Night of the Comet: Difference between revisions

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[[File:Night_Of_The_Comet_1984_9862.jpg|frame|The comet's coming, and the world will never be the same]]
[[File:Night_Of_The_Comet_1984_9862.jpg|frame|The comet's coming, and the world will never be the same]]


''Night of the Comet'' is a 1984 film directed by Thom Eberhardt and starring Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Beltran, and Kelli Maroney. It has elements of such diverse genres as science fiction, horror, zombie apocalypse, comedy, and romance.
'''''Night of the Comet''''' is a 1984 film directed by Thom Eberhardt and starring Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Beltran, and Kelli Maroney. It has elements of such diverse genres as science fiction, horror, zombie apocalypse, comedy, and romance.


The plot centers around The Earth passing through the tail of a rogue comet -- an event which has not occurred in 65 million years, the last time coinciding with [[Phlebotinum Killed the Dinosaurs|the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs]]. On the night of the comet's impending mid-December passage, large crowds gather to celebrate the event. The next morning, a reddish haze covers everything, and there are no people, animals or other signs of life, only small piles of red dust and empty clothes where people stood and watched the comet's passage. The people who "survived" are either dying, or turning into flesh eating zombies. Siblings Samantha and Regina Belmont are the film's main protagonists.
The plot centers around The Earth passing through the tail of a rogue comet -- an event which has not occurred in 65 million years, the last time coinciding with [[Phlebotinum Killed the Dinosaurs|the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs]]. On the night of the comet's impending mid-December passage, large crowds gather to celebrate the event. The next morning, a reddish haze covers everything, and there are no people, animals or other signs of life, only small piles of red dust and empty clothes where people stood and watched the comet's passage. The people who "survived" are either dying, or turning into flesh eating zombies. Siblings Samantha and Regina Belmont are the film's main protagonists.


Despite the schlocky opening scenes, the movie seems to be an attempt at a [[Deconstruction]] of typical thriller movies of the era, in that both leads are capable [[Action Girl|Action Girls]] rather than just monster bait (in fact, they bear suspicious similarities to [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|another Californian blonde who fought the undead in the next decade]]), the lead male is [[Humans Are White|Hispanic]], [[Dropped a Bridge on Him|bridge-dropping]] is played with, and so on.
Despite the schlocky opening scenes, the movie seems to be an attempt at a [[Deconstruction]] of typical thriller movies of the era, in that both leads are capable [[Action Girl]]s rather than just monster bait (in fact, they bear suspicious similarities to [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|another Californian blonde who fought the undead in the next decade]]), the lead male is [[Humans Are White|Hispanic]], [[Dropped a Bridge on Him|bridge-dropping]] is played with, and so on.


