The episode of WTF Happened to This Horror Movie? covering Night of the Comet was Written by Emilie Black, Narrated by Jason Hewlett, Edited by Jaime Vasquez, Produced by John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

1984, the year of many interests and fears for Americans, from fears of a nuclear attack still remaining to a love-hate relationship with consumerism, American films explored teenage life in all its aspects. Some of these films were more memorable and on point for life and fears of the American teenager from living in the valley in Valley Girl, survival like Red Dawn and The Zero Boys, and a whole lot more; the mid-1980s were filled with teen cinema, and some of it was definitely on the dark side. Night of the Comet (get it HERE) was definitely on the bleaker side of things while mixing teenage life, consumerism, potential alien invasion, mutation, and evil scientists; this film had it all. It also had one banging soundtrack. For 1984 that is.

Night of the Comet takes the idea of what if two teenage girls were the only survivors after the passing of a comet turned every one to sand. The Belmont sisters, by luck in their destiny, found themselves in metal rooms, one a projection booth, the other a garden shed, overnight when a much-awaited comet flew by Earth, turning everyone to dust. The two of them soon realize they seem to be alone, so they head into the city to see if it’s as empty as the suburb. Once there, they find a radio signal that brings them to the station, which is where they start to wait out for other survivors. Soon, Hector, a truck driver, stumbles into the station, and they make friends. Then they gradually find out how many others have survived and whether or not they can be trusted. It’s a post-apocalyptic world, and no one is safe, really.

The film itself seems like a limited-audience movie, but one watches, and it becomes clear that it’s more than that, much more than that, in fact. The film here has some fascinating ideas, and it has a solid lead cast making it easy to get into the story. Of course, the side of mutant zombies and the soundtrack don’t hurt, either. The film is entertaining and well done, and it knows how to make the most of its budget.

Speaking of budget, Night of the Comet was made on what some movies spend on crafty in a week! Officially, the film’s budget was $700,000 USD, not even a million. These days, that’s not even enough to buy a house in Los Angeles, and very few movies are made for this amount unless they are super indies or micro-budget films. A horror-sci-fi-teen-possibly-parody film with setups in the suburbs, downtown Los Angeles, a radio station, a department store, and a research facility that has scenes with downtown LA bring completely empty? You have to be talking $10-15 million these days. On a lot of budgets, this may be doable with a warehouse, a few friends’ houses, and a whole lot of CGI. And this film didn’t rely on CGI or green screens. The film was shot on location, except for some of the outdoors at the research facility, which was shot with miniatures and forced perspective. This film made the most of its measly budget and you can really see it all on the screen.

Speaking of which, to help with the budget, writer-director Thom Eberhardt had the cast react to anything unplanned happening in character so that they could get it on film and work with that if it worked for the film in the end. The cast was very aware of the budgetary restrictions, and one good example of this in the scene where Kelli Maroney is supposed to be slapped by Sharon Farrell; her reaction was not on point with the fake slaps, so to save time and money, she had Farrell actually slap her, which gave the result we see on screen early on in the film.

Another money-saving bit was that the scenes in the department store were shot at night, thus saving them the money they would have had to shell out to close the store during daylight hours. Then there’s the fact that they didn’t fully close downtown Los Angeles to get those eerie empty shots of the area, they simply had the traffic held back at red lights and leg go at calculated intervals. This led to the look they needed here. The film is a school on how to shoot on a budget and make it look like more.

The cast here is a big part of the fun. While some of them were known back in 1984, none of them were supermassive stars or A List stars, which means that they were familiar faces without costing a ton of money. Catherine Mary Stewart, who plays lead Regina Belmont here, was becoming a rather familiar face with credits including The Last Starfighter, 150 episodes of Days of Our Lives, Knight Rider, The Beach Girls, Nighthawks, and even The Apple, to name a few. She was a more than familiar face for those who watched television a lot and was already making a name for herself in films. Playing her sister Samantha, Kelli Maroney didn’t have quite as many credits behind her, but her credits included Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Slayground as films, so a teen film and a drama film with a very horror title, one of which a smaller hit that has since become a massively loved film and the other lesser-known. Her television credits at the time included Ryan’s Hope and Celebrity. She didn’t have a ton of titles, but she was about to become quite known to horror fans for credits with Chopping Mall, Scream Queen Hot Tub Party, and a bunch more. She may not have been a big name at the time, but her appeal has endured and helped Night of the Comet reach cult status. The rest of the cast has folks like Robert Beltran as Hector, Mary Woronov as Audrey White, Geoffrey Lewis, Peter Fox, John Achorn, and a bunch more. As mentioned, it’s not filled with any member of the A-List, but the film has a solid cast that can sell the story perfectly here.

