The Tomb of Terror – Night of the Comet (1984)

The introductions to these other characters are what starts to lead the film off the rails. We are still entertained by the adventures of Regina and Samantha in post-apocalyptic L.A., but after the mid-point of the film they seem to move from situation to situation without a real plot to hang it all on. At first, there are some zombie threats, then a gang of punks attacks them, and finally they are kidnapped for experimentation by the evil scientists. It’s pretty good, but it says a lot when the best sequence in the film sticks to the simple formula of “what if two valley girls were the only people left on earth?” The scene features Samantha reflecting on the people she’ll never see again. She grieves for her friends and for the guy who always flirted with her but will now never get to ask her out. In an effort to cheer up her sister, Regina takes her on a shopping trip to the mall. As Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” plays on the soundtrack, we see the sisters forget their troubles over the course of a fun montage.

Catherine Mary Stuart and Kelli Maroney are great in the lead roles. Even though they are playing self-centered materialistic valley girls, we grow to care about them over the course of their adventure. Writer/director Thom Eberhardt delivers a script full of hilarious dialogue (when a doctor asks Regina if she’s pregnant, she replies “Nope. Thought I was, once.”) that always stays true to the characters. Near the end of the film, some children are introduced, and I was worried that the sisters would become typical heroes protecting the kids. They are, of course, good people at heart, but that doesn’t mean they like these particular kids. When the youngest child asks a ridiculous question, Regina says “Don’t be stupid.”

It’s no surprise that Eberhardt would go on to a career as a comedy director after his brief stint in horror. Although he never had any gigantic hits, one interesting thing about Eberhardt’s career is that he always had great ideas that were copied years later. His first film, 1983’s Sole Survivor, told the story of a plane crash survivor being stalked by death itself. Hello, Final Destination? He followed up Comet with The Night Before. This comedy featured Keanu Reeves waking up in the street with no memory of the previous evening, his car and prom date (Lori Loughlin, Aunt Becky from Full House) both missing. He ends up scouring the city trying to find the girl and figure out what exactly happened that made him forget everything. And you thought The Hangover was original.

At the end of the day, Night of the Comet isn’t a great film. It features a unique premise and two very good leading ladies, but doesn’t maintain the pace of the first half. It works as a comedy, but fails as a horror film. When Regina first awakens in the projection booth, it seems as if we’re going to see a zombie film. But once the first attack is over, we only see a couple of zombies before they are completely forgotten about. Never mind the fact that it isn’t established why most people turned to dust from the comet while others just became zombies. Considering the bad exposition that explained why the survivors are still around, maybe it’s good we never got that explanation scene. I liked the world that was established and had a fun time watching the characters in it; I just wish their story had gone to some more interesting places. But then again, would a film featuring only the two sisters be entertaining beyond the 45-minute mark, either? All complaints aside, this imperfect film is definitely recommended for those looking for that fun 80s or (sort of) zombie film they’ve never seen.

Final Grade: B-

DVD Releases:

Night of the Comet was a long-requested title on DVD. Fans who couldn’t get a hold of the out of print VHS copies were signing online petitions for years before MGM finally released it on disc in 2007. Although the anamorphic widescreen transfer looked good, there were no special features whatsoever included on the disc.

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John is the co-host of The Macguffin Podcast, lover of 80s teen and horror films, and an independent filmmaker.

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