New Year's Evil is a 1980 American slasher film written and directed by Emmett Alston, co-written by Leonard Neubauer, and starring Kip Niven, Roz Kelly, and Chris Wallace. 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.
One New Year's Eve, popular punk rock/new wave DJ Diane Sullivan (known as "Blaze" among her fans) is hosting a late-night countdown celebration of music and partying, televised live from a Hollywood hotel and simulcast on local radio. All is going well until Diane receives a phone call from an odd-sounding stranger, who claims his name is Evil. He announces his intention to murder one "naughty girl" at the stroke of midnight in each US time zone; he warns that Diane, located in the Pacific Time Zone, will be the last victim. Meanwhile, Diane's son Derek arrives at the studio, but is mostly ignored by his mother; he begins behaving erratically throughout the night as he watches the show on television.
The studio crew takes safety measures and heightens security, but a string of murders begins to occur across Los Angeles; a nurse at a sanitarium is found dead shortly after midnight strikes in the Eastern Time Zone, and two women are found dead near a liquor store after midnight in the Central Time Zone. The killer uses a radio/cassette recorder to tape the sounds of his victims as he murders them and calls back the station each time, replaying the tapes over the phone to prove that he is serious. While the killer searches for a victim to kill for the stroke of midnight in the Mountain Time Zone, he inadvertently angers a gang of bikers, who chase him into a drive-in theater. He murders one of the bikers, steals a couple's car to avoid being recognized, and drives off with the girl still in the backseat, intending to make her his next victim, but she manages to escape.
Eventually the killer manages to sneak into the hotel, which by now has been completely locked down by the police, and is revealed to be Diane's husband, Richard, who was previously thought to be too busy to attend. After knocking Diane out, he castigates her over her treatment of their son, perceiving her and other women's treatment of him as a slight on his character. Richard tells his wife that he hates women. He reveals his intention to kill her by chaining her to an elevator and forcing it to ride "all the way up, then all the way down," having hacked the elevator controls. While he is doing this, the police, who have been alerted to his presence, locate him. A brief firefight ensues and the elevator controls are damaged, stopping the elevator and saving Diane. Richard flees to the rooftop, putting on the mask he had used to conceal himself while entering the building. Cornered by the police, he proceeds to jump to his death; a devastated Derek weeps over his body.
The injured Diane is loaded into an ambulance, but Derek is revealed to be the driver, having taken his dead father's mask and murdered the real driver. The ambulance drives off, leaving Diane's fate unknown, as a radio announcer in Honolulu is heard announcing the stroke of midnight in the Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, New Year's Evil has an approval rating of 14%, based on seven reviews.[7] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 33 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[8]Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a 1½ and wrote, "New Year's Evil is an endangered species - a plain, old-fashioned, gory thriller. It is not very good. It is sometimes unpleasantly bloody. The plot is dumb and the twist at the end has been borrowed from hundreds if not thousands of other movies. But as thrillers go these days, New Year's Evil is a throwback to an older and simpler tradition, one that flourished way back in the dimly remembered past, before 1978".[9]Gene Siskel gave the film zero stars out of four, calling it "a hideously ugly motion picture".[10]Variety wrote: "The true horror of New Year's Evil is the endless musical numbers by punk rockers and shots of their dancing fans. Amongst that, the bloody killings seem a welcome relief".[11]
Among retrospective reviews, Eric Vespe of Ain't It Cool News said, "New Year's Evil falls into that 'didn't love it, didn't hate it' gray area of mediocrity that doesn’t exactly inspire any kind of passion one way or the other. On the one hand it's too goofy and amateurish to really be creeped out by and on the other it's not fun enough to rally behind".[12]Dread Central's Matt Serafini concluded: "This isn't worth your time if you're looking for a horror film to deliver in scares or suspense, but as a late night horror fix, it's ideal. What New Year's Evil lacks in scares it makes up for in pure entertainment. And really, that's all you can ask for".[13] The film was labeled "another routine mad-slasher film" and a "strictly paint-by-numbers effort" by TV Guide.[14]
Soundtrack and theme song
W. Michael Lewis and Laurin Rinder composed the film soundtrack and produced the title track's recording, "New Year's Evil".[15][16][17]
Over the years the title song, like the movie, has developed a cult following. It has appeared in horror movies "best songs of" playlists, and the film has been the topic of numerous podcasts in which the song is a point of discussion.[18]
The song was written by Roxanne Seeman and Eddie del Barrio.[19][20][21] The filmmakers wanted an original title and theme song to be played live by a punk band being featured in the film. Requests for a song were sent to several writers. The music supervisor was Rex Devereaux.[22] Del Barrio and Seeman submitted their original song, "New Year's Evil", for the spec submission. Del Barrio wrote chords and melody on a synthesizer and gave a rough mixdown to Seeman[23][24] to write the lyrics. Seeman wrote the lyrics to visually reflect the storyline:
Shining like the light that hits the knife at the stroke of midnight.
