New Years Evil (1980)

This weeks review will wrap up our first annual Gory Little Christmas. Its been fun but now its time for a New Year, new movies, new challenges, and new posts on GLP. Since New Years is just around the corner we decided that a review of the cult classic New Years Evil would be appropriate. So sit back, relax and take a sip of something bubbly cause were bringing in the New Year with blood!

New Years Evil is another one of those video treasures I found as a kid. One of the countless holiday themed slasher films, does New Years Evil stand up to its competition? Not quite, but its a fun ride into early 80's slasher cinema. NYE offers up some tip top cheese and very little red stuff, but manages to have some interesting rhetoric. After watching NYE again...I'm curious as to what I found so interesting about it when I was younger.

NYE stars Roz Kelly of Happy Days fame, Kip Niven, and Grant Cramer who would later go on to star in the classic films Hardbodies, and Killer Clowns from Outer Space. The film full of cheese acting, sometimes it was almost comedic, however Roz, Kip, and Grant manage to do decent jobs with the script it had. Basically Roz's character Diane aka Blaze is throwing an on TV New Years bash when she gets a call from a Killer threatening to kill someone she knows at 12 midnight for every time zone. That's basically it. Its doesn't go a whole lot deeper than that until the end when you find out who the killer is.

The killer, you see his face the entire film, so you know who is committing the murders. What the writers thought was clever was revealing who REALLY is at the end...which was kind of a let down but it worked ok i guess. As I said earlier, this film did not live up to the height at which I had held it as a younger kid. It fell straight on its face. I lost much interest in the film about midway through, however I was pulled back in for the ending.  The most interesting part of the film was the soundtrack, which is a glorious 80's piece of work.

NYE really lacks all of the great qualities of a memorable slasher film...Blood, Nudity, Creative Killer, and kills that actually mean something. No jumps, no scares, no suspense. It was all so bland. I spend much of the film laughing than anything else. NYE is a mediocre slasher with bland kills, and bland everything else. However due to it being a holiday themed slasher it will be held close to my heart, even if it is very boring. NYE gets 2 out of 5 stabs for laughably bad acting and plot, as well as being extremely boring. Even with its bad pacing and silly story its still a fun watch in a group. NYE is finally available on DVD. View the trailer below.

 

GLP Rating:

Black Christmas (1974)

When I think of Christmas horror films, two prominent films stick out in my mind. These films seem to be on every horror fans Christmas watch list and rightfully so. I'm talking about Silent Night, Deadly Night, and Bob Clark's 1974 cult classic Black Christmas. These films optimize what Christmas horror flicks are all about, yule tide fright and holiday cheer. Most hardcore genera nut will tell you...It's not Christmas time, unless you've watched these films.

Bob Clark's Black Christmas is a staple of the Holiday horror genre. It's also the film that started the slasher craze being sighted by some as inspiration for John Carpenters Halloween and Sean Cunningham's Friday the 13th.  Black Christmas is reminiscent to the Urban Legend "The Babysitter and The Man Upstairs" taking bits and pieces from the lore and molding them to the story. Black Christmas is about a sorority house that starts receiving obscene phone calls from a vulger man the girls dub the moaner. Soon the girls sorority sisters start going missing and they soon find out there is a deranged serial killer after them all.

Bob Clark directed this film beautifully, using odd camera angles and excellent lighting to develop an eerie mood and atmosphere. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Clark's work... you may be surprised...He would go on to make Porkys and the other Christmas classic A Christmas Story. His work in this film helped create a massive sub-genre that has captivated many audiences world wide and birthed some of the most twisted villain's of all time.

The acting in this picture is pretty good, John Saxon, Olivia Hussey, and Margot Kidder do a fantastic job. Olivia does a great job as Jess. Jess is a strong willed female lead keeping her composure during the traumatic events near the end. Margot plays Barb, the sister that is slightly slutty and likes to drink. Margot does a great job with the role, playing the part to a T. While the characters are only about skin deep, the actresses manage to give them more life than they probably should have had. Saxon plays Lt. Fuller a cop who is trying to help the girls find their friends and nab the obscene caller.