The film’s whole crew also clearly helped make the film more affordable, from the director’s car in the street as background, the local cops who helped with traffic control showing up as motorcycle cops in the film, actress Catherine Mary Stewart doing most of her stunts whenever possible, photos in the film are of the director standing in as the girls’ dad and his wife and kid standing in Hector’s family, the radio station was filmed on a set made in an abandoned warehouse, a reshot scene used two panels moved by hand to mimic an elevator, etc. There was so much done to cut costs as much as possible without causing problems in the film.

Of course, the look of the film helps a lot in making it look a bit more expensive with the eerie red light over Los Angeles, the way the characters each had a color type assigned to them, and the use of real reactions whenever something went oddly, the film worked by having a ton of planning, yet accepting and working with the unplanned whenever it happened.

Did that turn into a massive box office? Well, yes and no. The film’s total box office in the US and Canada was just under $14.5 million USD which is a more than respectable amount of money to be made on a $700,000 budget, even if one factor in the extra costs not often discussed such as marketing and distribution. Even if those were in the few millions, which is doubtful given that it was 1984, the film would have still more than doubled, maybe even quadrupled, its budget at the box office. That is something most movies that aren’t massive tentpole releases would not be against at all.

Let’s take a look at how this little film that could manage to get such great totals at the box office. The film was released in American theaters on November 16th, 1984, pulling in over $3.5 million over its first weekend out. It stayed actively in theaters for six weeks, leading it to its $14.5 million theatrical run total. Was the film number one at the box office on its first release weekend? No, but it did more than respectably in the top ten coming in at number three, right behind the number one film Mission in Action starring Chuck Norris and number two film Oh God, You Devil! A film starring George Burns as both God and Satan. Right behind Night of the Comet, at number four, was The Terminator, you know, that little science-fiction film that no one remembers?

In terms of the same audience, there is a definite overlap with The Terminator, but also with A Nightmare on Elm Street, which was number six, and Silent Night, Deadly Night, just off of the top ten, at number twelve. This was indeed the mid-1980s, and it seemed like a hit movie or three were coming out each week; securing a spot in the top three for a $700,000 film seemed like an unachievable goal, yet here we are. The film did well in theaters, and then it was released on home video, where it found even more of its audience. Then, like a lot of films, it seemed to lay dormant for a while until it hit the nostalgia land, the convention circuit, which seemed to be the only place to buy the film on DVD for a while.

Of course, now, with all the nostalgia labels doing Blu-Ray rereleases, Night of the Comet was bound to come up, and it did. This means it’s now easier than it has been in a long time to get it in good condition, high definition, and with some decent extras. Count yourself lucky if you never had to look for 1980s classics and cult films at conventions, digging through boxes and boxes of various levels of quality releases that may or may not all have been legit to find the one copy available that weekend while four other people were doing the same. What this means here, children, is that looking for movies in the olden days was our version of going to school uphill both ways.

Now, there is another major factor in this film that seems to get discussed very little, and that is the soundtrack. It made a big difference on fans pushing them from liking the film to straight up loving the film. Did it contribute to its box office? Probably not as much as many other films, but it was still important. Also, that soundtrack rules. It’s a very 1980s mix of music from lesser-known artists; some of them had had some minor hits, but no one massive like Prince, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Van Halen, Sade, Run DMC, Madonna, U2, or The Smiths who were the top ten musical artists at the time.