Quiet but so bright my heartbeat swells, oh can't you tell I'm in a fever
Tell me will it be sweet New Year's Eve or do I fear a New Year's Evil
The final demo recording with Seeman's lyrics was sung by session singer Gary Falcone[25] and recorded on del Barrio's 4-track machine.
The movie track was recorded at Salty Dog Studios, Los Angeles, by Seattle rock band Shadow:[26] Cliff White on guitar, Ray Leonard[27] on bass, David Kesterson vocals, Art Bennett on drums, and J.P Pakalenka vocals and guitar.[28] The recording was produced by the soundtrack's composers,[16] W. Michael Lewis[29] and Laurin Rinder.[30] Shadow also performed the song on-camera [31][16][32][33][2] as a punk rock band.[34] The song plays at the opening of the movie and repeatedly throughout.
The recorded studio version also appears in the film. This version was pressed as a 7" vinyl 45 rpm single.[35] Promotional singles were sent to radio stations throughout the US. A full soundtrack record is announced in the closing credits of the film and on the original poster, but has not materialized. In March 2020, MGM released the song on digital streaming platforms.[36]
Sister Midnight, a project by Steven Darrow of covers featuring different vocalists from all genres of rock from around the world, released a cover version of "New Year's Evil"[38] on December 31, 2017, as the first recording.[39] Derek "Dirty D" Christiansen is the vocalist.
The Angelas, an American alternative rock band from Nebraska formed by Alice Vitale and Natalie Regoli,[40] released an instrumental version of "New Year's Evil" on October 1, 1989, on their second album of horror movie soundtrack covers.[41][42]
Critical reception
Roger Ebert wrote in his review of the film: ""New Year's Evil" has music as its gimmick. The movie takes place on New Year's Eve, during a national TV show obviously inspired by "Midnight Special". The bands are second-rate punk rock groups (Made In Japan, Shadow). The hostess (Roz Kelly) is taking votes over the air for the new wave song of the year".[9]
New Year's Evil has become a cult horror film[43] with a preponderance of podcasts and reviews of the film, the song "New Year's Evil" and the music soundtrack:
Dread Central wrote: "Much of the music comes from an actual band named Shadow. The odd thing about Shadow is that their music sounds far more like a Seventies metal band than the Eighties punk rock and new wave the film promotes. Ah, who cares? It's 1980 and the top act on a New Year's countdown show isn't Manilow, The Gap Band, or The Oak Ridge Boys. "New Year's Evil" by Shadow it is".[44]
The DailyDot wrote: "First off, this movie features the best New Year's Eve song ever made. Like the opening to Friday the 13th Part III, it's just one of those rare original recordings for low-budget horror film that's a complete gem, and it should be an American staple of New Year's Eve celebrations".[45]
Film Fracture wrote: "Of course, no rock and roll horror movie is complete without the music. The rock in New Year's Evil is supplied by two very real bands – Made in Japan and Shadow. Neither could really be called new wave or punk bands (Made in Japan is more of a The Knack-y power pop band and Shadow borders on 70's heavy metal), but both are obviously from the time period in which the film takes place. The theme song, done by Shadow and appropriately called "New Year's Evil", is incredibly infectious and plays over both the opening and closing credits as well as once during the course of the film. As if the song wasn't catchy enough, hearing it three times in ninety minutes means that there is no way that this song will not get stuck in the viewer's head. The incidental and mood music (composed by W. Michael Lewis and Laurin Rinder, who also scored a handful of episodes of "In Search Of…") is fairly typical Moog synthesizer suspense and stinger fare, but it works well in the context of the new wave slasher film. Between the rock and roll soundtrack and the electronic music score, New Year’s Evil’s music is one of the more memorable elements of the film".[46]
crypticrock.com: "...Blaze starts answering phones to talk to people calling in to vote for their favorite Rock songs, and she gets a call from a Bruce Jenner-haired guy (Niven) calling himself Eeeeevil. He uses a voice disguiser that makes him sound like a Jim Henson creation, but seriously tells her he is going to kill a "Naughty Girl" every time the clock strikes midnight in the different times zones across the country. Blaze is freaked out but gains enough composure to introduce the live band, Shadow, who play the most annoying New Year's Eve song ever".[47]
