Horror Short Review: New Year (2023)

There aren’t many holidays and events that ACMofficial haven’t used to craft a horror short, and New Years is no different. Written and directed by Alex Magaña, the short stars Valentina Gomez and Eliseo Miranda.

They play Emily and Daniel, respectively, and are ringing in the New Year together when, as the clock hits midnight, the power goes off. It’s not a power outage as the neighbours clearly still have power, so Daniel goes to check the breaker box. Which does turn out to be the problem, but it looks like it was tampered with.

Something further confirmed when Emily hears creaking upstairs and behind her, a masked individual rises from behind the couch. It’s a New Year’s home invasion and if you want to know what happens next, you’ll have to check it out yourself below.

It’s a classic type of horror that calls to a universal fear, your home being invaded by violent and twisted individuals. The place we should feel safest, being far from that. This is what New Year does well, even if it’s not done in the most exciting of ways. What elevates this short is the acting of Valentina Gomez, Alex Magaña’ usual skill behind the camera, and an ending that gets a bit ‘purgy’. It’s worth a watch and will certainly have you latching your doors this New Year’s Eve.