Night of the Comet (1984)

A comet wipes out most of life on Earth, leaving two Valley Girls fighting against cannibal zombies and a sinister group of scientists.

Director:

Thom Eberhardt

Writer:

Thom Eberhardt

Stars:

Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, Robert Beltran

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Beltran	...	Hector Gomez
Catherine Mary Stewart	...	Regina Belmont
Kelli Maroney	...	Samantha Belmont
Sharon Farrell	...	Doris Belmont
Mary Woronov	...	Audrey White
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Dr. Carter
Peter Fox	...	Dr. Wilson
John Achorn	...	Oscar
Michael Bowen	...	Larry Dupree
Devon Ericson	...	Minder
Lissa Layng	...	Davenport
Ivan E. Roth	...	Willy
Janice Kawaye	...	Sarah
Chance Boyer	...	Brian
Andrew Boyer	...	Rogers

Storyline

It's the first comet to buzz our planet Earth in 65 million years, and everyone seems to be celebrating its imminent arrival. Everyone except Regina Belmont, and her younger sister Samantha, two Valley Girls who care more about fashion trends than celestial phenomena. But upon daybreak, when the girls discover that they are the only residents of Los Angeles whom the comet hasn't vaporized or turned into a zombie, they would do what all Valley Girls do - they go shopping. However, with the help of a friendly truck driver, the girls save Earth and escape from flesh-eating zombies and blood-seeking scientists in hot pursuit.

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Plot Keywords:

post apocalypse | sister sister relationship | radio station | comet | survival | 

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Taglines:

The last time it came, the dinosaurs disappeared.

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 November 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Teenage Mutant Horror Comet Zombies

Filming Locations:

19174 Dunure Place, San Fernando Valley, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,580,578, 18 November 1984

Gross USA:

$14,418,922

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,418,922

Company Credits

Production Co:

Coleman/Roseblatt Productions, Film Development Fund

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The production designer, John Muto, used what he describes as a "comic book" sensibility for the film's overall look. Characters were given specific colors, with the bad guys in blues and grays and the sisters in brighter colors. Regina's colors were deeper than Samantha's to reflect Regina being more intellectual than Samantha, and Samantha was wackier than Regina. For example, Samantha's cheerleading outfit is magenta and turquoise.

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Goofs

On the morning after the comet when Regina and her boyfriend wake up in the projection booth, Regina is shown alone in the sleeping bag. It appears as though she is topless as there are no signs of her wearing a shirt or having anything over her shoulders. After a quick cut away to her boyfriend, Regina, still in the sleeping bag, can be seen wearing a "tank top" type of shirt as the shoulder straps are now visible. There was not enough time for her to put on a shirt nor did she leave the sleeping bag.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: Since before recorded time, it had swung through the universe in an elliptical orbit so large that its very existence remained a secret of time and space; but now in the last few years of the 20th century, the visitor was returning. The citizens of earth would get an extra Christmas present this year as their planet orbited through the tail of the comet. Scientists predicted a light show of stellar proportions, something not seen on earth for 65 million years, indeed not since the ...

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Connections

References Tommy (1975)

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Soundtracks

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Written by Edmund Hamilton Sears (uncredited) and Richard Storrs Willis (uncredited)
Performed by Jerry Sharell
Produced by Don Perry and Bob Summers

User Reviews

It's valley girls vs. zombies and evil scientists tonight on Schlock Wars!!

Cheesy, but enjoyable satire is like the poor man's version of 28 Days Later (2002) with a big chunk of '80's vibe for flavor!

Comet eliminates the worlds population, leaving surviving sisters to fend against a group of demented scientists.

While many peg Night of the Comet as a zombie picture, and granted two or three zombies do show up along the way, this film really has much more in common with the old B sci-fi movies of the 1950s. In fact, one could make a good case that the film is meant to be a comical parody of those old schlock films, after all it does have a nice comic book feel! From any view, this is an entertaining film even with its silly moments. It manages to stir up a few chills along with the laughs.

The films cast is only decent, but their performances do hold their own. The special FX, mostly the zombies, are pretty decent. The music score is composed mainly of electronic tunes that perfect that great '80's feel!

For those seeking a bit of fun humor with their horror, Night of the Comet isn't a bad choice.

*** out of ****