RATING: A-

Cineverse, Bloody Disgusting, and Screambox present a Blood Moon Pictures production. Directed by P.J. Starks and Eric Huskisson. Produced by P.J. Starks, Eric Huskisson, Jeffrey Reddick, Dave Sheridan, and Felissa Rose. Written by P.J. Starks. Cinematography by Alex Clark. Edited by 

Stars Lily-Claire Harvey, Turner Vaughn, Matthew Tichenor, Jesse McDonald, Jay Woolston, Alyssa Evelyn Rhoads, Sonya Delormier, Cody Webb, with Jeffrey Reddick, Hannah Fierman, Dave Sheridan, and Felissa Rose. 

With appearances by some horror legends, this new take on the New Year’s horror film is a well blended meshing of terror and comedy.

In West Virginia, reports of a serial killer nicknamed “The Doctor” has emerged and has committed a killing spree in a small town. However, before the police could find the Doctor, they disappeared. Meanwhile, in the town of Owensboro, Kentucky, the workers at Hooper Industries are gearing up for both the upcoming New Year’s party and a round of layoffs due to budget cuts.

As the holiday approaches, a wave of murders begin to pop up in town. Officer Flanagan, Leslie’s uncle, is in charge of the case. He begins to worry about Leslie when things begin to go awry. However, the Doctor has arrived and has been making his mark. At the New Year’s party, the Doctor begins to unleash its wrath upon the workers. Will Leslie and her colleagues be able to escape the terror or will they be next?

This is a wild and fun horror-comedy that pokes fun at the genre when it comes to tropes while at the same time, providing the bloody goodness that makes the genre what it is today. While the cast is mostly composed of a fresh crop of victims, one can’t help but cheer for the appearances of some veterans of the genre, especially when they hilariously play authoritative figures and have some of the best deaths in the film as well.

The film is mainly set within the confines of an industrial building wit glimpses of the town when it comes to the Doctor’s killing spree. The man in charge of the company is played by Dave Sheridan, known for his role as Deputy Doofy in the Scary Movie franchise and his second-in-command is Stephanie, played by the Sleepaway Camp queen, Felissa Rose. We also have Final Destination co-creator Jeffrey Reddick hilariously playing it up as HR representative Norman Perkins (yes, there are loads of horror film star/character references in this film). 

There is also a central character in Leslie, played by Lily-Claire Harvey. She finds herself dealing with personal feelings for recently divorced co-worker Brian, played by Turner Vaughn. There are also characters that tend to somewhat follow the tropes of the genre and co-director/writer P.J. Starks pokes fun at those tropes quite well and even delves into the predictable angles used in the film in a funny way.

Which brings us to the kills, which are very delightful. With Jesse McDonald doing double duty as worker Ned and the Doctor, we get to see some pretty awesome kills. Sheridan, Rose, and Reddick have three of the best deaths because there is quite a high body count in this film. The film does offer a few nice twists and turns that are somewhat jaw-dropping. 

New Fears Eve is a fun and gory film that pokes fun at the genre and offers some amazing kills and with the appearances of some great horror veterans, this is one for fans to definitely check out!