geekscape.net: "The 12 Best Heavy Metal Songs From Horror Movies...I spent close to a decade playing in metal bands, but my earliest experiences with the genre were thanks to 80s horror movies. It was a golden age for both heavy metal and over-the-top horror cheese; I credit much of my personal growth to those countless nights watching people with questionable morals bleed out as some Aquanetted guy in pleather pants screeched on about how rock and roll will never die. If you're like me, horror and heavy metal are two sides of the same coin, so before you scream "Satanic Panic", let's burn through a definitive list of the very best heavy metal songs to slay to.
12 Shadow – New Years Evil theme (New Years Evil)[18]
"New Year's Evil" - Written by Roxanne Seeman & Eduardo del Barrio
"When I Wake Up" - Written by John Pakalenka
"Simon Bar Sinister" - Written by Clifford White & Ray Leonard
"Temper Tantrum" - Written by Ray Leonard
"Headwind" - Written by Clifford White
"Cold Hearted Lover" - Written by Clifford White
"Auld Lang Syne"
"Dumb Blondes"
"The Cooler"
"Suicide Ways"
Related Research Articles
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting, Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland, and remained unchanged for the rest of the band's history. The Police became globally popular in the late 1970s and early to mid 1980s. Emerging in the British new wave scene, they played a style of rock influenced by punk, reggae, and jazz.
The Misfits are an American punk rock band often recognized as the pioneers of the horror punk subgenre, blending punk and other musical influences with horror film themes and imagery. The group was founded in 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey, by vocalist, songwriter and keyboardist Glenn Danzig. Over the next six years, Danzig and bassist Jerry Only were the group's main members through numerous personnel changes. During this period, they released several EPs and singles, and with Only's brother Doyle as guitarist, the albums Walk Among Us (1982) and Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood (1983), both considered touchstones of the early-1980s hardcore punk movement. The band has gone through many lineup changes over the years, with bassist Jerry Only being the only constant member in the group.
Glenn Allen Anzalone, better known by his stage name Glenn Danzig, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is the founder of the rock bands Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. He owns the Evilive record label as well as Verotik, an adult-oriented comic book publishing company.
Psychobilly is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ramp[ing] up its speed to a sweaty pace, and combin[ing] it with punk rock and imagery lifted from horror films and late-night sci-fi schlock,... [creating a] gritty honky tonk punk rock."
Joan Jett is an American rock singer, guitarist, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for founding and performing with the Runaways, who recorded and released the hit song "Cherry Bomb". With the Blackhearts, Jett is known for her rendition of the song "I Love Rock 'n Roll" which was number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks in 1982. Jett's other notable songs include "Bad Reputation", "Light of Day", "I Hate Myself for Loving You" and her covers of "Crimson and Clover", "Do You Wanna Touch Me " and "Dirty Deeds".
Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered by the Misfits in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Subsequent bands formed in the Misfits' wake like Mourning Noise, the Undead and Samhain, solidifying horror punk's first wave. In the late 1990s and early 2000s the genre gained attention through the reunion of the Misfits and success of groups like AFI, Son of Sam and the Murderdolls. This popularity continued to the modern day with Blitzkid, Calabrese and Creeper.
Midnight Syndicate is an American musical duo that has been working primarily in the genre of neoclassical dark ambient music since 1997 and is based in Chardon, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.
