Valley Girl (1983)

I’ve been meaning to write a review about Valley Girl for sometime now, but it’s always eluded me as to how to approach this movie.  On the surface it is a silly teen comedy, but there are a lot of interesting things going on.  It’s a movie that is not only about cultural differences but generational ones as well.  Valley Girl was originally conceived as being a cheap exploitation movie designed to make quick buck at the box office; the fact that it turned out to be a genuinely good movie was just icing on the cake.  In many ways, Valley Girl is a pre-cursor to the John Hughes comedies of the 80s; the romance between the two leads (Julie and Randy) is threatened by Julie’s social status – her best friends don’t approve of Randy and want her to get back together with Tommy, the high school hunk.  Julie is from the Valley (the suburbs), Randy is from the city (Hollywood) and her friends view him as a threat; he is a total outsider and doesn’t belong in their clique. (At my high school, dating a person from another high school was practically an act of treason).  Julie and her friends spend their free time at the mall and going to cliquey parties, while Randy’s idea of idea of a good time is cruising the streets and hanging out at a night club.  Julie is a total preppy, Randy is a punk rocker.  The movie is a modern day Romeo and Juliet (there’s even an embarrassing, none too subtle, shot of the two them exiting a theatre showing Romeo and Juliet. Just in case you missed the analogy). 

 I usually get annoyed when teen comedies contrive away to keep the lovers apart, but in Valley Girl, it feels natural to the story and is done in a believable way.  Julie loves spending time with Randy and wants to stay with him, but she also doesn’t want to alienate her best friends, so she throws away a shot a true love just so she can fit in with the crowd. 

Valley Girl is not without its share of flaws. Though, they are more awkward than they are fatal.  The most obvious is the rather superfluous subplot involving Suzi’s stepmother, Beth, and Suzi’s potential boyfriend, Skip.  Beth sees Skips at the party and views him as a sexual conquest, despite him being significantly younger.  Beth has essentially turned into a Mrs. Robinson-type character; something she probably would not have foreseen in her youth (especially considering Mrs. Robinson was a symbol of the older, sexually repressed generation).  Basically, Skip is torn between pursing a relationship with Suzi or, having a one night stand with her, extremely attractive, stepmother.  This subplot does fit into the generational gap theme that is prevalent throughout the movie; Beth would have been a teenager during the sexual revolution and is, not surprisingly, far more sexually aggressive than the horny Skip.  It also serves as a homage to The Graduate; a movie that was popular among the baby boomers.  It was the movie that “defined the generation.”  I have two problems with this subplot. The first problem is a personal one – I’m not a big fan of The Graduate.  Hence, the scenes between Beth and Skip come off as fairly contrived and awkward to me.  I GET IT! You want to pay homage to an iconic movie, but these scenes could easily have been trimmed from the movie. The second problem I have is that the stakes are pretty low – I really don’t care which of the two women Skip chooses, largely because he is such a dim character.  It also doesn’t help that out of Julie’s three friends, Suzi is probably the least interesting.  

 

I think the movie would have benefitted by having more scenes of Julie’s friends pressuring her into breaking up with Randy.  We get a short scene of the girls having a sleepover and each of Julie’s friends make a few pointed jabs at Randy, but that’s about it.  The next thing you know Julie is contemplating whether or not she should break up with Randy. There could have been an additional scene of her classmates at school giving her a few dirty looks or, maybe have a scene where her friends give her the silent treatment.  I also would have liked a scene at the end where Julie finally tells off her friends, instead of having Randy doing all the heavy lifting.  It is also odd that the subplot between Tommy and Loryn (Julie’s best friend) kind of fizzles out.  Tommy seduces Loryn at the party and, after she asks if they are a couple, he puts the guilt trip on her by saying how terrible she is for fooling around with her best friend’s ex-boyfriend. He essentially blackmails her into silence.  When Julie contemplates getting back together with Tommy, Loryn briefly expresses her doubts but then goes along with it. Then she is back to her perky self for the rest of the movie.  It is an odd p set up!  The seduction scene basically exists to show the audience what a terrible guy Tommy is (and show some topless female nudity), but it never comes back to bite Tommy in the ass.  These flaws would have destroyed a lesser movie but  Valley Girl is such a likable movie that easily overcomes them. 

What really sells Valley Girl is the amazing onscreen chemistry between its two leads, Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman.  Martha Coolidge states in her commentary that Cage and Foreman became romantically involved during production, so that explains why their onscreen romance is so believable.  It also helps that Coolidge knows how to stage a love scene. For instance, in their early scenes together Julie and Randy almost always maintain eye contact.  They are absolutely entranced by each other’s presence; the world around them disappears.  Also, Coolidge is able to convey a sense of intimacy by shooting their dialogue scenes in close up (with the actors’ eye lines looking in the right direction). These are very simple tricks but they are incredibly effective.  

