Night of the Comet

"They came. They Shopped. They saved the world!"

Director: Thom Eberhardt Year: 1984 Runtime: 95 min IMDb: ⭐ 6.2
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Synopsis

After a comet wipes out most of life on Earth, two Valley Girls find themselves fighting against cannibal zombies and a sinister group of scientists.

The Earth is passing through the tail of a comet, an event which has not occurred in 65 million years and coincided with the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs. On the night of the comet's passage, eleven days before Christmas, large crowds gather outside to watch and celebrate. Eighteen-year-old Regina "Reggie" Belmont works at a movie theater in southern California. She is annoyed to find someone with the initials DMK has the sixth highest score on the theater's Tempest video game; the other high scores are hers. Staying after the theater closes, she helps her boyfriend, projectionist Larry Dupree, sneak back in so he can loan out a film reel for illegal duplication. Reggie and Larry spend the night in the steel-lined projection booth and have sex. Meanwhile, Reggie's 16-year-old sister Samantha ("Sam") argues with their stepmother Doris, who Sam knows is cheating on her father, who is away on military duty. After a physical altercation, Sam spends the night in a steel backyard shed. The next morning, a reddish haze covers the sky; there are no signs of life but piles of red dust and heaps of clothing everywhere. Unaware that anything has occurred, Larry goes outside and is killed by a zombie. After trying to beat DMK's high score, Reggie looks for Larry, mistaking the red sky as bad smog. She quickly encounters the zombie, but escapes on Larry's motorcycle. At home, she finds her sister. The two surmise that because they both spent the night in steel containers, they were saved from the comet's effects. The sisters race to the local radio station after they hear a disc jockey on air, only to find it was a pre-recorded show. They come across another survivor there, Hector Gomez, who spent the night in the back of his steel truck. When Sam talks into the microphone, she is heard by researchers in an underground installation out in the desert. As they listen to Reggie, Sam and Hector debate what to do, the scientists note that the zombies, though less exposed to the comet, will eventually disintegrate into dust themselves. Hector leaves to check if any of his family survived, but promises to return. Reggie and Sam then go shopping for guns and clothing at a mall. After a firefight with some zombie stock boys and their leader, Willy, the girls are taken prisoner, but are saved by a rescue team sent by the scientists. Reggie is taken back to their base. Audrey White, a disillusioned scientist, offers to dispose of Sam, whom she diagnosed as having been exposed to the comet due to her developing rash, and to wait for Hector. After she fakes euthanizing Sam by injecting her with a sedative, she kills the other remaining scientist. When Hector returns, Audrey briefs him, then gives herself a lethal injection (as she herself has been exposed). Sam and Hector set out to rescue Reggie. Back at the base, it is revealed that the researchers had suspected and prepared for the comet's effects, but inadvertently left the ventilation system open and the fans running. The deadly dust permeated their base. Reggie, who has become suspicious, escapes and discovers that the dying scientists have hunted down and rendered healthy survivors brain-dead. They harvest their untainted blood to keep the disease at bay while they desperately search for a cure. Reggie saves a young boy and a girl before they are processed, then unplugs the other victims from their life support machines. Sam and Hector rescue the trio and blow up the scientists. Eventually, rain washes away the dust. Reggie pairs up with Hector, and they assume parental roles with the kids. Sam feels left out. Frustrated, she ignores Reggie's warning about crossing the street against the signal light, claiming there is nobody else left. Sam is almost run over by a sports car driven by Danny Mason Keener, a survivor about her own age. After apologizing, he invites her to go for a ride. As they drive off, the car is shown sporting the initials "DMK" on the vanity plate.

Summary adapted from TMDb and Wikipedia sources.

🎄 Holiday Cheer Breakdown

Content Warnings

⭐ IMDb Parents Guide 🛡️ Common Sense Media

a dog dies
spoiler Off-camera. Dog turns to dust along with most of the human population.
a cat dies
spoiler It is described that a zombie was eating a live cat. Thanks a lot people who clicked no... 🤬
there's a dead animal
spoiler It's just dust, but we see the dog collar and leash. It's an upsetting image.
a pet dies
spoiler Off screen. Pile of sand/dust is found with a dog collar/lead in it.
an animal dies
spoiler Most of the population is turned to sand/dust and a dog collar and lead is found in a pile of dust.
there's child abuse
Yes
a woman is brutalized for spectacle
Yes
there's domestic violence
spoiler The step mom hits her daughter
there's abusive parents
spoiler Step mother slaps and punches step daughter and is otherwise not nice to step children.
alcohol abuse
Yes
someone is drugged
spoiler Character is injected to present as dead to stop her from actually being killed.
someone is restrained
spoiler Two main characters are tied up and held at gunpoint, but rescued before anything bad happens. Later on there are men that are tied to hospital beds to have their blood harvested (although they are brain dead).
a woman gets slapped
spoiler Step mother and step daughter slap each other and step mother punches step daughter.
someone is beaten up by a bully
Yes
there's cannibalism
spoiler There are zombie-esque creatures, but no living folk cannibalism.
someone struggles to breathe
Yes
somebody is choked
Yes
Someone becomes unconscious
Yes
someone is burned alive
spoiler In an explosion. You don't see anything aside from the explosion, though.
teeth are damaged
Yes
a minor is sexualized
Yes
a kid dies
spoiler Off screen
an infant is abducted
Yes
someone dies
spoiler Most of the population is killed although not seen and the bodies all become sand or dust.
someone overdoses
Yes
a family member dies
Yes
A child's dear toy is destroyed
Yes
someone is kidnapped
Yes
a parent dies
Yes
there are jump scares
Yes
there are clowns
spoiler There is a mechanical clown
there are mannequins
Yes
someone vomits
spoiler Reggie holds her stomach when she realizes that Larry was likely attacked by zombies. She runs offscreen to the bathroom but we don’t see her get sick.
There's audio gore
Yes
someone is eaten
Yes
needles/syringes are used
spoiler Really quite a few throughout the movie.
there's a hospital scene
spoiler Not technically a hospital, but there are hospital beds and equipment
someone dies by suicide
Yes
Someone attempts suicide
Yes
there's misophonia
spoiler Constantly
someone suffers from PTSD
Yes
someone has an anxiety attack
spoiler There are a couple brief anxiety dreams in the middle of the movie.
there's flashing lights or images
spoiler There are flashing lights in the projection booth, as well as a few other times.
there are sudden loud noises
Yes
there's screaming
Yes
there is obscene language/gestures
Yes
someone is watched without knowing
Yes
there are homophobic slurs
Yes
someone speaks hate speech
spoiler The f-slur is used
the black guy dies first
Yes
there is sexual content
Yes
someone is sexually objectified
Yes
there are nude scenes
spoiler No nude scenes but a minor is shown in somewhat revealing underwear.
someone loses their virginity
Yes
Santa (et al) is spoiled
Yes
a car honks or tires screech
Yes
there's blood/gore
Yes
there's gun violence
Yes

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