Night of the Comet (1984) Movie Review
Written By: K.M.C
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Thom Eberhardt
Producers: Andrew Lane, Wayne Crawford
Writer: Thom Eberhardt
Date Released: November 16, 1984
Cast:
Catherine Mary Stewart as Regina Belmont
Kelli Maroney as Samantha “Sam” Belmont
Robert Beltran as Hector Gomez
Sharon Farrell as Doris
Mary Woronov as Audrey White
Geoffrey Lewis as Dr. Carter
Peter Fox as Dr. Wilson
et. al.
Rating = 4/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
As Regina and her boyfriend Larry spend the night in the steel-lined projection booth, crowds across the world gather to witness the tail end of a comet that the world hasn’t seen in 65 million years. It turns out that the comet was last seen at the same time the dinosaurs would have gone extinct. But, little do the people know that they would suffer the same fate as the dinosaurs did. At some point, Larry heads outside of the theatre and is attacked by a zombie. After Larry doesn’t return, Regina goes out looking for him only to be attacked by the same zombie that attacked and killed him. As she escapes, she starts to realize that the comet may have had devastating effects on the world. Regina hops on Larry’s bike and rides through what appears to be a reddish haze covering the sky while passing piles of dust and clothes. With no one to turn to, Regina returns home in hopes of finding someone and to her surprise, her younger sister Sam is alive. Later, Regina and Sam meet up with another survivor, Hector at a local radio station. Together, the three survivors must try and survive this new world.
Gore Factor
Night of the Comet (1984) is primarily centered on the aspect of post-apocalyptic type of scenario. The film is less centered on zombies and as such, there is little blood or gore that is exhibited throughout this film. However, there is one notable zombie scene which takes place in the beginning of the film. After that, the rest of the scenes are just explosions and special effects that do not brutally harm anyone.
The Grave Review
Watching Night of the Comet is like watching a comic book come to life with its colorful imagery, witty writing, and plot-twisting story line. At first, the audience may think that they are in for a typical 80’s teen scream. Yet as the film progresses, the scenes become more aesthetically pleasing and the plot thickens with twists and turns that invoke many emotions towards the characters and their scenarios. There are some cheesy action-like lines that the protagonists say here and there, but that’s exactly what stitches the film together to uphold it’s comic aesthetic. The production designer, John Muto purposely made the film have a comic book look by having the characters wear specific colors to imitate their personalities.
Aside from the stunning imagery, the acting is what keeps the audience’s attention from beginning to end. The characters are believable, even to the core of their problems, big and small. The star actress of the film wasn’t the main protagonist, Catherine Stewart, but rather the supporting actress, Kelli Maroney. The clever plot is one that made each character have a standout moment where the actors could prove their full acting potential.
Overall, this is a film I would recommend for both comic book and horror movie fanatics.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Night of the Comet (1984) four graves out of five graves.
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