Nicolas Cage is has become famous for his often over the top performances (which, depending on the movie can either be entertaining or embarrassing) but I really do like him in this movie.  His eccentricities suit the character of Randy well; I especially like the little dance he does after saying good night to Julie.  The interesting thing about Cage is that he isn’t your typical Hollywood leading man (especially in this movie) he has a rather long face, is a bit lanky, and (in this movie) has slightly crooked teeth, but his screen presence is undeniable.   The appeal of Nicolas Cage is his unpredictability. You never know what you are going to get with him.  Whether you like him or not he is truly one of a kind. 

Randy is also truly one of a kind, because like Cage, he just goes for broke.  He is absolutely determined to win Julie over, even if it means another potential ass kicking at the hands of Tommy. The movie does a nice job of setting up his character when, after he has been kicked out of a party, Randy sneaks into the house through the second story bathroom window and patiently waits in the shower for Julie to make an appearance.  What if Julie didn’t walk into the bathroom, then what would have Randy done?  After Julie finally makes her long overdue appearance, Randy reveals himself to her and invites her for a night out on the town.  She is charmed by his determination and accepts (on the provision that she can bring her friend, Stacey, with her).  This brief moment tells us a lot about these two characters: Randy will do anything to be Julie and won’t allow anyone to stand in his way. Julie is a bit more conservative in her worldview; the prospect of “shaking things up” does excite her but she doesn’t want to stray too far from her comfort zone.  The fact that going into “the city” is the most rebellious act she has ever committed indicates she has lived a sheltered life (despite having radicals as parents).  

Deborah Foreman never crossed over into mainstream success (her filmography consists of largely low budget movies), and retired from acting at a fairly young age, but she is absolutely radiant in the role of Julie.  She just seems to glow whenever she is onscreen (I attribute this largely to her wonderful smile). Julie is an interesting character: She has become so good at playing the role of this ditzy, materialistic teenager that it has become a comfort zone. It is something she can always fall back on and, most refreshing of all, it requires little effort on her part.   In the first scene, she breaks up with Tommy with relative ease like he is the equivalent to an old pair of shoes.  In her worldview, a boyfriend is merely an accessory.  Tommy is something she can brag to her friends about and makes her feel good when she goes out; but like accessories he eventually becomes tiresome.  Julie complains that their relationship is no longer fun, but rather than work through the problem she would rather get a new boyfriend.  The movie lets Julie off the hook by making Tommy a first rate douche bag, but her attitude in the opening scene is a bit appalling; she bumps into Tommy at mall and publicly breaks up with him without a tiny bit of remorse. She is already making plans to move onto the next high school hunk, Brad.  Her friends are a bit puzzled by her decision (as Tommy is such a hunk) but they accept it and even enable Julie’s behavior…..UNTIL SHE STARTS DATING RANDY!  It is a credit to Foreman that, despite all I mentioned, Julie is a rather endearing character.  

 

At first, Julie’s main reason for dating Randy is simply that he is the complete opposite of Tommy.  Randy is completely different from any guy she has ever met.  Yet, as the night goes on it becomes obvious that they have formed a pretty tight bond.  The only obstacle that really stands in Julie’s way is her disapproving friends, who peer pressure her into breaking up with Randy.  When they are having a sleepover, her friends use this opportunity to take all sorts of pot shots at Randy.  They also guilt trip Julie over the fact that she has been spending less time with them.   Julie eventually gives into the pressure and calls it off with Randy, and gets back together with Tommy.  It is a terrible decision on her part, but an understandable one (she is a teenager, after all).  What I really love about Deborah Foreman’s performance is her ability to listen. This may seem like an odd compliment but too often actors are so focused on memorizing their cues that they fail to react to the person that is speaking.  This is a staple of many bad movies; the lead actor will be saying his lines and the people around him look like they’re about to fall asleep.  Or, it looks like they are trying to remember whether or not they closed the garage door.  With Deborah Foreman, it is her reactions, more so than the dialogue, which says everything you need to know.  On their first date at the club, they speak a lot of gibberish (Randy makes fun of the music Julie likes and other trivial stuff) but they just can’t take their eyes off each other.  There’s also a great attention to detail in this scene: the two of them have to shout over the loud music just to be heard.  If you have ever been to a night club, you can easily relate to this moment.  

If Julie is attracted to Randy because he is different, then the reason Randy is attracted to Julie is that she represents normalcy to him.  Randy may openly scoff at Julie for being part of the status quo, but there is also a sense that he secretly envies her.  Julie comes from a fairly tight knit family; her parents maybe unusual but they also genuinely care about her.  On the other hand, Randy’s parents are nonexistent.  The movie never shows Randy’s parents but given that he spends most of nights at a club (he’s on a first name basis with the bouncer) it can be deduced that he comes from a broken home. His parents are either divorced, or (even worse) fairly indifferent towards him.  The fact that he always picks Julie up at her home, and never invites her over to his house, speaks volumes on his feelings towards his parents.  It is a neat touch that, the day after their memorable first date, Randy shows up the health food store owned by Julie’s parents and is extremely cordial to her father.  This is a far cry from most movie rebels who avoid their girlfriend’s parents like the plague.  Julie is a bit embarrassed by her parents’ business but Randy is pretty okay with it. It also helps that Julie’s father, who was a rebel in his youth, is fairly accepting of Randy.  If he has any reservations about his daughter dating a punk rocker, it certainly doesn’t show.  