Thomas Richard Christy Jr. is an American drummer and radio personality, best known for being the former drummer for several heavy metal bands since the early 1990s, most notably Death, and his tenure on The Howard Stern Show. Born and raised in Kansas, Christy took an interest in rock and heavy metal music in his youth, and started playing the drums at age ten. He played in several bands while at school.
T.S.O.L. is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. Although most commonly associated with hardcore punk, T.S.O.L.'s music has varied on each release, including such styles as deathrock, art punk, horror punk, other varieties of punk music, and hard rock.
The City of the Dead is a 1960 supernatural horror film directed by John Llewellyn Moxey and starring Christopher Lee, Venetia Stevenson, Betta St. John, Patricia Jessel and Valentine Dyall. The film marks the directorial debut of Moxey. It was produced in the United Kingdom but set in America, and the British actors were required to speak with North American accents throughout.
City of Evil is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on June 6, 2005, through Warner Bros. and Hopeless Records. Co-produced by Andrew Murdock, City of Evil contains a more traditional heavy metal and hard rock sound than Avenged Sevenfold's previous two albums, which showcased a predominantly metalcore sound. The album title is derived from a lyric in the song, "Beast and the Harlot". The album is notable for the absence of fry vocals. M. Shadows worked for months before the album's release with vocal coach Ron Anderson, whose clients have included Axl Rose and Chris Cornell, to achieve a sound that had "grit while still having the tone". In order to increase stamina and strength on the pedals, The Rev would sit for hours practicing until he could get up to 210 beats per minute.
Lezlie Deane is an American singer, musician, roller derby athlete and actress who has starred in film and television. She was once best known for her roles in horror films, including 976-EVIL (1988), Girlfriend from Hell (1989) and Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991). In the 1990s, she was a member of the techno group Fem2Fem.
"Beast and the Harlot" is a song by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released as a single from their third studio album, City of Evil. It peaked at #19 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart, #44 on the UK Singles Chart, and #1 on the UK Rock Chart on March 12, 2006.
Roxanne Joy Seeman is an American songwriter and lyricist. She is best known for her songs by Billie Hughes, Philip Bailey, Phil Collins, Earth, Wind & Fire, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, The Sisters of Mercy, The Jacksons, Jacky Cheung, and in film and television. She has two Emmy nominations.
Death is an American band formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1971 by brothers Bobby, David (guitar), and Dannis Hackney.
Calabrese is an American rock band that is based out of Phoenix, Arizona. The band consists of three faux brothers; bassist/vocalist Jimmy Calabrese, guitarist/vocalist Bobby Calabrese and drummer Davey Calabrese. Calabrese has been described as "Melodic, hook-laden, catchy, fun, Rock with a Punk attitude”. They have cited other bands such as the Damned, Alkaline Trio, Black Flag, Black Sabbath, Turbonegro, the Misfits, the Hives, White Zombie/Rob Zombie, AFI, Danzig, Type O Negative, and the Ramones as influences.
Ice Nine Kills is an American heavy metal band from Boston, Massachusetts, who are signed to Fearless Records. Best known for its horror-inspired lyrics, Ice Nine Kills formed in its earliest incarnation in 2000 by high school friends Spencer Charnas and Jeremy Schwartz. Charnas is currently the only remaining founding member.
Ari Lehman is an American performing artist, composer, and actor. He is known for playing the child Jason Voorhees in the Paramount horror film Friday the 13th, becoming the first actor to portray the horror film icon. As of 2018, Lehman performs in a punk rock/heavy metal band, First Jason.
Haunted Garage was a horror punk and heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1985. Fronted by singer and B-movie actor Dukey Flyswatter, the band were recognized for their campy horror and science fiction-inspired songs and outrageous shock rock live shows featuring macabre props and costumes, go-go dancers and copious amounts of stage blood.
Roxanne Benjamin is an American film director, writer, and producer. She is best known for directing the horror films Body at Brighton Rock and There's Something Wrong with the Children and as one of the creators and producers of the V/H/S horror anthology films, having developed and produced V/H/S and V/H/S/2. She also produced the genre anthology Southbound, along with directing and writing on the film, and wrote and produced multiple segments of the anthology film XX.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