The killer, Billy, is a great character. The serial killer with what seems like multiple  personality's. The obscene calls are full of tension and at some points makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. The decision to not ever fully show the killer was a great one, leaving an air of mystery to Billy and leaving the audience wanting more. You never really understand his motives either, which makes the film so successful. There is not much to say about gore, cause there is none. People die, but mostly off screen, and if they do bite it on screen there is only a little bit of red stuff.

When it all boils down. Black Christmas is one helluva good movie. Age has played only a minor factor in its dating, but still manages hold as true as it did in 1974. This movie is a must see. GLP gives Black Christmas 5 out of 5 stabs for great story, atmosphere, direction, and acting. If your interested in picking up this classic you can do so on special edition Blu-Ray & DVD. View the trailer below.

GLP Rating:

 

To All A Goodnight (1980)

To all a goodnight is one of those slasher flicks that had always alluded me. Whether I would just skip over it, or put it back on the shelf for another whose box art was cooler, This film never made it to my VCR. Finally in the age of technology, I was able to watch this film for the very first time, and just in time for Gory Little X-Mas. As I was watching, the film reminded me of another film that is near and dear to my heart and prompted me to do some investigative "online" research.

Without giving anything away, To All A Goodnight is about an all girls school called the Calvin Finishing School for Girls. Right off the bat the viewers are thrown into the story, with a girl running from a group of other girls laughing chanting and giggling. One of the girls is wearing a Santa hat and holding and axe. We soon see the group of girls has cornered the young girl and frightened she accidentally falls to her death of some balcony. The story then jumps 2 years later and we see a person in a Santa Claus costume start to pick off the occupants of the Calvin Finishing School that have stayed for Christmas Vacation.

While the movie isn't terrible, it's not the best slasher film out there. The print is extremely dark (almost as dark as "Humongous"). One of my biggest pet peeves with most obscure slasher titles are the transfers. This VHS backup is so dark, at times its so hard to see whats going on you miss something awesome. This is all to common though with these older horror flicks, especially the ones that have yet to get official releases, much like this one. The transfer is watchable, but I would make sure you pay attention, cause it's very easy to miss whats going on.

For me the pacing of the film was a little wacky. The start of the film starts off at a decent pace. The viewer gets the first kill about 7 or 8 minutes in. Not a bad start at all, however about 2/3rds of the way trough the movie it hits a lull. You see the film is separated into 3 chunks, 4 if you count the beginning set up. The formula is 1 night, 1 day, 1 night. The killer picks off about 6 or so people the first night. Then the action stops. Its day time so you get a lot of setup. Where are our friends, blah, blah. Then once night falls again, the action is back on. This break up between days really threw off the pacing for me and at times I had trouble paying attention.

Interestingly enough, David Hess directed this little gem. While he is a legend in front of the camera for films like "Last House On the Left",  "House on The Edge of The Park", and "Swamp Thing". His talent behind the camera is less than stellar. I usually don't pay attention to the beginning or ending credits for that matter, but his name really popped out from that screen. Nothing special to see as far as direction...it just sort of falls flat.

The special effects are pretty good considering the time. You get a decapitation, throat slits, head smashing, stabbings, propeller-ing. However since the film is dark its hard to see a lot of the effects which could play in its favor, but I feel like it hurt some of it too because it look like some promising makeup work was achieved only to get hidden by darkness.

To All A Goodnight is strangely similar to another film that came out the same year. That film is the original "Friday The 13th". Its odd but the final minuets are laid out quite alike. The killer reveals their motives and tries to take out the final person. Now these are typical slasher rules and clichés, However at this point in time the slasher genera was just starting to be born, Halloween had only came out a year before and not many films really capitalized on the slasher craze yet.Being intrigued by this I did some research. To All A Goodnight officially hit theaters on Jan 30th, 1988. Made on an estimated $70,000 budget according to IMDB.com. Friday The 13th hit theaters a little over 3 months after To All A Goodnight on May 9th, 1980. Made on an estimated $550,000 and grossing $5,816,321 it opening weekend. I could not find the box office for To All a Goodnight but I'm sure it didn't do anywhere near as good as Friday.

