Night of the Comet, 1984

 

It’s 11 days until Christmas in Southern California in the mid 1980s, and a comet, not seen in our solar system in 65 million years returns to be visible from Earth. In typical 1984 fashion, ‘Comet Viewing Parties’ are everywhere!

18-yearold Valley Girl/military brat, Regina, decides instead to spend the night with her shallow coworker/boyfriend, Larry, in the projection booth of the theatre where the two work.

In the morning, (after ‘The Night of the Comet,’) Larry goes out looking for someone he illegally rented a film to. Streets are all empty, except for clothes and red dust. Then suddenly, Larry gets attacked. 

Great attention to detail: Look at the fake nails!

Locked out now, Reggie goes out looking for Larry and gets attacked by the same assailant. Reg karates the thing off, and jumps on Larry’s motorbike and heads home, only to find her her pep-squad kid sis completely oblivious to the apocalypse. How could have stopped when the DJ on the radio said nothing and is acting like everything is fine?

So, the two decide to shift their shoulder pads and big hair to the local radio station to find out. Here they meet Hector, and after a gunpoint standoff and a racial slur or two, the sisters team up with the equally fluffy-haired trucker. After they talk things over, (and with a little romantic tension,) Hector decides to go see if his family is still alive. So, with his tight Jordaches and big ol' aviators, he splits, promising to return soon.

Cut to a military bunker of scientists and survivalists. They are working on a method to cure, (or at least slow,) the effects on those who weren’t vaporized by the comet. Scientists argue over treatments, and the wisdom of retrieving other survivors, and eventually reach  a decision to go collect the girls, (who broadcasted their whereabouts over the radio!!!)

The two factions meet up, and the vast differences in their agendas becomes more evident.

Okay. Enough with the synopsis. Lets talk zombies. Well, they are very minimal! Apparently, the Zombism is the end stage of a decaying process. This was contracted by those with only minimal exposure to the comet’s effects, (while those in steel shelters were apparently safe!) The Z’s can talk and think, but they still hunt for the living. They aren't necessarily dead, shambolic, or even contagious! So, the word 'zombie' might not even apply!

A good budget and decent acting manage to buoy the rating on this one, but genuine scares, like the undead, are all too few.

And  WOW! This movie has SUCH an eighties vibe, with its technology, wardrobe, hairstyles, and music! The soundtrack is basically a sampler remix of synth riffs fillers from that era’s action/adventure/ comedies movies like ‘Fletch,’ ‘Gremlins,’ and ‘Beverly Hills Cop.’ You know what I mean, as soon as you hear it, you know.

But I had gone looking for an ‘80s Zombie movie, and this one always comes up in people’s lists, and usually with high ratings and recommendations. I can only assume a lot of this is nostalgia-based. I mean, it was watchable. Not unenjoyable, but I would not have given this one any higher than an average.

But I held it up to the Zombie Movie Rubric to see how it rated objectively. Predictably, budget, acting, and characters lifted this up, where it ran fairly neutral in most categories. In the end, the ZMR rated The Night Of The Comet at a 2.11 of out 4.0 stars. 

I can’t give it an honest recommendation, though. It’s really not much of a horror flick- Devoid of any real blood or gore, light on violence, and only an occasional zombie threat. I mean, it wasn’t terrible, just an almost, but not quite, ’80’s, PG-13, zombie movie.

YouTube’s trailer is probably convincing enough for a fan to watch, or not to watch. Here: THE NIGHT OF THE COMET