Night of the Comet Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: After a mysterious comet disintegrates most of humanity, two sisters must contend with the remaining zombies, psychos, and scientists.

Review: Is there such a thing as too much '80s cheese? Nah. If you want a movie that essentially epitomizes the goofiness of the era, you will not be disappointed with "Night of the Comet." But it's more than that--there is the '80s magic, I've mentioned before, that makes the film fun and entertaining. While the story tries to incorporate more ideas than the director could handle, they still manage to pull off a few surprises. Undoubtedly, there are flaws--and they are aplenty--but the overall production is impressive given the paltry budget. Modern audiences, or someone watching it for the first time, probably won't appreciate it, but, for me and anyone old enough to remember, this plays heavy on the nostalgia.

From the moment you see the main chick, Reg, trying to dominate the scoreboard of "Tempest," you should know what kind of movie you've gotten yourself into. By the way, any '80s dork worth his salt should immediately feel a sense of deja vu since Reg is played by Catherine Mary Stewart who also starred in "The Last Starfighter" earlier that same year; and, of course, an arcade cabinet was crucial to that plot. Just an interesting tidbit worth addressing. Anyway, Reg and her sister, Sam, become one of the few survivors of a cataclysmic event due to an ancient comet that also seemingly killed the dinosaurs. The film claims that if you were enclosed by steel you avoided the effects, but, seriously, a lot of people should have survived under those conditions. Nevertheless, the...uhh...energy, I guess, of the comet has disintegrated anyone exposed with the exception of those who had a smaller dose. Those individuals disintegrate slower and become crazed zombies. Yes, this movie tried to go balls to walls which you have to love.

Despite being cliched Valley girls, Reg and Sam were trained by their military father to fight and use weapons which comes in handy during an apocalyptic scenario. The sisters eventually meet a love interest for Reg as they attempt to make contact with other survivors. During these events we are shown a science base that seemingly knew the effects of the comet in advance. At first they hype this one bitch scientist as the bad girl, but, as the story progresses, we learn the opposite is true--the bitch is trying to protect the survivors of the comet. The audience is meant to believe survivors are being taken to the base for safety, but the scientists were idiotically exposed to the comet and want blood from survivors to craft a cure. In other words, the scientists are selfishly plotting to kill the last healthy humans in a vane effort to save themselves which could possibly doom everyone. I do like this little twist, and it works well. With the assistance of the love interest and that bitch scientist, Reg and Sam manage to foil the scientists' scheme and blow them up for good measure. At the end, Reg, Sam, the love interest, and two kids are all that's left until they meet a foreshadowed character dubbed "DMK." This part is kind of dumb since DMK managed to get on "Tempest's" scoreboard earlier to Reg's dismay. I think it would have made more sense if DMK turned out to be her love interest, but he apparently gets with Sam. Oh well.

What really seals the deal here is the soundtrack, the cornball nature of the characters, and the over the top situation coupled with how the characters handle it. On top of that, there is the fact that the movie is so '80s, from the sounds to the lights to the sets. Like...I don't how else to explain it--you kind of get the full gamut of how it would be; even if you find the story underwhelming, you gotta at least appreciate this little slice of the '80s. Setting all of that aside, the main detriments I could see being levied would be lame line delivery, shoddy acting, and the pacing is definitely uneven. If you don't give a flying fuck about the '80s, you will probably find little to love here. However, if you enjoy end of the world movies and/or love this time period, you should be pleasantly surprised with the level of fun involved. This might not be on par with the likes of "The Monster Squad," but it's certainly worthy of acknowledgement in its own right.

Notable Moment: When Sam has her little (wet) dream within a dream. I kind of liked the idea of zombie cops too.

Final Rating: 6.5/10