I guess it was only a matter of time. If a film is from the 1980s and has any kind of following at all, it will eventually be remade. This time, it’s Night of the Comet‘s turn.
Deadline is reporting that writer/director/producer Roxanne Benjamin has been tapped by Orion Pictures to write a remake of the 1984 cult classic.
The original Night of the Comet was set in Los Angeles and dealt with the aftereffects of a night where the Earth passed through the tail of a comet. What was originally an excuse to party soon turns to horror, as the dust in the tail of comet was deadly. Direct exposure to the dust was fatal, limited exposure turned humans into zombies and a small number of humans were able to survive were the ones who were inside steel structures with no exposure to outside air.
Two such survivors in the film are Valley Girl sisters Regina and Samantha Belmont, both of whom slept through the comet’s arrival and wake to find they must navigate an apocalyptic L.A., avoiding zombies and other survivors who cannot be trusted.
The film was in many ways a campy B-movie, but also addressed issues with consumerism, gender roles, and doomsday cults. Joss Whedon has stated that the film was an influence on his creation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Benjamin got her start in Hollywood as a producer, working most notably on the V/H/S series of films. She made her writing and directing debut with 2015’s horror anthology film, Southbound, where she was responsible for the “Siren” segment. She followed that up by taking part in another horror anthology, 2017’s female-centric XX. She co-wrote “The Birthday Party” segment and wrote and directed “Don’t Fall” for the film. She has just completed writing and directing her first full-length feature, Body at Brighton Rock.
No word on a director for the film as of yet, but considering Benjamin directs most of the films she writes, she might be tapped for that job too. The articles states the the remake will move away from the comedic elements in the original and be more of a straight horror/sci-fi film.
The film joins fellow reboots of the Child’s Play and Bill and Ted franchises on their schedule.