The irony is that while Julie’s friends find Randy to be “too edgy” for their taste, he is more than willing to compromise his beliefs just so he can be with Julie.  There is a rather nice moment (in the middle of montage) where we see Julie and Randy hanging out in the food court of a mall. It is pretty apparent, just by Randy’s body language, that he is absolutely embarrassed to be there –he  even puts sunglasses on to hide his face.  Julie teases him for a little bit and, finally, he begins to lighten up. Maybe the mall isn’t so bad, after all? Randy is a punk rocker and against the status quo, there’s no way he would ever be caught dead in a mall……..but Julie coaxes him into it.  

The other theme of Valley Girl is the generational gap between Julie and her parents.  Julie’s parents were part of the 1960s counterculture and have still maintained their radical edge; despite living in the suburbs.  They have opened up a health food store and live a fairly easy going existence.   Julie is representative of the very values they rejected: she is materialistic, a bit superficial, and ruled by the majority.  Julie’s way of rebelling against her parents is by not rebelling.  They are also baffled by having to raise a teenage daughter; they give her free reign to do what she wants but her father, Steven, has a near heart attack after she has spent all night out with Randy. When she comes home early in the morning, her father’s first inclination is to yell at her (like any normal father would).  However, he doesn’t want to come off as too authoritarian (Julie is supposed to grow into her own person, after all) and midway through his speech goes from being an angry father to an understanding father.  Julie is confused by all this and asks, “Why can’t you just punish me like Stacy’s parents?”  Her mother replies, “Bad karma, dear!” 

When Julies goes to her junior prom, it is Steven who is a complete nervous wreck and holding up the show. His nerves are so shot that he sneaks into the bathroom and puffs on a joint just to calm himself.  When he is taking Julie and Tommy’s photo, he leaves the cap on the lens.  In odd way, the Richman’s are living vicariously through their daughter; neither of them went to their prom. They were too busy taking part in demonstrations and didn’t really have time of the stuff. The nice thing about Julie’s parents is that, even though they are different wavelength than their daughter, they are completely supportive of her.  A lesser script would have them berating their daughter for going to the mall (supporting the system) or hoping to politicize their daughter. Instead they just want her to be a normal teenager – even if they are baffled by her life choices. 

This leads me to my favorite performance in the movie – Frederic Forrest as Steve Richman, Julie’s hippie father.  Forrest is one of the most underrated actors of all time. He has appeared in some truly great movies (The Conversation, Apocalypse Now) and has a memorable as white supremacist in Falling Down, but Steve Richman is easily one of his best performances.  Forrest manages to breathe a lot of humanity into what could have easily been a one dimensional character.  In fact, when we first meet Mr. Richman, we mistakenly believe that he is just your stereotypical spaced out hippie; he wears sandals to work, reminisces about the 1960s, and Julie is slightly embarrassed to be seen in public with him. However, he is also a pretty good father.  The scene between Julie and her father is one of the highlights of Valley Girl, for multiple reasons.  The dynamic between Frederic Forrest and Deborah Foreman is terrific; they make for a believable onscreen father and daughter.  While Julie is slightly embarrassed by her parents, it is also clear that she has genuine affection for them. I find it interesting that Julie has more tight knit relationship with her father than she does with her mother.  This is probably because her mother is too laid back (Colleen Camp is funny, but her character is a bit cartoonish at times); when Julie is late getting home, her mother is doing exercises while Steven smokes a cigarette and anxiously paces back and forth.  We get a sense of that father/daughter bond when Steven shows Julie a picture of himself from his younger, long haired days and she, naturally, finds the photo hilarious. Having looked through my parents’ photo albums, I can relate to Julie’s reaction.  

 
Most important of all, Steve actually listens to his daughter’s problems and does the best he can to help.  In most teen comedies the father is usually oblivious to the plight of their children.  In movies like Some Kind of Wonderful and She’s All That, the father is a total hard ass that keeps riding his son to apply to a college; it never occurs to them that their son wants something else.  In other comedies, the father is a bit absent minded that it never occurs to the main character to ask them for any advice.  Steve Richman is kind of absent minded but he isn’t a moron. He soaks in everything Julie is telling him and then offers up some fairly good advice.  He doesn’t tell her what to do but tries to guide her in the right direction. Unfortunately, she discards his advice and goes with the mob rule.  

