The comets are coming!! The comets are coming!!
Science fiction gets satirized in writer/director Thom Eberhardt’s fantastic Night of the Comet. Released the same year as David Lynch’s Dune and 2010, this entry into the genre was – while the reviews were favorable - perhaps too smart for the average audience as it underperformed when it should have done exactly the opposite.
Jumping on the Haley’s Comet bandwagon (as, in 1984, we were all obsessed with its return), Night of the Comet joins Tobe Hooper’s Lifeforce and Doctor Who’s Attack Of The Cybermen and turns our global fixation into cheesy entertainment. Yet, when compared to the other flicks of the era, this one should have been the smash hit.
In Eberhardt’s well-written script, a comet – that when last zoomed by our planet ended the reign of the dinosaurs – returns for another flyby. Two ass-kicking sisters, Regina (Catherine Mary Stewart) and Samantha (Kelli Maroney), spend the night in steel-lined rooms as the comet spreads across the night sky. They come out in the morning to find nothing left but piles of empty clothes and some fine red dust. Yes, crowds of people have simply turned to red powder.
Others – the people only partly exposed to the comet’s tail - have been turned into flesh-eating zombies. At a radio station that broadcasts an automated message, they group up with another survivor, Hector (Robert Beltran), and fight off the military, a lot of zombies, and the end of the world.
With a soundtrack that includes Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”, Night of the Comet is pure 1980’s fun. No, it’s not for nostalgia’s sake only; there are some great sequences showing off the cleverness of the decade. In fact, with its two leading ladies, it is a bit of a precursor to the female-led action flicks of today. Even in the early 80’s there was a faction of the movie-going public that wanted to see women with the smarts and to save us from the end of the world … with machine guns.
To be certain, this is a B-movie and, if you are really going to dig in a love it the way I do, you have to have a pretty good grasp on the genre. It’s low-budget and hokey as all hell but, man, when it gets to the grimy meat of the matter the entertainment value makes this more than just a museum piece. This is pure popcorn fun, one kernel at a time.
Night of the Comet, with its least likely sisterhood of heroines in recent memory, is terrifically witty and refreshingly unpretentious and zany science fiction.
Collector's Edition / 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Home Video Distributor: Shout! Factory
Available on Blu-ray - September 5, 2023
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Video: Native 4K; HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Blu-ray Disc; two-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A
It’s the first comet to buzz the planet in 65 million years, and everyone seems to be celebrating its imminent arrival. Everyone, that is, except Regina Belmont (Catherine Mary Stewart, The Last Starfighter) and her younger sister Samantha (Kelli Maroney, Chopping Mall), two Valley Girls who care more about fashion trends than the celestial phenomenon. But upon daybreak, when the girls discover that they’re the only residents of Los Angeles whom the comet hasn’t vaporized or turned into a zombie, they do what all good Valley Girls do…they go shopping! But when their day of malling threatens to become a day of mauling, these gals flee with killer zombies and blood-seeking scientists in hot pursuit!
Video:
Shout Factory’s 4K transfer looks pretty solid for a film shot in the heyday of cinematic mac and cheese. Some shots, due to the era of the day, are fuzzier than others but the image is reasonably well-defined. Colors are solid. Blacks are, too. Surprisingly, there's enough fine detail on display to make this seem revelatory for those used to the previous DVD release. Its neon palette looks terrific, too.
Audio:
While there is not much difference between them, the disc comes with two 24-bit DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks: one in stereo and the other remixed to 5.1.
Supplements:
Commentary:
- The release includes three audio commentaries: one with Stewart and Maroney, another from writer-director Thom E. Eberhardt and a third with production designer John Muto (Home Alone). The participants share several of the same anecdotes, so a group track may have been preferable, but they each offer a unique perspective.
Special Features:
Shout factory’s handling of this cult classic offers new interviews with Stewart, Maroney, Beltran and makeup effects designer David B. Miller (who worked on A Nightmare on Elm Street). All three interviews are terrific and well-worth a look. Rounding out the extras are a couple of photo galleries and the trailer.
DISC ONE (4K UHD):
- NEW 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
- In Dolby Vision (HDR 10 Compatible)
- Audio Commentary With Actors Kelli Maroney And Catherine Mary Stewart
- Audio Commentary With Director Thom Eberhardt
- Audio Commentary With Production Designer John Muto
DISC TWO (BLU-RAY):
- NEW 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
- Audio Commentary With Actors Kelli Maroney And Catherine Mary Stewart
- Audio Commentary With Director Thom Eberhardt
- Audio Commentary With Production Designer John Muto
- "Valley Girls At The End Of The World" – Interview With Kelli Maroney And Catherine Mary Stewart
- "The Last Man On Earth?" – Interview With Actor Robert Beltran
- "Curse Of The Comet" – Interview With Makeup Effects Creator David B. Miller
- Theatrical Trailer
- Galleries - Movie Stills And Behind-The-Scenes Photos
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Composite Blu-ray Grade
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MPAA Rating: PG-13.
Runtime: 95 mins
Director: Thom Eberhardt
Writer: Thom Eberhardt
Cast: Catherine Mary Stewart; Kelli Maroney; Robert Beltran
Genre: Comedy | Sci-fi
Tagline: It was the last thing on earth they ever expected.
Memorable Movie Quote: "I'm not crazy, I just don't give a fuck."
Theatrical Distributor: Atlantic Releasing
Official Site: https://shoutfactory.com/products/night-of-the-comet-collector-s-edition
Release Date: November 16, 1984
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: September 5, 2023.
Synopsis: A comet wipes out most of life on Earth, leaving two Valley Girls fighting against cannibal zombies and a sinister group of scientists.
