This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.

It’s the first comet to buzz the planet in 65 million years, and everyone seems to be celebrating its imminent arrival. Everyone, that is, except Regina Belmont (Catherine Mary Stewart, The Last Starfighter) and her younger sister Samantha (Kelli Maroney, Chopping Mall), two Valley Girls who care more about fashion trends than the celestial phenomenon. But upon daybreak, when the girls discover that they’re the only residents of Los Angeles whom the comet hasn’t vaporized or turned into a zombie, they do what all good Valley Girls do…they go shopping! But when their day of malling threatens to become a day of mauling, these gals flee with killer zombies and blood-seeking scientists in hot pursuit!

For thoughts on Night of the Comet, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

Video Quality

Scream Factory presents Night of the Comet with a tremendous 2160p transfer in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio sourced from a 4K scan of the Original Camera Negative with Dolby Vision/HDR. This film was originally released on Blu-Ray by Scream Factory a decade ago which was derived from an older source. While that release was exciting at the time because we finally had the film in high definition, this new presentation is a true marvel and serves as one of our favorite upgrades. The implementation of Dolby Vision brings out so much depth and nuance within the color palette. This is a film with many stark hues, and this disc showcases its vivid palette with the greatest level of accuracy. The new presentation reaches a level of precision and color detail that likely matches or tops the original run in theaters. Black levels are strong with no crush present, and the highlights remain firm and never get overly bright.

This disc maintains the perfect level of natural film grain which provides a host of distinct textures in the environments, the outfits, the grotesque special effects and more. This grain resolves favorably with nothing ever appearing clumpy or spiking throughout both the daytime and otherwise murky nighttime scenes. This disc executes every environmental shift with consistency. The special effects render with stomach-churning clarity which makes the work all the more visceral. This transfer has done a standout job of cleaning up the print damage with virtually nothing in the way of dirt or specks remaining. This is lifted higher by a top notch encode which does not succumb to any dips in quality. This is by far the best the film has looked on home entertainment, and fans will be over the moon to experience such a fantastic presentation.

Audio Quality

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track and a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio which each captures this journey with zero issues. Dialogue comes through with grand clarity even during the more hectic developments. The soundtrack and the score are essential for establishing the mood of this story, and everything sounds amazing without a hint of damage. Environmental noises such as the radio announcements or certain vehicles come through with a refined quality. The fidelity of the movie is at a premium no matter what is thrown at it. The surround sound track does not open up the world too notably, but it adds some decent texture. The low end of the track registers some feeling within its ambitions. Scream Factory provided an unflinching audio experience for this one. English SDH subtitles are provided for those who want them.

Special Features

Audio Commentary #1: Actors Kelli Maroney and Catherine Mary Stewart provide a commentary track moderated by Edwin Samuelson which provides some rich details about the production including the casting process, memories from shooting on location, adopting the valley girl accent, doing some of their own stunts, the response to the film and more.
Audio Commentary #2: Director Thom Eberhardt provides a very thorough and entertaining commentary track moderated by Michael Felsher in which he discusses how he came to develop this project, the lengths he went to to capture how teens would really react in this situation, the casting process and the performances in the film, technical aspects of the production, the cinematography and so much more that is an absolute delight to delve into for fans.
Audio Commentary #3: Production Designer John Muto provides a pretty decent commentary track moderated by Michael Felsher in which Muto discusses his background, coming onboard this project, developing the look for this feature, working beyond the constraints of a smaller budget and more that film nerds will like to hear.

Valley Girls at the End of the World with Catherine Mary Stewart and Kelli Maroney: A 15-minute interview with the two stars filmed separately in which they discuss getting involved with and auditioning for the movie, the love of their characters, shooting on location, the atmosphere on set, the direction of Thom Eberhardt, the tone of the film and more.

The Last Man On Earth? with Robert Beltran: A 13-minute interview with the male lead of the film in which he discusses where he was at during this point in his career, initially turning down the role, the evolution of the character, the importance of the character being Mexican-American, memories of his fellow performers, the journey of his character and more.

Curse of the Comet with David B. Miller: A seven-minute interview with the makeup supervisor who discusses learning how to work with zombies on the “Thriller” music video, working with Thom Eberhardt, the experience of making the movie on a small budget and more.

Galleries: This disc provides a Film Photo Gallery and Behind The Scenes Photo Gallery.

Theatrical Trailer: A nearly minute-and-a-half long trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

Night of the Comet is a terrifically fun and nimble ‘80s classic which offers a good amount of comedy, some sci-fi intrigue and even some zombie thrills. The relatively sparse nature of the narrative is a benefit as you get more unencumbered moments to learn about these characters and understand their actions. Both Catherine Mary Stewart and Kelli Maroney are true delights throughout, and they are complemented by an ensemble that matches them well. If you are looking for straight-up horror and gore, you may not respond as favorably, but it is an effective genre movie nonetheless. Scream Factory has provided this one with a 4K UHD Blu-Ray release that delivers a knockout A/V presentation and a rich array of special features. Even if you already own this one on Blu-Ray, this new presentation is a major upgrade all around. Highly Recommended

Night of the Comet (Collector’s Edition) is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD + Blu-Ray Combo Pack.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Scream Factory has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.