I find it interesting that it is Randy’s best friend, Fred, who sets the whole plot in motion. Fred is standing behind Loryn and is eavesdropping on a conversation she is having with a friend.  He not only hears about the party at Suzi’s house but gets the address as well. He just happens to be at the right place at the right time.  Randy is reluctant to go to the Valley at first but Fred is able to talk him into it.  Thus our story of star crossed lovers begins.  I don’t know whether or not if this was intentional, but Fred acts as a counterpart to Steven.  They are both genuine individuals who really don’t give a damn what people think about them; Fred constantly strikes out with women at the party but he keeps on trying. He’s not going to allow a few rejections to dampen his spirits.  Fred is probably the closest thing Randy has to a family and is there in his friend’s hour of need. It is Fred who saves Randy from his self destructive path.  After Julie breaks up with him, Randy doesn’t take it well and gives into pure excess – he goes on a drunken bender, hooks up with his ex-girlfriend in the woman’s bathroom of a bar, and then tries to pick a fight with a low rider. Fred’s timely intervention saves Randy from a sure ass kicking.  When Randy goes on a self pity rant, Fred doesn’t coddle him; instead he encourages Randy to win Julie back.  If Randy genuinely loves this girl, then he should fight for her love.  Fred is a stark contrast to Julie’s friends; the idea of Julie dating outsider terrifies them, because they are worried about how it will effect her (and by extension their) popularity. They genuinely believe they are doing Julie a favor by pressuring her into breaking up with Randy.  Fred, on the other hand, could care less about the popular opinion and wants his friend to be happy.  He will go to the ends of the Earth for Randy.  He maybe an oddball, but he is an ideal best friend.  

The character of Stacey is the direct counterpoint to Fred.  Stacey is, understandably, a bit miffed when Julie drags her along for a night out with two punk rockers.  To make matters worse, she is paired the eccentric Fred on this double date. Stacey spends most of the car ride complaining – when Randy notes that he likes the song playing on the radio, Stacey shouts back, “I hate this song.”  Yet, as the night progresses, Stacey takes a liking to Fred.  When he chases her around the car, she puts on an “annoyed act” but she eventually can’t hold back her laughter. She is having a good time with a punk rocker. Unfortunately, once Stacey returns to the “safety” of the suburbs, she immediately wants to forget about him. Sure, she enjoyed Fred’s company but she could never actually date a guy like him.  What would they stay at school? Even more disheartening is that, despite having hung out with Randy, it is Stacey who is most adamant that Julie break up with Randy and get back together with Tommy.  She desperately wants things to back to normal.   The movie, to its credit, never fully vilifies Julie’s friends. There is no malice in their actions, they are simply misguided.  

Valley Girl is probably known for two things: 1) It was the movie that put Nicolas Cage on the map. After this movie he would explode into super stardom. 2) Its soundtrack. The Valley Girl soundtrack is a sample of the type of music that was popular at this specific moment in time. Probably the best known song on the soundtrack is Modern English's "I'll Melt With You." It's a song that has remained popular some thirty five years later. There is also a track that would never make it any modern day soundtrack - Josie Cotton's "Johnny, Are You Queer?" It's a silly song, but if the age of social media has taught us anything - EVERYTHING IS OFFENSIVE!  Martha Coolidge will often use the soundtrack to compliment the action that is occurring onscreen; when Randy and Julie are talking in the bathroom the Psychedelic Fur's song, "Love My Way" can be heard in the background. The Plimsoul's song "A Million Miles Away" is essentially Randy and Julie's love song. The band plays it when Randy and Julie are bonding at the club. The song is reprised later after Randy, coming off rebound sex with his ex, hears it again and immediately thinks of Julie. This sends further into a downward spiral before Fred intervenes. The soundtrack itself is worth seeking out.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Martha Coolidge’s first rate direction. It is actually pretty incredible that she was able to make such a top notch picture on so little of a budget ($350,000). She is especially good when it comes blocking a scene and camera placement.  In the scene where Julie agrees to take Tommy back, she is able to convey what a suffocating presence Tommy is without a single word of dialogue. Tommy sits down next to Julie in the booth and, after she has agreed to take him back, he immediately puts his left on around her shoulder, and then he leans forwards (eclipsing Julie in the process) and starts eating the food off of her basket. 

Coolidge then cuts to a high angle shot with the camera looking down at Julie; it is nice way of showing how Julie has demeaned herself in our, and her, eyes.  She was in a meaningful relationship with Randy and now has reduced herself to being Tommy’s possession. There's also some nice acting from Deborah Foreman in this scene - while she gives Tommy a smile, there is a sense that Julie is about to break down in tears. Forget Citizen Kane!  Valley Girl should be endlessly studied by film students. 

Cast: Nicolas Cage (Randy), Deborah Foreman (Julie Richman), Elizabeth Daily (Loryn), Michael Bowen (Tommy), Cameron Dye (Fred Bailey), Heidi Holicker (Stacey), Frederic Forrest (Steve Richman), Colleen Camp (Sarah Richman), Michelle Meyrink (Suzi Brent), Lee Purcell (Beth Brent), David Ensor (Skip), Tina Theberge (Samantha), Josie Cotton (Singer at Prom), Richard Sanders (Driver’s Ed Teacher), Joyce Hyser (Joyce), The Plimsouls.

