On a balmy, 1980's night in L.A.,
crowds gather to watch the sky as earth passes through the tail of a
comet. They are expecting a spectacular meteor shower, but get more
than they bargained for. Everyone watching gets turned into dust.
Those who are only partially exposed become zombies. Only people who
were completely shielded by metal are saved. This includes Regina
(Catherine Mary Stewart), her sister Samantha (Kelli Maroney), and a
few others, who must now navigate this (almost) empty world.
1984's “Night of the Comet” is a
sci-fi-ish cult classic along the lines of “Repo Man” and “The
Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension,”
and it succeeds for the same reasons those films succeed. It doesn't
take itself too seriously and spend a lot of time trying to make its
wacky premise make sense. On the other hand, this isn't some
self-aware parody, constantly winking at the audience to let us know
that it is in on the joke. “Night of the Comet” is a B-movie
that worked hard for its “B” and is proud of it. It isn't trying
to be an “A” movie, but it doesn't try to make fun of the B-movie
genre either. It just puts its half-baked, low-budget story out
there and says, “This is the best we could do on $700,000.”
It turns out, their best is not all
that bad. The film is shot quite beautifully, with colorful shots of
the sky against L.A. skyscrapers, and expansive shots of the empty
cityscape. (They shot many of these scenes on Christmas Day, when
downtown L.A. was relatively empty.) The acting is nothing to write
home about, but then the script doesn't really demand much of these
actors. They run here, they get shot at there, they show a little
leg in this scene here, and everyone goes home happy.
3 stars out of 5
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