What could go wrong on New Year’s Eve? Maybe not much in the real world, but in horror movies, the day’s conditions tend to be perfect for evil to thrive. With lots of crowds staying out past midnight, serial killers and ghosts normally have plenty of prey. Those staying at home aren’t safe either. Noise and the presence of more people outside mean that it is unlikely anyone will notice when an attack occurs inside a house.
The jovial mood is also ideal for horror, as disasters tend to be more impactful when people are at their happiest. Additionally, there’s snow, a perfect canvas for blood. So what are some of the best horror movies set on New Year’s Eve? The following films capture the festive spirit while still delivering plenty of scares in creative ways. Better yet, they are well acted, directed, and produced.
‘New Year’s Evil’ (1980)
On New Year’s Eve, LA punk radio DJ Diane Sullivan (Roz Kelly) starts an early and lengthy live countdown only for a caller identifying himself as “Evil” to phone in with a chilling vow: he will kill one “naughty” woman in each US time zone at the stroke of midnight. The killer thus starts committing the murders while repeatedly calling the station to taunt the DJ. Soon, Diane discovers the deadly truth: she isthe final target. Will she survive in New Year’s Evil?
Great horror movies need a competent villain, and New Year’s Evil has one. Mr. “Evil” really runs circles around the police. Overall, lots of tension, music, and color fill this picture, which is certain to enthrall grown-ups. Be ready for one of the most mind-blowing horror twists of all time. Besides that, there is a moral lesson in the proceedings. Roz Kelly is wonderful in the lead role, and the supporting cast matches her panic, if not her million-watt fear. Also, look for John London and Jennie Anderson in minor roles.
‘The Eve’ (2015)
Why do horror characters like isolating themselves? In The Eve, four friends travel to the remote island of Martha’s Vineyard to usher in the New Year, hoping for a fun night of partying and reflection. None of that happens. As tensions rise, an unforeseen figure starts haunting them. It soon becomes apparent that one of them might be linked to a sinister, supernatural force that appears whenever the year is about to turn.
The Eve makes an impression not by employing the kind of CGI gimmickry that has become de rigueur in modern times but merely through some of the most effective art design, sound, and camera tricks. This cavalcade of jump scares is clearly the horror flick’s main draw, and it certainly puts other 2000s B-movies to shame. You’ll never tune out. You’ll be right there with the characters as they methodically seek answers to all the strange happenings around them.
‘Terror Train’ (1980)
At a college fraternity’s New Year’s Eve party, awkward student, Kenny Hampson (Derek MacKinnon), is lured into a bedroom under the promise of wild sex from one of the hottest girls, only for him to discover a corpse stolen from the medical school. The prank damages him mentally, leaving him committed to a psychiatric hospital. Three years later, the same students who pranked Kenny hold a New Year’s Eve costume party aboard a train. Then a killer emerges. Guess who it is? Well, the victims don’t find out until much later in Terror Train.
With a literate, nuanced screenplay by the talented T. Y. Drake, this taut, tight slasher flick is distinguished by the stunning work of Derek MacKinnon as a revenge-minded killer who patiently waits for his crime. The movie’s concept was based on an idea executive producer Daniel Grodnik had to make something similar to Halloween. But even though Kenny never became an iconic slasher villain like Michael Myers, he’ll wow you. The setting helps too, as the victims are limited to little or no escape routes.
‘End of Line’ (2007)
End of Line throws us right into terror. A Christian doomsday cult is consuming and distributing hallucinogen-laced muffins that cause people to see visions of flashlight-eyed demons. They plan to massacre non-believers throughout the city, and New Year’s Eve presents the perfect opportunity for them to do so, especially when a subway train gets derailed.