Director: Martha Coolidge
Screenplay: Wayne Crawford, Andrew Lane.
Running Time:  99 min.

Night of the Comet (1984)

{This review is significantly longer than I intended and contains spoilers. I was initially going to write a two page review of Night of the Comet but found such a task nearly impossible. There is so much to talk about in this movie and this review only scratches the surface. Most of the behind the scenes info comes from Shout Factory’s Collector’s Edition blu ray. It you are a fan of Night of the Comet, or this type of movie in generally, I highly suggest you pick up the Collector’s Edition. It’s well worth your money.}

I have known about Night of the Comet for sometime but it wasn’t until recently that I saw the movie in its entirety.  It was a prominent fixture on the local television station, but I only would catch chunks of it.  This is kind of surprising because, if you have read this blog before, you know it’s the kind of movie that is right up my alley. 

 In Night of the Comet, most of the world’s population has been wiped out (literally turned to dust) after the Earth has past through the tail of a comet. The post apocalyptic sub-genre of science fiction was extremely popular in the 1980s, but it really took off in the 1950s after the release of two novels: John Wydham's 1951 novel The Day of the Triffids and Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I am Legend. These two works of fiction really set the tone for many science fiction and horror movies that followed them.  In The Day of the Triffids, most of the world's population is blinded by a meteor shower which allows for genetically engineered plant life, the Triffids, to become the dominant species on the planet. In I am Legend, a pandemic has transformed the Earth's human population into vampires. The last remaining human spends his days hunting down these creatures and his nights boarded up his house while the vampires attempt to break in. Both of these novels were adapted multiple times, and rather unsatisfactorily.  

In 1955, producer/director Roger Corman got into the act and made The Day the World Ended.  In the movie, a nuclear war has wiped out most of the world's population and a handful of survivors meet up at a remote cabin. When they are not arguing with each other, they are having to fend off a silly looking monster.  Most post apocalyptic movies follow this formula, but what sets Night of the Comet apart from the rest of these films is that the plot is driven by two teenage sisters, Regina and Samantha. It also helps that both characters are likable and played with great aplomb by two vivacious actresses, Catherine Mary Stewart and Kelly Maroney. These are characters that you actually want to spend time with (especially when compared to dour and depressing male leads in previous post apocalyptic movies).  Even though  Regina and Samantha are mere teenagers, they are no pushovers.  Their father was a military man and taught them self dense strategies, and proper firearm handling. It would be extremely foolish for anyone to underestimate these two girls.

In his insightful commentary, Thom Eberhardt mentions that Night of the Comet was not initially conceived as a zombie movie, they were an afterthought when Eberhardt realized he needed something to menace the girls. This might explain why the zombies don’t behave in typical zombie-like fashion; they are fairly articulate and often wield weapons as opposed to lumbering stiffs that dominate the George Romero films.  The zombies feel rather arbitrary to the story; they could have easily been written as random lunatics on the street and the movie would essentially have been the same. The stock boys that terrorize Regina and Samantha at the mall are scary because they are complete psychopaths, who just happen to be zombies.  If Eberhardt had intended on making it a straight zombie movie, it probably would have significantly gorier and had less characterization.  The zombies are only temporary threat; it is revealed that they will eventually turn to dust like the rest humanity. If the girls can bide their time they will be home free. The REAL obstacle that stands in their way is a group of scientists pent up in an underground instillation. What are their motivations?  Do they want to help the girls? Or, is there a more sinister motive at play? The choice is a fairly obvious one, but it doesn't make the movie any less entertaining.

The best thing about Night of the Comet is that Regina and Samantha behave like actual teenage siblings, even though they look nothing alike.  They often get on each other’s nerves; they fight over boys; and bond over the silliest things (like shopping).   In the beginning of the movie, despite living in the same house, they inhabit two very separate worlds; Regina is working a midnight showing at the local theatre, while Samantha is stuck at a lame Comet party being hosted by their bitchy stepmom, Doris.  In a fairly clever touch, the first time the two sisters exchange any dialogue is over the telephone.  She doesn’t call out of courtesy but rather she wants Samantha to lie for her. She wants Samantha to tell their bitchy stepmom that she will be at the observatory watching the comet, when in reality she is shacking up with her co-worker, Larry.  This completely backfires and it’s Samantha who receives the full brunt of Doris’ wrath.  They’re not only in a different place physically, but mentally as well.  Regina is eighteen years old, and like all teenagers her age, she is ready to move on with her life. Samantha is sixteen years old and is still very much into the high school routine.  Like most teenagers, she lives for the weekend. In terms of a love life, Regina is having a sexual fling with a co-worker, while Samantha is still hoping that her high school crush will ask her out.  However, rather than lump them together, I think both characters are deserving of their analysis.