However, the soundtrack is still fun to this day, and the songs by Thom Pace, Doug Kershaw, Bobby Caldwell, and Tami Holbrook, among others. The soundtrack wasn’t as big of a hit, but it was important because the film partially takes place in a radio station. Two fun tidbits relating to music here, in the station, Kelli Maroney’s Samantha tosses a copy of the Valley Girl soundtrack, which was the biggest soundtrack at the time. Also, this is pure speculation from information found online that has yet to be proven true, but it looks like a young LL Cool J is seen at a microphone in a crowd at the start of the film. As he has just been signed to Def Jam at the age of 16, so freezing the image where the rapper seems to appear, it really does look like a very young LL.

Night of the Comet was a big hit when the cost-to-box office comparison is made; the fact that it seemed to disappear for a while and is now a beloved cult classic somehow makes sense with how the home video and collector market evolved over the last few decades. It’s still a more-than-fun film with a great lead cast, and some fun bits that are so purely 1980s, they almost hurt. Night of the Comet takes place at Christmas time, by the way, so it is a Christmas movie.

A couple of the previous episodes of WTF Happened to This Horror Movie? can be seen below. To see more, head over to our JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!

For the new episode of The Arrow in the Head Show, hosts John “The Arrow” Fallon and Lance Vlcek revisit Army of Darkness

A new episode of The Arrow in the Head Show has just been released, and in this one hosts John “The Arrow” Fallon and Lance Vlcek are continuing to prepare for the new release Evil Dead Rise. For last week’s episode, they looked back at Evil Dead II, and now they’re revisiting the 1993 follow-up Army of Darkness (watch it HERE)! To find out what they had to say about Army of Darkness, check out the video embedded above!

Written by Sam Raimi and his brother Ivan Raimi, Army of Darkness has the following synopsis: Ash is transported back to medieval days, where he is captured by the dreaded Lord Arthur. Aided by the deadly chainsaw that has become his only friend, Ash is sent on a perilous mission to recover the Book of the Dead, a powerful tome that gives its owner the power to summon an army of ghouls.

The film stars Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie, Richard Grove, Ted Raimi, Bridget Fonda, Timothy Patrick Quill, Michael Earl Reid, Patricia Tallman, Bill Moseley, and of course Bruce Campbell as our hero Ash Williams.

Here’s some information on The Arrow in the Head Show: We’re trying something a bit new here on Arrow In The Head. After many years behind the scenes, we’ve decided to take our sarcastic, booze-influenced style into the video age with The Arrow In The Head Show! Hosted by John Fallon aka The Arrow and Lance Vlcek, we will dig into not only the newest horror flicks hitting the big and small screens but also delve into the good, bad, and ugly of horror from the golden ages of the ’80s through the underrated 90s and maybe a bit beyond.

Something groovy and a tad rough around the edges, we are here to talk shop with a drink in hand, a bit of foul language, and a whole lot of heart.

This episode of the show was Edited by Lance. What did you think of this episode, and are you a fan of Army of Darkness? Let us know by leaving a comment below! 

A couple of the previous episodes of The Arrow in the Head Show can be seen below. To see more, and to check out the other shows we have to offer, head over to the Arrow in the Head Show YouTube channel… and subscribe to the channel while you’re there!

Episodes of The Arrow in the Head Show are also available to listen to as audio-only podcasts. You can find the information on that at THIS LINK.

Arrow in the Head reviews Space Wars: Quest for the Deepstar, a sci-fi adventure starring Michael Pare, directed by Garo Setian

PLOT: Space scavengers and a group of mercenaries race across the cosmos in a search for a long-lost freighter that is said to contain great treasure.

REVIEW: I have a lot of admiration for filmmakers who don’t let financial limitations stifle their creativity or force them to minimize the scope of their stories. In that regard, there’s a lot to admire about director Garo Setian’s sci-fi adventure film Space Wars: Quest for the Deepstar. Just like the title instantly brings to mind Star Wars, Space Wars is reminiscent of the low budget sci-fi movies producers like Roger Corman pumped out in the wake of the original Star Wars’ success. You know, movies like Battle Beyond the Stars and the movies that featured stock footage from Battle Beyond the Stars. Space Wars just happens to have been made on an even lower budget than those had.

