NIGHT OF THE COMET MOVIE
NIGHT OF THE COMET FULL

Not much else is known about the Night of the Comet remake for the time being, but DeadlineвЂ™s report determines that the film will indulge in its horror and sci-fi sensibilities a little more than any of its more comedic elements. WhatвЂ™s even better is whoвЂ™s been tapped to get the ball rolling.ДЄccording to Deadline, filmmaker Roxanne Benjamin, who is best-known for penning and helming creepy segments in the anthologies Southbound and XX, will write a new version of Thom EberhardtвЂ™s horror-comedy. The fantastic women-centric вЂ™80s cult classic Night of the Comet is getting redone by Orion Pictures, the company behind the upcoming ChildвЂ™s Play reboot and the Bill & Ted sequel.

вЂњThe whole burden of civilization has fallen upon us.The time seems forever ripe for the 1980s and horror remakes these days, but hereвЂ™s an extra fun one for everyone to chew on.

NIGHT OF THE COMET FULL

And sure, the film is definitely a few bricks short of a full load, but that just allows it to sprint towards the finish line even faster. It has an unmistakable nostalgic vibe with a progressive attitude.

NIGHT OF THE COMET MOVIE

Featuring some gorgeously red tinted wide shots, a screeching score so typical of the times, and an irrationally entertaining scene where the sisters raid a mall to Cyndi LauperвЂ™s вЂњGirls Just Want to Have Fun,вЂќ Night of the Comet is the kind of late-night movie youвЂ™d watch at a drive-in or catch in a dive theater. But somehow writer/director Thom Eberhardt used these moments to create a style thatвЂ™s both smart and dumb, natural yet so totally manmade. ThereвЂ™s also a subplot with scientists that doesnвЂ™t work because itвЂ™s so damn undeveloped, and the ending is as cheesy as they come. It was one of BeltranвЂ™s first acting gigs, but I have to say that his performance here is one of the worst IвЂ™ve ever seen in a film itвЂ™s more frightening than anything else in the movie. The movie loses some of its edge when the girls meet fellow survivor Hector ( Robert Beltran). Night of the Comet has a familiar conceit, like a less scientific The Omega Man with a few valley girls desperately running around Southern California in search of help.В ItвЂ™s a hit or miss affair, but even then, the low points are more intriguing than they are boring. For whatever inexplicable reason, the comet wiped out the folks in the streets, turned others into temporary zombies, and only left those completely sheltered unharmed. SheвЂ™s more concerned with pouring her breakfast cereal than with the strangely empty house. Reggie finds Sam back at home, oblivious to the outside events. ThereвЂ™s no one, nor a single body, in sight. Then Reggie awakens and stumbles upon piles of clothes in the streets, lying there with mounds of red dust scattered about. Her little sister Sam ( Kelli Maroney) camps out in the backyard shed after a tiff with their stepmother. Reggie Belmont ( Catherine Mary Stewart) spends the night in a theaterвЂ™s projection booth with her boyfriend (a tremendous little detail is a poster for 1932вЂ™s Red Dust hanging on the wall). Folks are partying in the streets, hosting viewing parties, looking up at the sky in anticipation as the Earth travels through the tail of a comet. Taking place in the last few weeks before Christmas, Night of the Comet feels a lot more like a New Years Eve story. Being super silly and a little lax is part of the DNA, and this cult classic owns those traits as it tells a familiar story with just enough seriousness and farce to make it worth watching, and maybe even revisiting. ItвЂ™s a stupid, rather air-headed affair, and itвЂ™s easy to look past those inequities because the film never shies away from this fact. An ultra low-budget B-movie that doesnвЂ™t pretend to be anything other than an ultra low-budget B-movie, Night of the Comet stands out as both a decently conceived science fiction story which also playfully mocks the rest of the genreвЂ™s entries from the early 80вЂ™s.

Night of the comet