Movie Review: Night of the Comet (1984)

The movie stars Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, Robert Beltran, Geoffrey Lewis, Mary Woronov and Sharon Farrell.

My wife and I had a chance to watch a movie together last night before bed and, even though we originally intended to watch a horror movie, I was in the mood for a science fiction film and picked this one instead. I had watched this movie a long time ago and, other than remembering it was supposed to be a spoof of science fiction films, didn't remember much about it. After watching it, I have to admit it was better than I remembered.

The movie, as I mentioned, is more of a spoof than an actual science fiction film and there are quite a few scenes (including some incredibly weak special effects) that make that pretty clear. But, unlike some other films that have attempted that and failed miserably, this movie is actually pretty decent.

Part of the reason for this is, even though it is a bit more lighthearted than you would expect from a serious science fiction film, the plot wasn't that terrible. The movie probably could have used a few more comet-created zombies but the sisters (Stewart and Maroney) still faced legitimate dangers ranging from the blood seeking scientists to some surprisingly violent department store clerks.

I also did like the fact the two main protagonists in this film were sisters. This was somewhat unique when compared to other movies in this genre because they did most of the work. Their male counterpart (Beltran) had his moments too, but was more of a side-kick-like character.

Probably the only thing I didn't like about this movie was the ending, mostly because it did seem to drag on (it was mostly a conversation about the responsibilities of rebuilding civilization). But, I did have to admit, there were some parts of the ending that were entertaining too so it didn't really detract from the movie.

This isn't the best science fiction film ever made and there are some scenes that do seem to be a bit over the top. But, this is an entertaining movie to watch at least once if you haven't seen it before.

My Grade: B