“Valley girls at the end of the world” was the pitch by writer-director Thom Eberhardt for 1984’s NIGHT OF THE COMET. An early recipient of the then novel PG-13 rating, the film in its day was something of a legend among youngsters (this one included) due to the fact that it involved much of the world’s adult population dying off and leaving teenagers to fend for themselves, a premise played up in the trailers and TV spots (which touted “The night the teenagers ruled the world!”).
NIGHT OF THE COMET (Trailer)
NIGHT OF THE COMET was widely praised by critics, due largely (I’d guess) to the fact that it contains little in the way of bloodletting and none of the sexual content popular at the time. It took audiences much longer to catch onto the film’s charms; released the same day (November 16, 1984) as A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, it took several decades for NIGHT OF THE COMET to find the enthusiastic cult following it currently enjoys.
Kelli Maroney, Catherine Mary Stewart
Celebrations are underway due to the reappearance of a comet that was last seen 65 million years earlier. Reggie (Catherine Mary Stewart) is an 18-year-old movie theater usher who spends the night in the steel walled projection booth banging the projectionist (Michael Bowen), while her sister Samantha (Kelli Maroney), following a blow-up with her stepmother (Sharon Farrell), sleeps in a steel shed. Thus they’re spared from the effects of the comet, which leaves a reddish tinge in the sky and turns virtually everyone else to piles of dust or into bloodthirsty zombies.
Among the other survivors are the Latino everyman Hector (Robert Beltran), a pair of preteen children (Janice Kawaye and Chance Boyer) and some unscrupulous scientists (whose ranks include Geoffrey Lewis and Mary Woronov) determined to use all the above as research subjects. This disrupts Reggie and Samantha’s carefree existence, but has the effect of throwing them together with Hector and the children, and making them cognizant of their role in rebuilding society.
In contrast to most post-apocalyptic films, this one is quite subdued, with a lightly comedic tone and an underachieving narrative that climaxes with an extremely lackluster action showdown. The sense of apocalyptic devastation is reasonably well carried off by Thom Eberhardt, with powerful scenes of the protagonists cavorting in a completely deserted downtown LA contrasting quite sharply with the cheap-looking interior settings (the movie theater where Reggie works is, in a cheeky touch, festooned with posters for appropriately titled films like RED DUST and DEATH RACE 2000).
The one area where NIGHT OF THE COMET excels (outside the eighties nostalgia factor) is the acting. EATING RAOUL’s Robert Beltran (the designated movie star) makes little impression in a role he insisted on turning into a bland “everyman,” but Catherine Mary Stewart and Kelli Maroney (soap opera veterans both) go above and beyond, creating enormously appealing characters and a sisterly bond that feels genuine.
Robert Beltran
As was characteristic of movies at the time, NIGHT OF THE COMET features a pop-heavy soundtrack, but aside from Chris Farren’s rollicking “Whole World is Celebratin’” (which plays over the opening credits and was featured quite heavily in the trailer) the tunes are pretty forgettable.
Whole World is Celebratin’ by Chris Farren (Soundtrack)
Vital Statistics
NIGHT OF THE COMET
Atlantic Entertainment Group
Director: Thom Eberhardt
Producers: Wayne Crawford, Michael Rosenblatt
Screenplay: Thom Eberhardt
Cinematography: Arthur Albert
Editing: Fred Stafford
Cast: Robert Beltran, Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, Sharon Farrell, Mary Woronov, Geoffrey Lewis, Peter Fox, John Achorn, Michael Bowen, Devon Ericson, Lissa Layng, Ivan E. Roth, Janice Kawaye, Chance Boyer, Andrew Boyer, Stanley Brock, Marc Poppel, Raymond Lynch