To All A Goodnight is a modest attempt at an early slasher. While the pacing is off and print is very bad it still has some very nice moments and still manages to get some viewing time by hardcore horror nerds during the holidays. For a decent promise and effects To All A Goodnight gets 2 out of 5 stabs. While it's not the worst holiday themed horror I've come across and it predates Silent Night, Deadly Night by almost 4 years...it just falls flat in a lot of areas. It's defiantly worth the watch but keep a backup plan, it could get boring. If your interested in watching this film it may be hard to track down a VHS, and you may be able to find it online, however GLP would suggest heading to our friends at VHSPS to get their 100% VHS transfer. They offer direct from the source VHS transfers, so no cut cable versions, or crappy bootlegs. No trailer to be found...sorry guys.

GLP Rating:

Silent Night (2012)

Ah, December...One of my favorite months of the year. Not just for the amazing gifts, but the family get togethers, Xmas lights, and the plethora of delicious foods and sweets. My favorite part about the x-mas season though, are the movies. No not the over played stuff like "Christmas Story" and that black and white one about the bell and angels wings. I'm talking the most depraved, and twisted fun X-mas movies out...HORROR XMAS! I'm talking Killer Santa's, twisted elves, and Xmas monsters alike. This December join GLP for "Gory Little Christmas" 4 weeks of X-mas horror.

Up first is Silent Night. This newly released slasher pic is a re-imagining of the classic controversial slasher known as Silent Night, Deadly Night. I have been anticipating this release for some time now, reading about it on many blogs and horror sites since its inception. I can say that its defiantly not better than the original, most if not all remakes never stand up, but its has a lot of very good qualities.

Basically, The story goes like this. I old mill town is gearing up for the holiday parade on Christmas Eve, when a sadistic killer suddenly starts picking off its inhabitants after they receive a lump of coal in the mail. The story is completely by the books, formulaic, and stale. Nothing new has been brought to the table in Silent Night, however, it didn't take away from the experience of watching it. The film boasts come nice kills, only one being memorable though. I will not spoil the good kill but I will say that it involves a half naked chick and a wood chipper.

The Acting is ok. Jamie King and Donal Logue are the only actors to positively right home about. Jamie does a good job with the role of Aubry, the towns deputy. She's good at what she does, and after sitting trough countless episodes of CW's Hart Of Dixie its refreshing to not see Jamie as the spoiled Lemon Brealand. Her performance too, is formulaic, as strong leading lady, however she is seem hardened from the beginning rather than making that transition over time. That was a nice change of pace for me. Donal Logue's small part was great, A cynical traveling Santa, with witty comebacks and a quick tongue. Malcolm McDowell is also in the film as the towns sheriff. I was in utter confusion with his role. It felt like the director literally told him to say whatever came to his mind..."Dont put Avocado on the burger!".......WHAT! I didn't know if they were trying to make him funny or make the sheriff out to be incompetent. It was hard to watch his scenes.

As I mentioned earlier the killers were nice, and the special effects we good too. Lots of blood and limbs being removed. Burnings, Stabbings, Electrocutions, Shootings, Impaling, and Meat Grinding run a muck in this slasher flick. They all look good, and should defiantly bring out the gore hound in all of us. The kills make the ride worth riding. The killer looks good, a typical Santa suit with a very creepy Santa mask...That mask looks so ominous. Silent Night's killer gets points for the mask.

I felt the setting was not indicative of a Midwestern town, The Midwest usually gets snow on or around Christmas Eve. At some points during the day shoots, it felt like the movie wasn't even in the winter time. A snow-laden setting would have honed in on the holiday feel. Night time shots helped equal out the off handed day shoots since you couldn't see much. The post production blueish filter tried to help give it the cold feeling but as I said earlier. It would have been nice seeing some fluffy white snow all over the place.

I had some issues with the ending, but that seems to be happening a lot recently. It is not a bad ending, but I thought it was kind of mediocre. Other than that I enjoyed the movie. Slasher fans like myself will more than likely love it, and most casual horror fans will think its ok. To the average, the movie is ultimately forgettable, thought hardcore fans of the genre should remember it at this point only time will tell. GLP gives Silent Night 3 out of 5 stabs for good kills and gore, and a strong female lead. If you want to know more about the film you can stalk the movies Facebook page. If you want to watch the film you can do so on demand thru Vudu or Amazon On-Demand or on Blu-Ray and DVD. View the trailer below.

 

GLP Rating: