Roxanne Benjamin (Southbound) will be penning the remake of the cult-horror comedy Night of the Comet for Orion Pictures, Deadline has confirmed.
The 1984 doomsday cult original followed two sisters facing off against cannibal zombies after a comet wipes out most of life on Earth. The movie was written and directed by Thom Eberhardt and was produced by Wayne Crawford. Night of the Comet starred Kelli Maroney, Robert Beltran, and Catherine Mary Stewart and earned $14 million at the box office from a $1 million budget.
The outlet notes that the remake will “skew horror-sci-fi rather than comedy.” The original movie inspired leading female protagonists in later projects, including Joss Whedon’s Buffy Summers, the titular character in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series.
Benjamin’s writing and directing credits include the 2015 fantasy horror movie Southbound, XX, Final Stop, and the upcoming thriller Body at Brighton Rock, that Benjamin also produced, which is currently in post-production. Benjamin’s producing credits also include the V/H/S horror franchise and the 2015 horror movie The Devil’s Candy.
Orion’s upcoming projects include the Child’s Play remake, The Prodigy horror movie starring Taylor Schilling, Gretel and Hansel, and the Bill and Ted reboot.
