply of blood and suspense. It does make up for the dull ends, though, by being unintentionally funny, with a killer talking like an enraged cartoon alien and getting himself on the run from not only trailing cops, but enraged bikers as well! The film also acts as a time capsule back to the 80s, particularly when new-wave music was making its scene. Albeit it's laughably exaggerated here, as band members ham up the scene with their flashy  get-ups and make-up, their audience acting like lobotomized drones flailing to the songs. It's corny and strange, and I love it! 

A shamefully underused mask. Could have been good

New Year's Evil (1980) is worth seeing if you're into bad cheese, bad 80s rock and roll and bad-taste in general, or just in it for some unsuspecting laughs. It's not going to be a movie for everybody, but for those who might see this people as crap, while I ain't disagreeing you, isn't that also a little hard on the movie?

Bodycount:
1 female killed with a switchblade offscreen
1 female knifed to death with a switchblade
1 female bagged on the head
1 female found stabbed to death
1 male gets a switchblade to the gut
1 male suicide, jumps off a building
1 male seen murdered
Total: 7