In his feature debut, the killer robot movie Automation, Setian featured more impressive special effects than you would expect to see in a movie with such a limited budget. He does the same in Space Wars – but on a much larger scale. Armed with a budget that other filmmakers would use to make a movie about people interacting in one location, Setian has made a universe-trotting adventure that takes place on different planets, space stations, and space ships, featuring alien creatures and action sequences that take place in the far reaches of space, including a chase through an asteroid field like in The Empire Strikes Back.

Michael Paré, who first gained attention from both the mainstream and fans of cult movies back in the ‘80s with the likes of Eddie and the Cruisers and Streets of Fire, and has plenty of sci-movie and Starhunter experience, stars as space scavenger Kip Corman. (And giving a nod to Roger Corman with the character’s name was a nice touch.) The year is 2980, and Kip roams the final frontier with his daughter Taylor (Sarah French), looking for a big score. By this time, scientists have figured out how to extract the soul from a dead body and use it to create a blue liquid called Essence, which can then be placed in a cyborg body to bring the dead person back to life. Kip’s wife / Taylor’s mom was recently killed in an accident, and while they have her Essence, they don’t have enough credits to complete the process of bringing her back in a cyborg body. This lack of funds leads them onto the adventure of the title, the Quest for the Deepstar, a long-lost freighter that is said to hold great treasure. Kip and Taylor team up with a celestial cartographer named Jackie (Anahit Setian), who claims to know how to locate the Deepstar.

Finding the Deepstar and its treasure would be treacherous enough, but the script by Joe Knetter (who crafted the story with the director) throws more problems at Kip, Taylor, and Jackie: not only are a group of mercenaries also seeking the Deepstar, but Kip is also being chased across the cosmos by his insane former employer Elnora (Sadie Katz). While Elnora is entertainingly unhinged for all of her scenes, the group of mercenaries are more layered characters. There’s the leader Dykstra (Olivier Gruner), his dedicated lackey Nina (Rachele Brooke Smith), the bloodthirsty Manx (Jed Rowen), and Wade (Tyler Gallant)… a guy who might actually be redeemable. There are some interesting scenes with this group, especially once Taylor ends up on their ship and starts trying to mess with their dynamic.

Some viewers will be put off by Space Wars right away due to its low budget. There’s a CG action sequence in the opening moments that will be deciding factor on whether or not viewers will be able to go on this ride or not. But if you can go along with a modern version of ‘80s sci-fi cheapies, there’s entertainment to be found in this one. Kip and Taylor are a fine pair of heroes, and their interactions with Jackie are fun. Setian and Knetter have put a good group of villains up against them, and also keep the action coming at a steady pace. I can’t say I was wrapped up in the story for every moment of the film’s 90 minute running time, but I could appreciate what the filmmakers were doing. I also liked that there were some twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting, and that it all wraps up with such a heartwarming ending.

Space Wars: Quest for the Deepstar won’t be for everyone. You probably already know whether or not it’s for you. But there’s definitely an audience that will have a good time watching it. This one didn’t connect with me as well as Automation did, but it’s fun – and if there were to be more adventures in the Space Wars universe, I would watch them too.

Uncork’d Entertainment is bringing Space Wars: Quest for the Deepstar to theatres on April 21st, and a digital release will follow on May 2nd. Here’s the list of theatres:

April 21-27: Lumiere Cinema, Beverly Hills, CA (Q&A on first night) Camelot Theatres, Palm Springs, CA
April 22: The Frida Cinema, Santa Ana, CA (Q&A with cast and crew)
April 28-May 3: Galaxy Theatres Boulevard Mall, Las Vegas, NV
April 28 & 29: Moonlite Drive-in, West Wyoming, PA (double bill w/ ESCAPE FROM DEATH BLOCK 13)
April 30: Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival, Miami, FL
May 5 & 6: The Fallon Theatre, Fallon, NV

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The new American Born Chinese trailer finds Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Ben Wang, and others embarking on a magical adventure!