When we first meet Regina, she is living a rather carefree existence.  She is more focused on playing an arcade game, Tempest, than doing her job as movie theatre usher.  Her manager wants her to walk the house, much to her annoyance.  {Personal note: Having worked at movie theatre I can relate to this sentiment.  Whenever I did a walk through, I could often sense the glares of the moviegoers.  “Stop interrupting our movie.”}  It’s only after the game has ended that Regina reluctantly obliges her aggrieved manager.  However, before she can do that she must enter her initials in the top ten scores. While typing them in, she is annoyed to find someone else’s (“DMK”) initials are in sixth place. This irritates her so much that she spends the next morning knocking her unknown adversary out of the top ten.  It’s a nice way of establishing Regina’s competitive nature and her willingness to step up to any challenge (even a trivial one like an arcade game).  When she puts her mind to it, she can accomplish anything. { I know this a total coincidence, but it’s amusing that the other movie Catherine Mary Stewart starred in that year, The Last Starfigher, centers around an arcade game. It’s too bad Regina didn’t play that game because she certainly would have been more adept at fighting aliens in outer space than Alex Rogan.}  

Of course, Regina is completely thrown for a loop when she discovers that not only streets are empty (strewn with empty clothes covered in dust) but there’s a blood thirsty zombie in the alley way.  Regina nicely asks the zombie to back off, but when that doesn’t work she incapacitates him with self defense moves her dad taught her.  There’s also a nice detail in this scene that demonstrates Regina’s intelligence; when the zombie approaches her, she is clutching the keys to Larry’s motorcycle in her hand, and when she realizes that there will be fighting involved, she tosses the keys near the motorcycle rather than risk losing them in the skirmish.  This scene also demonstrates Regina’s confidence; she doesn’t for one second doubt her ability to take down this monster. He picked the wrong girl to mess with. Regina isn't without her flaws. In fact, she makes a near fatal mistake midway through the movie: in attempt to cheer up her little sister, she takes Samantha "shopping." The two of them are enjoying themselves so much that they let their guard down and allow themselves to fall in the stock boys trap.  They are saved in the nick of time by a group of scientists searching the city for survivors. What seems like the girl's salvation ends up turning into an even bigger nightmare. However, if there is one thing Regina proves throughout the movie it is never to underestimate her. She maybe down, but she is definitely not out.  

Regina finds herself in a position that she so desperately wanted to avoid: Becoming an adult.  Her first instinct, after having taken out the zombie, is to find out whether Samantha is alive or not.  After being reunited with her sister, she then takes upon herself to be Samantha’s guardian.  As the movie progresses, she becomes increasingly more and more like a mother figure to her younger sister.  Therefore, it’s not surprising that by the movie’s end Hector and she, along with two surviving children they have picked up, have formed their own nuclear family.  She essentially becomes the very thing she dreaded at the beginning - the overprotective mother.  At the beginning, she resents Doris for imposing a curfew on her; in the last scene, she imposes a curfew on Samantha.  Granted, Regina is a much more sympathetic and benevolent person than Doris.  She also emphasizes the importance of following the rules of the road to her surrogate children: Don’t cross against the traffic. Wait for the walk sign.  She becomes the ultimate mom. 

There  are nice subtle hints sprinkled throughout regarding Regina’s growing maturity and maternal nature; when Samantha yells at, and shoves, her for stealing the “last man on earth,” rather than yell and shove back, Regina thinks about it for a second and begins to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. What else can she do? In normal circumstances, neither of them would probably have noticed Hector. He’s not a bad looking guy, but he’s also not exactly the type of man that would grace the cover of a teeny bopper magazine. But now, through extraordinary circumstances, he is now the object of affection for both Regina and Samantha.

Samantha, in my humble opinion, is one of the best characters in 1980s cinema. This may seem hyperbolic, but Kelli Maroney gives such an energetic (and enduring) performance that it’s almost impossible not to love this character.  The nice thing about Maroney’s performance is that she actually behaves like an actual teenager. She has bad posture, bad habits (she spends most of the first act chewing on the same piece of gum), she is fairly rude, and extremely impatient.  There are many teenage dramas where the (twenty something) actors do not talk and act like teenagers (Riverdale is a prime offender).  They maybe sixteen in the script, but their body language and overall behavior suggests otherwise.  When we first meet Samantha she is slumped on the couch, munching on potato chips, and watching the television to drown out all the lameness around her.  She is the only teenager at her stepmother’s party and, even though she is sixteen, everyone regards her as a kid (one of the party goers pats her on the head).   Quite possibly the worst nightmare of any teenager is to be stuck at home on a Friday night and having to hang out with their parents. {This would have been especially true in the 1980s, when most middle class households had only one television set. Now a days, (boy do I sound old) you can watch movies and TV shows on your telephone.}  In Samantha’s mind, things can’t possibly get any worse than this.  

