Entry 94: New Year's Evil (1980)

New Year's Evil (1980)

Dir: Emmett Alston

"A celebration of the macabre."

   

Goddamn...2015, huh?  It was a pretty good one for me: I celebrated a year of Mrs. Basement of Sleaze being tolerant and patient enough to marry me, I married off four fantastic fucking friends, I met the great Lance Henriksen and I lit my hair on fire for the first time!  Also, Fury Road, It Follows and a fucking great new Star Wars movie!  I don't make New Year's resolutions, but I'm hoping to spend a little more time here in 2016, watching and writing about gems from the back roads of cinema.  January will be a catch-up month, where I'll write about a few flicks I've watched recently but couldn't find the time to write up and February, because I demanded it, will see the return of Fuck Flick February, where I'll spend time with some more classics from the golden age of adult cinema.  But enough about the future; let's focus on the now!  Okay, New Year's Eve party-goers, wipe the puke off your shirts, grab another beer, turn off that insipid rock n' roll countdown you're watching and join me in the Basement of Sleaze for New Year's Evil!

 Aging new wave singer Blaze (Roz Kelly, American Pop, Full Moon High) is hosting the "New Year's Evil" countdown, sponsored by Hawaii's Hollywood Hotline, a televised, punk & new wave themed end-of-the-year bash.  A weirdo calling himself "Evil" calls in to the show and informs Blaze that he's going to kill someone close to her at midnight.  While great-looking 80's punkers mosh to the countdown acts, Blaze ignores the warnings of her mentally-unbalanced son (Grant Kramer, Hardbodies, Killer Klowns from Outer Space) and seeks help from put-upon cop Lt. Clayton (Chris Wallace, Don't Answer the Phone, Body & Soul).  Meanwhile, "Evil" (Kip Niven, Earthquake, Damnation Alley) carves up a nurse at nearby Crawford Sanitarium, then puts on a disguise and heads to a local singles' bar.  At this point, the movie kind of lost me, because "Evil's" "disguise" consists of slicked-back hair, a glorious mustache, a grey leisure suit and a (mostly unbuttoned) large-collar dress shirt.  I know the filmmakers were intending me to root against this remorseless killer, but goddamn, I want to BE that guy!  After (unfortunately) removing his fake mustache, "Evil" kills his singles' bar pick-up via strangulation with a plastic bag, then leaves her strung up on a swing set for the cops to find.  "Evil" next chooses to impersonate a priest, and gets chased into a drive-in showing Blood Feast by a gaggle of angry bikers after he trashes their hogs!  Of course, it turns out that "Evil" is Blaze's ex-husband, and he's punishing her for a life of indiscretion.  Can she (and Lt. Clayton) stop the killer?        

Produced in the wake of the success of Friday the 13th, New Year's Evil was produced by Cannon Films during the tenure of the mighty Golan-Globus, and it's a consummate cash-in, right down to the score, which replicates Harry Manfredini's famous Friday "chee-chee-chee-chee-ah-ah-ah-ah" theme.  It's also surprisingly (and disappointingly) free of gore and nudity.  What sets it apart is it's middle-aged female lead and it's lack of a masked killer; in this film, we're introduced to "Evil" early on, and he's an ordinary (handsome, even) guy.  It's also surprisingly character-driven (Blaze and her tendency to ignore/discard those around her drive the action), but tends to wallow in the misogyny that other slasher pics were accused of endorsing ("Evil" commits his murders because he feels "castrated" by the successful Blaze).  It also features some great goddamn music (supplied by local Hawaiian new wave/punk bands, none of whom made it bigger than this film), and great footage of somewhat-seedy 1980's Hawaii (can you think of another goddamn slasher movie set on "The Islands?").  New Year's Evil is well worth a look for slasher fans looking for something a little offbeat.  Happy goddamn New Year, everybody!