Scott and ARealGirl Herself discuss ten movies that take place on New Year’s Eve for your consideration. You can look up the movies posters as you listen, but we’ll share the descriptions here.
NOTE: These are not “ranked,” they are listed in the order we presented them in the episode.
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Happy New Year Junkies! We’ll see you in 2025!
1 Ocean’s Eleven (1960)
A gang of World War II 82nd Airborne veterans are recruited by Danny Ocean (Sinatra) and Jimmy Foster (Lawford) to rob five different Las Vegas casinos (Sahara, Riviera, Desert Inn, Sands, and The Flamingo) on a single night. The gang plans the elaborate New Year's Eve heist with the precision of a military operation. The George Clooney version doesn’t keep the NYE target date but is also fun. Both are rentable on Prime.
2 New Year’s Evil (1980)
During a New Year's Eve celebration, a Los Angeles disc jockey receives a phone call saying that when New Year's strikes in each time zone, someone will be murdered - and she will be the last one. Lonely women wanting to celebrate New Year's Eve become easy prey for a maniacal murderer whose New Year's resolution is to kill women at every stroke of midnight. Can be watched on Prime for free.
3 Happy New Year, Charlie Brown (1985)
Charlie Brown is obliged to attend Peppermint Patty's New Year's Eve party, even though he has to finish the novel "War and Peace". This film itself isn’t horror, but having to finish War and Peace in one night surely is! Watchable on Apple TV+.
4 Strange Days (1995)
Former policeman Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes) has moved into a more lucrative trade: the illegal sale of virtual reality-like recordings that allow users to experience the emotions and past experiences of others. While the bootlegs typically contain tawdry incidents, Nero is shocked when he receives one showing a murder. He enlists a friend, bodyguard Mace (Angela Bassett), to help find the killer -- and the two soon stumble upon a vast conspiracy involving the police force Nero once worked for. Available on HBO Max, we’ve included this movie at the recommendation of Empty Set’s own John Viscarra.
5 Peter's Friends (1992)
Six former college friends, with two new friends, gather for a New Year's Eve weekend reunion at a large English countryside manor after ten years to reminisce about the good times now long gone. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, written by Rita Rudner and starring Branagh, Hugh Laurie (House!), Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson (Love Actually)
6 Four Rooms (1995)
Four interlocking tales that take place in a fading hotel on New Year's Eve. Staring Tim Roth as the bellhop who ties the stories together, this cast is a who’s who of the eras stars: Madonna, Ione Skye, Lili Taylor, Jennifer Beals, Antonio Bandaras, Salma Hayak, Quentin Tarantino, Kathy Griffin, Marisa Tomei and even Bruce Willis. Watchable on Amazon, Google or Apple TV+.
7 Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)
A police sergeant must rally the cops and prisoners together to protect themselves on New Year's Eve, just as corrupt policeman surround the station with the intent of killing all to keep their deception in the ranks. Written in part by John Carpenter, starring Lawrence Fishburne, Ethan Hawke, Gabriel Byrne, Drea de Matteo (Sopranos)Brian Dennehy, Maria Bello, John Leguizamo, and even Ja Rule! Widely available!
8 Poseidon (2006)
After a huge tidal wave capsizes a luxury liner in the North Atlantic, individual survivors (Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Jacinda Barrett) band together and traverse a hazardous upside-down maze that they hope will take them to safety. As the wrecked vessel fills with water, the survivors must call on hidden strengths and skills to face the fight of their lives. Widely available!
9 Fruitvale Station (2013)
The story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008. Michael B. Jordan’s first major studio film role. Widely available!
10 Midnighters (2017)
New Year's Eve: when all the hopes of new beginnings come to life - except for Lindsey and Jeff Pittman, whose strained marriage faces the ultimate test after they cover up a terrible crime and find themselves entangled in a Hitchcockian web of deceit and madness. A New Years night becomes a long day's journey into dread for one unlucky couple in the nerve-twisting feature debut from The Walking Dead and Krypton director Julius Ramsay. Watchable on Prime.