Who’s ready for an Everything Everywhere All At Once reunion? Disney’s new American Born Chinese trailer reunites four stars from the Daniels’ Oscar-winning film, including Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, and James Hong! Today’s preview for this off-the-wall series based on the award-winning graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang takes us on a magical tour through Chinese lore while addressing hard-hitting topics about identity, heritage, and making a mark on the world.

The official plot, as per Disney: “Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang, American Born Chinese tells the story of Jin Wang, an average teenager juggling his high school social life with his home life. When he meets a new foreign student on the first day of the school year, even more worlds collide as Jin is unwittingly entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.”

Ben Wang, Yeo Yann Yann, Chin Han, Daniel Wu, Jimmy Liu, and Sydney Taylor join the cast mentioned above for the coming-of-age adventure. Kelvin Yu, who served as executive producer on the animated series Central Park (Apple TV+) and Bob’s Burgers (Fox), created the series. Destin Daniel Cretton, who helmed the MCU entry Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and is set to direct 2025’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, will direct.

American Born Chinese is the winner of the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award, a 2006 National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature, the winner of the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: New, an Eisner Award nominee for Best Coloring, a 2007 Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year, and a New York Times bestseller.

In addition to being a powerful story about lineage, fitting in, and stereotypes that have left a negative and lasting impact on society, American Born Chinese has become a touchstone release for many of its fans. I’ve spoken to several people who say that Yang’s book is an outstanding and eye-opening read, and I could not agree more.

What do you think about the new American Born Chinese trailer? Let us know in the comments below. All episodes of this exciting series arrive on Disney+ on May 24, 2023.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel set pics show Ernie Hudson, Paul Rudd… and another actor from the original Ghostbusters

Filming is underway on the sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife (watch it HERE), which is scheduled to reach theatres on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 – and if you want to remain SPOILER free, you should back out of this article right now. That’s because a few set pics have shown up online, and they reveal a couple things about the sequel you might not want to know already.

If you don’t mind being spoiled, here we go: Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel set pics published by the Daily Mail show Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore, one of the original Ghostbusters. That’s not a spoiler, we already knew Hudson was coming back – and in fact, it has been said that “The character of Winston Zeddemore and Zeddemore Industries figures strongly into the future of Ghostbusters.” Also in these images is Paul Rudd as his Afterlife character Gary Grooberson… and this is a bit more spoilery, because it sure looks like Rudd is wearing a Ghostbusters uniform under the shroud that was supposed to keep his wardrobe hidden. And here’s another spoiler from these set pics: William Atherton is reprising the role of Walter Peck, the antagonistic EPA inspector from the first Ghostbusters film!

Atherton was asked to appear as Peck in Ghostbusters II back in 1989, but the deal fell apart and the character was written out of the script. Decades later, he is finally back in the role.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife stars Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace are back for the sequel, reprising the roles of Trevor and Phoebe. They’re joined in the cast by Carrie Coon, playing Trevor and Phoebe’s mom Callie, plus the actors mentioned above and new additions Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick), Patton Oswalt (The King of Queens), James Acaster (Hypothetical), and Emily Alyn Lind (Doctor Sleep).

At first, Afterlife director Jason Reitman was expected to take the helm, once again directing from a screenplay he was writing with Gil Kenan – but then it was revealed that Kenan will actually be directing the new film. He previously directed the animated movie Monster House, the live-action films City of Ember, A Boy Called Christmas, and the remake of Poltergeist, and an episode of the Scream TV series.

When he took the directing job, Kenan said, “It’s an absolute honor to pick up the proton pack and step behind the camera for the next chapter of the Spengler family saga. I just wish I could go back to 1984 and tell the kid in the sixth row of the Mann Valley West that one day he was going to get to direct a Ghostbusters film.“

Reitman added, “A few years ago, my father (Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II director Ivan Reitman) handed me the keys to Ecto-1 and together we made Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Words will never express how grateful I am to have made a film with my father by my side. It’s now time to hand those keys to my creative partner and fellow Ghostbuster Gil Kenan, a brilliant director who will keep the Spengler spirit alive. I can only hope to provide him the same producorial care and support that my father showed me.“

What do you think of the Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel set pics? Are you looking forward to seeing Walter Peck again? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.