At first, Samantha seems to regard the whole “end of humanity” as an exciting adventure. It allows for her to get out of the house and explore the city; something Doris would have never allowed.  She can make a few jokes here and there, because the grim reality hasn’t yet set in and when it finally does, it hits her like a brick. In my favorite scene of the entire movie, Samantha tells Regina about how she heard, through her best friend, that her high school crush was about to ask her out. It’s then she realizes the harsh reality of her situation; her best friend and her potential boyfriend are dead, gone forever.  Overnight, her entire existence has been thrown into upheaval.  It was only yesterday that she was on her way to cheer leading practice and now everything is gone forever (not to mention there are blood thirsty zombies on the loose).  Incredibly, this key moment nearly didn’t make it into the movie; I’m sure the producers were concerned that it would slow up the pace. Thankfully, common sense prevailed because this scene is THE HEART OF THE ENTIRE MOVIE.  Samantha’s speech about loss is something anyone can relate to; especially those that have lost a loved one.  What makes it even worse for Samantha is the uncertainty that lies ahead. Where does she go from here?  Regina is ready to take the next step, but Samantha is a sophomore in high school and has had a fairly set schedule (school – cheer leading practice – friends – sleep), so it’s not surprising she would be in state of denial.  Next to death, the most frightening thing for humans has to be starting over and building a new life.  It’s really a burden that shouldn’t befall a sixteen year-old girl and yet that’s where Samantha finds herself. The problem I have with many horror movies is how they trivialize death. As the bodies pile up, our “heroes” don’t even bat an eye; they just go on with their business.  This is, by no means, limited to modern day horror movies because this type of attitude was fairly typical of the 1980s slasher movie.  Therefore, it’s refreshing to see a movie, in 1984, that gives the heroine a moment to mourn the loss of her loved ones.  

Surprisingly this wasn’t the only controversial decision regarding Samantha’s character. In Eberhardt’s original script, Samantha was killed off.  Again, common sense won the day and the character was allowed to survive the movie.  Perhaps, if Night of the Comet was more a straight forward horror, or if Kelli Maroney was a terrible actress, then killing Samantha off might have been an effective plot point.  But it is complete out of place in this movie. Despite its grim subject matter, Night of the Comet is fairly upbeat and optimistic movie. If Samantha gets killed off, it gives the movie a bitter aftertaste that would be impossible to rinse out, no matter how appetizing the finale is.
 

If Night of the Comet merely had two strong leads that would already be an accomplishment, but the fact that it has three is pretty damn incredible. I’m, of course, referring to Robert Beltran as Hector Gomez.  It would been rather easy to write Hector as a gun toting badass who gleefully mows down endless zombies, or as a lone scientist hoping to find a cure that will reverse the zombie process (ala The Omega Man), but in a smart move he is just an ordinary guy; prior to the whole "end of the world" he worked as a truck driver.  Hector is a fairly interesting character in his own right.  When we first meet him at the radio station, he is hiding in the shadows, clutching a gun, while watching Regina and Samantha from a distance.  He is stationed in the foreground of the frame and is presented in a fairly menacing light.  We don’t know if he is friend or foe.  When he reveals himself to the girls, he holds them at gun point and demands they show him their eyes; to make sure there are “still human.”  Yet, even after he has introduced himself, Regina still doesn’t trust him (she grabs a microphone and hides it behind her back, just in case he should try something funny).  However, Regina (and the audience) soon realizes that Hector is a first rate guy.  Robert Beltran is especially good in this role. He plays it completely straight (without a hint of irony) and has genuine warmth about him.   

Hector may come off as a tough guy but he is a softy at heart.  There is also a nice scene that illustrates to this point:  Hector knows that his family is probably dead, but he still drives down to his home just to make sure. If there is even a sliver of a chance they have survived, Hector is going to take that risk.  He arrives at the house and finds that it is deserted, but starts gathering photos and other tokens to remember his family by.  Then he hears a knock on the door and finds a zombie kid waiting on the other side.  If Night of the Comet were your average zombie movie  Hector, would, without any hesitation, blow the kid’s brains out and it would be shown in a loving, gory close up. Thankfully, Night of the Comet is not your average zombie movie and to Hector the thought of blowing out a kid’s brains, even if he is a zombie, is extremely nauseating. Hector decides to make a retreat.  He knocks over furniture to create distance between him and the boy, and successfully flees the house.  This scene gives us a nice insight into Hector’s character – he has a moral code.  He will only resort to violence if absolutely necessary. 