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* [[Fluffy Fashion Feathers]]: The white marabou jacket and boa Samantha wear in the (sort of) shopping spree scene.
* [[Fluffy Fashion Feathers]]: The white marabou jacket and boa Samantha wear in the (sort of) shopping spree scene.
* [[Groin Attack]]: Unleashed by Sam upon one of the zombie stockboys.
* [[Groin Attack]]: Unleashed by Sam upon one of the zombie stockboys.
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* [[Hey, It's That Guy!]]: Hey, [[UHF (film)|Uncle Harvey]] owns a theater!
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** [[Star Trek: Voyager|Commander Chakotay]] is Hector.
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** Regina went on to play [[The Last Starfighter|Maggie Gordon]].
* [[Hey, It's That Voice!]]: The little girl rescued at the end went on to voice Jenny "XJ-9" Wakeman in ''[[My Life as a Teenage Robot]]''.
* [[Hey, It's That Voice!]]: The little girl rescued at the end went on to voice Jenny "XJ-9" Wakeman in ''[[My Life as a Teenage Robot]]''.
* [[Hoist by His Own Petard|Hoist By Their Own Petard]]: Minder and Davenport are "[[It Makes Sense in Context|sent to see Santa]]" in the same manner as their victims.
* [[Hoist by His Own Petard|Hoist By Their Own Petard]]: Minder and Davenport are "[[It Makes Sense in Context|sent to see Santa]]" in the same manner as their victims.
* [[Improvised Weapon]]: A keyboard!
* [[Improvised Weapon]]: A keyboard!
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* [[Left the Background Music On]]: During the scene at the mall, the background music is cut off when the boombox is destroyed.
* [[Look Both Ways]]: Parodied and subverted.
* [[Look Both Ways]]: Parodied and subverted.
* [[Mad Scientist]]: Dr. Carter.
* [[Mad Scientist]]: Dr. Carter.
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* [[Promotion to Parent]]: Reggie for Sam, and Sam is not happy about it.
* [[Promotion to Parent]]: Reggie for Sam, and Sam is not happy about it.
* [[Ragnarok Proofing]]: Short term version.
* [[Ragnarok Proofing]]: Short term version.
* [[Retroactive Recognition]]:
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** Hey, [[UHF (film)|Uncle Harvey]] owns a theater!
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** [[Star Trek: Voyager|Commander Chakotay]] is Hector.
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** Regina went on to play [[The Last Starfighter|Maggie Gordon]].
* [[Shown Their Work]]: The Mac-10 jams, and Sam says "Daddy would have gotten us Uzis." The Mac-10 is notoriously prone to jamming, and the Uzi is famously robust.
* [[Shown Their Work]]: The Mac-10 jams, and Sam says "Daddy would have gotten us Uzis." The Mac-10 is notoriously prone to jamming, and the Uzi is famously robust.
* [[Sigil Spam]]: The think tank's logo is on a few things you'd normally expect to see like the guards' uniforms, the helicopter, etc., but it starts getting silly when it's plastered on computers, tabletops and storage canisters.
* [[Sigil Spam]]: The think tank's logo is on a few things you'd normally expect to see like the guards' uniforms, the helicopter, etc., but it starts getting silly when it's plastered on computers, tabletops and storage canisters.
* [[The Slacker]]: Regina 'Reggie' Belmont
* [[The Slacker]]: Regina 'Reggie' Belmont
* [[Slept Through the Apocalypse]]: True of Sam, Reggie and Hector.
* [[Slept Through the Apocalypse]]: True of Sam, Reggie and Hector.
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* [[Sorry I Left the BGM On]]: During the scene at the mall, the background music is cut off when the boombox is destroyed.
* [[Technically Living Zombie]]: The "comet zombies" aren't so much undead as simply slowly decomposing people who must drink human blood to stave off their transformation into dust.
* [[Technically Living Zombie]]: The "comet zombies" aren't so much undead as simply slowly decomposing people who must drink human blood to stave off their transformation into dust.
* [[Unintentional Period Piece]]
* [[Unintentional Period Piece]]
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{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Films of the 1980s]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
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[[Category:Night of the Comet]]
[[Category:Film]]
[[Category:Film]]
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[[Category:Films of the 1980s]]

Revision as of 15:39, 6 February 2022

The comet's coming, and the world will never be the same

Night of the Comet is a 1984 film directed by Thom Eberhardt and starring Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Beltran, and Kelli Maroney. It has elements of such diverse genres as science fiction, horror, zombie apocalypse, comedy, and romance.

The plot centers around The Earth passing through the tail of a rogue comet -- an event which has not occurred in 65 million years, the last time coinciding with the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs. On the night of the comet's impending mid-December passage, large crowds gather to celebrate the event. The next morning, a reddish haze covers everything, and there are no people, animals or other signs of life, only small piles of red dust and empty clothes where people stood and watched the comet's passage. The people who "survived" are either dying, or turning into flesh eating zombies. Siblings Samantha and Regina Belmont are the film's main protagonists.

Despite the schlocky opening scenes, the movie seems to be an attempt at a Deconstruction of typical thriller movies of the era, in that both leads are capable Action Girls rather than just monster bait (in fact, they bear suspicious similarities to another Californian blonde who fought the undead in the next decade), the lead male is Hispanic, bridge-dropping is played with, and so on.

Tropes used in Night of the Comet include:

Willy: I'm not crazy. I just don't give a fuck.

Hector: Lucky for you I like kids!

Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Comet?oldid=1953208"