When it was first released, End of Line was met with a barrage of flak from various critics, who were falling over themselves to reprove a film that was perceived as hopelessly dull and plumbing the depths of standard entertainment. Opinions later changed, with many acknowledging how the dialogue’s exquisite poetry is perfectly complemented and boosted by the efforts of the actors, who collectively deserve as much credit as director Maurice Devereaux for the film’s extraordinary visual, sound, and emotional impact. Ilona Elkin is the star, and she is buoyed by solid support from Nicholas Weight, as well as fine work by Tim Rozon.
‘Ghostkeeper’ (1981)
In Ghostkeeper, three friends decide to spend their New Year’s Eve on a snowmobiling trip in the Rocky Mountains. After getting caught in a blizzard, they seek shelter at a decaying, abandoned hotel. Inside, the hostile caretaker hints at a dark past, but our now-worried characters cannot leave until morning. As the night unfolds, they encounter a strange old woman and her sons, all of whom are up to no good.
The studio made a big splash with this brutal psychological horror thriller (it was shot on a shoestring) with a powerful ending no one could stop talking about. Beyond the jump scares and the surface titillation, director James Makichuk carefully portrays the struggle between choice and luck and more rational issues of kindness and malice. Many scenes will haunt you, especially one where a character’s throat gets slit, and their body is stored in a freezer. Overall, it’s impressive just how neat Ghostkeeper is, considering that the majority of the cast were locally-hired actors in the Calgary area. They all do a phenomenal job.
‘Antisocial’ (2013)
All initially seems well in Antisocial as a group of college friends gathers for a house party on New Year’s Eve. But as the night unfolds, a deadly and highly contagious virus begins spreading, causing the infected to become wildly aggressive. As friends attack each other and trust vanishes, the students do their best to figure out how to flee. Meanwhile, another student chronicles the proceedings online via a social media site named Social Redroom.
Most of Antisocial’s scenes score highly on the scare-o-meter, and, surprisingly, cuts weren’t imposed upon them by censors. Unlike many horror films of this kind, which often make up for their lack of a solid storyline by bombarding the spectators with an inexorable barrage of jump scares, this flick has magnificence in every production aspect. Director Cody Calahan wows audiences by employing long takes and complex gliding camera movements, a technique refined by celebrated filmmakers. This, complemented by the atmospheric lighting and creative use of shadows, gives the Canadian film a distinctive dreamlike feel.
‘Bloody New Year’ (1987)
Inspired by the real-life pollution of a British island as the result of a failed disease control experiment, Bloody New Year opens with a group of teenagers seeking refuge at a mysterious seaside hotel on New Year’s Eve after their boat breaks down. Unknown to them, the hotel is stuck in a time loop caused by a deadly nuclear accident that occurred years earlier. Before they can settle, ghosts start terrorizing them.
With its anti-hospitality premise and its painterly eye for the Scottish seaside, Bloody New Year remains a terrifying supernatural horror with a folksy appeal. It’s hard to imagine a more viciously hopeless portrait of fate than the one that’s presented here, in the cruelest, disturbing, and most pungent tones. You’ll be pissed to know that director Norman J. Warren had envisaged a bloodier scene for the denouement, where a character’s head gets sliced off with an outboard motor propeller. This had to be toned down so the British Board of Film Classification would award a 15 certificate instead of an 18. Still, the movie is as terrifying as they come.
‘The Signal’ (2007)
It’s New Year’s Eve in The Signal, but nothing’s okay. A mysterious transmission is broadcasting through all forms of technology, causing city residents to become homicidal. As the dark and spooky night progresses, the protagonists go out of their way to stay alive. But it won’t be so easy with all the paranoia. Who will save the day?
The Signal stands apart from all other 2000s horror films, as it is neither expressionistic nor linear in its design. Rather, it employs subtly unique stylizations while tapping into various genres. There’s no doubt that the film would be unbearably bleak if it lacked the few inspired moments of black comedy. These offer much-needed respite from the jumpy, doom-laden plot. All the performers shine, too, especially Anessa Ramsey as Mya, a woman who is cheating on her husband.