In the horror genre, there have been many films that have taken place on different holidays. We’ve seen them take place on Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even Valentine’s Day. Writer/director P.J. Starks teams up with co-director Eric Huskisson to take a unique approach with New Fears Eve by setting it around New Years. The result is a brutal, entertaining, yet underwhelming callback to old school 80s slashers.
The plot of New Fears Eve is pretty simple. There’s been a string of murders lately by a masked killer known as “The Doctor,” whose appearance resembles the “plague doctor” from centuries ago with the prominent bird-like mask. While that might sound silly, the costume does have an eerie look to it, especially in the more distant shots. Anyway, the film centers on a trio of friends: Leslie, Brian, and Moses, who become targeted by this mysterious killer and must survive the ensuing New Year’s Eve bloodbath.
The main highlight of the film is the creative and brutal kills. There are plenty of kills, and the filmmakers somehow find a way to out-do the previous kill every time in terms of sheer shock value. It’s the primary reason why the film manages to stay entertaining throughout its 90-minute runtime.
Unfortunately, the positives stop there. Like I mentioned previously, the plot of New Fears Eve is simple, yet too simple. The characters aren’t fleshed out enough (no pun intended), which makes it hard to get attached or even care about them at all. It also doesn’t help that the acting is wooden, with shaky dialogue partly to blame for that. There’s also the fact that, without going into spoilers, the film sidesteps a proper ending to set up a sequel instead. That would have been fine if the ending was better and not so abrupt.
All in all, New Fears Eve is a pretty mixed bag. The creative nature of the kills is a highlight that will entertain audiences for sure, and the killer’s look is unique and creepy. Unfortunately though, the film feels underdeveloped and ultimately underwhelming. That being said, the film knows what it is and leans into it, so if you’re looking for brutal, entertaining kills, New Fears Eve certainly delivers in that department.
Rating: 2/5
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