Roxanne Benjamin

Up and coming writer/director Roxanne Benjamin has been tapped by Orion Pictures to create a remake of the 1984 cult classic ‘Night of the Comet’.  The original film was written and directed by Thom Eberhardt and starred Catherine Mary Stewart and  Kelli Maroney as sisters Regina “Reggie” Belmont and Samantha “Sam” Belmont, two of the only survivors on Earth after it passed through the tail of a comet.  (Thus the title.)  Almost everyone else in the world was either turned to dust or became a flesh-eating zombie.  Later in their exploits, they meet and befriend Hector Gomez, played by Robert Beltran, who would later go on to star as Commander Chakotay on ‘Star Trek: Voyager’.

Writer/director Roxanne Benjamin

Benjamin has written and directed segments in the horror anthology films ‘Southbound’ and ‘XX’ and the short ‘Final Stop’.  Her feature film debut, ‘Body at Brighton Rock’, which she also wrote and directed, is currently in post-production and will be released by Magnolia Pictures in 2019.

The original picture was made for only $700,000 (and it shows) but earned $14.4 million from its theatrical run.  Despite its low-budget, the film is highly regarded for its straight-faced presentation of an absurd concept and even Joss Whedon has stated that Maroney’s character Sam partially influenced his creation of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’.

In a featurette included on the 2013 DVD release, the actors recalled having to film first thing in the morning on Christmas day because that was the only way they could capture downtown Los Angeles without any people following the “end of the world.”  The film also contains an oh-so-80s montage of the sisters raiding the local mall to grab anything their hearts desire, before having to flee zombie mall employees.  And the whole thing is set to the most ’80s soundtrack to end all ’80s soundtracks.

Don’t believe me?  Check out this trailer:

 

Bitchin’, isn’t it?

Source: Entertainment Weekly