Night of the Comet

(1984) ***

It's funny how the human memory works. I remembered loving this movie as a kid. Every so often over the years I would think of it fondly. The problem was that no one (including my brother who must've introduced it to me) seemed to have heard of it, only strengthening it's intrigue. The only details I remembered were 1) These guys wake up the day after a comet and find the entire population missing. 2) There were zombies in it. 3) At one point, a guy in a dress yells "I'm not crazy - I JUST DON'T GIVE A FUCK!" I used my imagination to fill in the rest and created a legend surrouding it. Again curiousity poked its head out this year and finally inspired me to track down a copy off Ebay (Netflix doesn't carry it).

What I was expecting: A long forgotten cult chestnut where underneath the non-stop zombie mayhem lies a dark satire exploring humanity's loneliness.

What the back of the box read: Night of the Comet is an off beat, off-the-wall vision of the end of humankind, served up with the accent on laughs. When a comet passes too close to earth, Regina and Samantha, two Valley Girls, Discover they suddenly have virtually all of Los Angelas to themselves and set out on a madcap lark, kicked off by a wild shopping mall spree in a mall. But they soon learn they're sharing the city with a number of bizarre creatures who have reacted in various strange ways to the comet's effect. The girls would rather be making out and playing video games, but first they've got to deal with the wackiest crew of crazies ever to walk a city street. A satiric blend of camp humor and skillful special effects, this merry mix of scares is one night you won't soon forget.

What ensued was a hilarious instant-classic cheese-a-thon that's just drenched in the 80's. I'm talking makes-Beverly-Hills-Cop-look-like-the-Matrix-80's. There was one montage where the girls actually tried on clothes to the tune of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Incidentally one of the girls resembles later years Jo from Facts of Life. The "I'm not crazy" guy was indeed in the movie although he wasn't wearing a dress (no psychoanalysis please). There were zombies, with Grover voices, sure - but there were zombies. As goofy as this is, I can see what captured my imagination as a child. The fun factor wore a little thin by the end with its government conspiracy direction but it was worth every penny - 1,490 of them including shipping.