Perfect cast and a good story

Overrated

A lot of fun.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

I went into this film expecting it to be another seasonal slasher along the same lines as Halloween and April Fools Day, but was surprised to find that it's actually a bizarre demonic horror films, sort of along the same lines as The Evil Dead. The good news stops there, however, because in spite of a decent idea that could have lead to a successful horror film; Bloody New Year just has far too many things wrong with it for it to really be a success. The plot takes the usual 'bunch of kids' base and we focus on a group of them that become shipwrecked and end up having to take refuge in an old abandoned hotel. Unfortunately for them, this is no ordinary old abandoned hotel and that soon becomes apparent when the place comes alive and several members of the group become demons. The film is directed by British director Norman J Warren who was also behind the moderately successful 'Terror' as well as the awful 'Satans Slave' in the late seventies. This film is just as trashy as those. The main influence would definitely seem to be Sam Raimi's masterpiece 'The Evil Dead' and the film directly rips it off when it gets into the second half with the noises the demons make. However, the rip off basically stops there; which is a big shame because if there's one thing this film needs, it's a big bucket of gore. Most of the stuff that goes on is not explained and it's all a bit mind numbing really. The film does pick up in the second half but not much and it's a definite case of 'too little too late'. Oh well. I wouldn't recommend anyone goes out of their way to find this film.

Teenagers seek shelter in an isolated hotel that is stuck in a time warp. They then notice weird things going on and the walls moving and that is when they start seeing ghost & zombies, who first stalk then kill the kids. Not very memorable, but with a fair amount of suspense and a better then usual premise. Rated R; Nudity, Sexual Situations, Violence.

If "Terror" was Norman J Warren's take on "Suspiria", then "Bloody New Year" is surely his version of "The Beyond". After a slow start, it changes from a British teens at the seaside affair, all big dippers and frustrated love triangles, to a delirious zombie movie - "Quadrophenia" crossed with Lucio Fulci. Considering the extremely low-budget, this is a creditable piece of filmmaking, with Warren achieving some neat shock effects. The young and unknown cast acquit themselves reasonably and there is some groovy organ music to spice up the final reel mayhem. The unexpected arrival of the fairground yobs adds to the fun.I do have two questions though! Norman is such a nice man so why does he go in for ultra-downbeat endings? And is there really a time-warp island,complete with drooling zombies, living lifts and ambulatory fishing nets,within sailing distance of Barry Island Funfair? Has the local Tourist Information Centre been informed? (Wait a minute, that's three questions).

Five shipwrecked teenagers, find shelter in an isolated hotel that is stuck in a time warp and plagued by zombies. Not awful, but not good. Film features decent enough effects and has some good creative moments and is scary and exciting at times. Premise is kind of weird though. 6 out of 10.