It is hard to pigeon hole Night of the Comet into a certain genre; it’s often labeled as a horror – comedy, but that is only slightly correct. It has a few horror tropes scattered throughout (like the nightmare within a nightmare scene) but most of its scare moments occur in the first half of the movie.  Tonally, it has more in common with Joe Dante’s Gremlins than it does with any of the zombie movies of the period. The best way to describe it is as cross pollination of different genres. It is a romantic comedy; a horror movie; a science fiction film; a teen comedy; and an action movie rolled into one.  The third act often plays like a low budget James Bond movie (with Dr. Carter in the role of a low rent Ernst Blofeld). Regina has been taken an underground instillation and, once she has learned the scientists’ true plans, is determined to escape – oblivious to the fact that Hector and Samantha are mounting their own rescue mission. It also avoids the cliché’ that was fairly prevalent in horror movies at the time – the cheesy jump scare to end the movie. In most horror movies , the villain makes one more lung at the heroine and it is either revealed to be a dream (Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Friday the 13^th), or it is left ambiguous to set up a sequel (The Evil Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, Phantasm).  The ending of Night of the Comet is straight out of a romantic comedy (complete with a sappy love over the end credits).   In his commentary, Thom Eberhardt said that he was influenced by the movie Valley Girl, and even pays direct homage to that film(the Valley Girl movie poster and soundtrack make cameo appearances in the movie). It often feels like Regina and Samantha wandered off the set of that movie and accidentally stumbled upon the filming of Night of the Comet. Though, given that both movies were produced by the same company, Atlantic Releasing Corporation, that isn't too surprising. Hell, both movies feature Michael Bowen in a supporting role. If Night of the Comet and Valley Girl were made today, they would, no doubt, take place in the same cinematic universe. 
{While I was in the middle of writing this review, it was announce that, the recently relaunched, Orion Pictures is producing a remake of Night of the Comet. The irony being that in 1984 Orion was one of the studios that passed on the original. A Night of the Comet extended universe might come true after all. Be very afraid!} 

Night of the Comet was made on an extremely low budget, which means that it was made on a tight, fast paced schedule and there was very little room for retakes.  However, it did allow room for some improvisation and clever film making. In one memorable scene Samantha fires at a car with a MAC 10 for target practice, but the damn gun keeps jamming. This happens multiple times and she finally throws her hands up in frustration and says to Regina, in a matter of fact manner, “See, that’s the problem with these things. Dad would have gotten us Uzis.” Regina then replies, “The car didn’t know the difference.”  This a fun little moment for the characters and was made up on the spot, because the MAC 10 did, indeed, keep jamming on Kelli Maroney.  However, Thom Eberhardt, rather than shoot multiple takes, opted to work this on set problem into the script and the result is history.  A modern filmmaker would approach this scene completely different and digitally add in the gunshots.  He would walk over to the actress and in a calm voice say, “Don’t worry about it. We’ll fix in post production.”

{Personal note: When I was in my early twenties, I allowed myself to be hoodwinked into helping a friend make a low budget vampire movie (it was a blatant rip off of “Blade”).  My friend was so enamored by the filmmaking process (and the many attractive women he had talked into appearing in his movie) that he didn’t pay much attention to the continuity. Whenever someone would point out the blatant continuity errors he would always respond with “Don’t worry! I’ll fix it in post.”  He never finished the movie, but he did make a trailer for it. Thank you! Now back to review.}

Night of the Comet is a good looking movie. It baffles the mind that such a movie could have been made for such a small budget. Thom Eberhardt uses all sorts of cinematic trickery to make the movie bigger than it actually is; everything from matte paintings to forced perspective. In one scene, he had to rely heavily on close ups to hide the fact that the crew was tearing the set down while filming. You would think that such an imaginative director would go on to bigger and better things, but, sadly, the rest of his filmography is pretty forgettable. Though, he is credited as directing an episode of Parker Lewis Can't Lose; that alone makes it all worthwhile. 

It is often said that “timing is everything” and this most certainly was the case for Night of the Comet. The movie was released in November of 1984 and proved to be a minor hit (it grossed 14 millions dollars against a 700,000 budget.  It came out a few months after the PG-13 rating had been instated (making it one of the earliest PG-13 movies). Yet, I have to wonder what fate might have befallen it had it been released before the creation of the PG-13 rating. Would it have been slapped with an R rating due to “horror movie” stigma attacked to it? How would that have effect its release?  Night of the Comet was also released in an era when a low budget movie (without major studio influence) could be given a wide theatrical release. If Night of the Comet would have been made just a few years later, it probably would have been released directly to video - the ultimate form of cinematic purgatory. Thankfully, Night of the Comet avoided this dire fate and has maintained its status as a cult classic.

Credits

Cast: Catherine Mary Stewart (Regina Belmont), Kelli Maroney (Samantha Belmont), Robert Beltran (Hector), Mary Woronov (Audrey White), Geoffrey Lewis (Dr. Carter), Sharon Farrell (Doris Belmont),Peter Fox (Dr. Wilson), Michael Bowen (Larry), John Achorn (Oscar), Devon Ericson (Minder), Lissa Layng (Davenport), Ivan E. Roth (Willy), Janice Kawaye (Sarah), Chance Boyer (Brian), Stanley Brock (Mel), Marc Poppel (Danny Mason Keener/ DMK), Alex Brown (Monster in Alley), Andrew Boyer (Rogers), Dick Rude (Stock Boy), Chris Pedersen (Stock Boy).

Director: Thom Eberhardt
Writer: Thom Eberhardt
Running Time: 95 min.