40 Fun Facts About Night of the Comet

In Night of the Comet, the survivors all spent the night inside rooms or containers lined with which material?

Steel is the link the Belmont sisters spot between their hiding places, and Hector Gomez fits the pattern too: he slept in the back of his truck.

What is left of most people on the morning after the comet passes in Night of the Comet?

Piles of red dust lie beside heaps of empty clothing wherever people stood watching the sky, while those who were only partly exposed turn into zombies.

Samantha Belmont of Night of the Comet was an early influence on which California teenager of 1990s television?

Buffy Summers owes a debt to Sam: Joss Whedon set out to subvert the horror cliché of the little blonde girl who walks into a dark alley and gets killed.

Night of the Comet was among the first mainstream films to receive which MPAA rating, introduced in July 1984?

A PG-13 was brand new: the rating arrived after complaints that Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom were too violent for a PG.

In Night of the Comet, Earth last passed through the comet's tail when which animals were wiped out?

Dinosaurs died out 65 million years before the story begins, the last time Earth took this path, yet people still treat the comet's return as a party.

The comet in Night of the Comet arrives eleven days before which holiday, as crowds gather outside to celebrate?

Christmas is close enough that the comet feels like part of the season, so large crowds stand outdoors to watch it, which is exactly what dooms them.

Michael Bowen, who plays Reggie's boyfriend Larry in Night of the Comet, later played Uncle Jack in which crime drama?

Breaking Bad cast him as Jack Welker in 2012 and 2013, a part he based on the revolutionary-type people he knew while growing up in San Francisco.

Robert Beltran, who plays Hector in Night of the Comet, later played first officer Chakotay on which series?

Star Trek: Voyager kept him aboard from 1995 to 2001, and the role won him a Golden Eagle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Series in 1997.

Night of the Comet's Dr. Carter was played by the father of which actress, his co-star in The Way of the Gun?

Juliette Lewis also acted with her father in Blueberry; Geoffrey Lewis was best known for his many films alongside Clint Eastwood, such as High Plains Drifter.

Night of the Comet's score was composed by David Campbell, the father of which alternative rock musician?

Beck is his son with Bibbe Hansen, and the two have worked together since: Campbell arranged the strings and brass on the album Morning Phase.

Reggie Belmont of Night of the Comet holds all but one of the high scores on which Atari arcade game?

Tempest, Atari's 1981 tube shooter, came to designer Dave Theurer in a nightmare about monsters crawling out of a hole in the ground.

Where do the rival arcade initials DMK reappear in the final scene of Night of the Comet?

On a vanity plate: the sports car that nearly runs Sam down belongs to Danny Mason Keener, a survivor about her own age, who offers her a ride.

Where does Reggie Belmont spend the night of the comet with her boyfriend in Night of the Comet?

A projection booth keeps her safe because the couple stay on after closing time; Larry steps outside the next morning and is killed by a zombie.

Reggie Belmont of Night of the Comet first mistakes the hazy morning-after sky for which California nuisance?

Smog is her first guess when she steps outside to look for Larry and sees the red sky, moments before she runs into a zombie.

After meeting her first zombie in Night of the Comet, Reggie Belmont escapes on what borrowed vehicle?

A motorcycle belonging to her boyfriend Larry carries her home, where she finds that her younger sister Sam has survived too.

In Night of the Comet, the sisters race to what kind of building after hearing a voice that proves pre-recorded?

A radio station is where they find only a tape of a disc jockey playing, but they meet another survivor there, Hector Gomez.

What do the dying scientists in Night of the Comet take from healthy survivors to keep their disease at bay?

Blood from untainted survivors buys the researchers time to hunt for a cure, and they leave their donors brain-dead on life support to collect it.

What oversight let the comet's contamination into the scientists' underground base in Night of the Comet?

Open ventilation undid all their planning: the researchers had expected the comet's effects, but left the system open with the fans running.

In the closing scenes of Night of the Comet, what finally washes away the comet's deadly residue?

Rain clears the air, and the survivors form a makeshift family: Reggie pairs up with Hector and they act as parents to two rescued children.

Where is the scientists' underground installation hidden in Night of the Comet?

Out in the desert, the researchers pick up Sam's voice when she speaks into a live microphone, which is how they learn the sisters exist.

Scientist Audrey White fakes Samantha Belmont's death in Night of the Comet by injecting her with what?

A sedative lets Audrey White pretend to carry out the order; she then turns on the last remaining scientist and waits for Hector to return.

Which symptom leads scientist Audrey White to judge Samantha exposed to the comet in Night of the Comet?

A rash is developing on Sam, so Audrey offers to dispose of her; instead she spares the teenager and briefs Hector before the rescue.

Why is the Belmont sisters' father away from home when the comet arrives in Night of the Comet?

Military duty keeps him away, leaving Sam to clash with her stepmother Doris, who she knows is cheating on him.

Which Canadian actress, a former Days of Our Lives regular, plays Reggie Belmont in Night of the Comet?

Catherine Mary Stewart grew up in Edmonton and went to London to study dance, where she passed the audition for her first film, The Apple.

The actress who plays Reggie in Night of the Comet starred the same year in which arcade-themed space adventure?

The Last Starfighter cast her as Maggie Gordon, girlfriend of a trailer-park teenager recruited by aliens after he tops the high score on a video game.

Which former Ryan's Hope actress plays the younger Belmont sister, Samantha, in Night of the Comet?

Kelli Maroney had already played cheerleader Cindy Carr in Fast Times at Ridgemont High two years earlier.

The actress who plays Samantha in Night of the Comet later faced killer security robots in which 1986 horror film?

Chopping Mall traps its teenage shop workers inside a shopping centre after dark with three high-tech guard machines that have turned maniacal.

Which actress auditioned for Night of the Comet shortly before landing the lead in A Nightmare on Elm Street?

Heather Langenkamp already knew Elm Street's casting director, Annette Benson, who had earlier brought her in to read for the comet film.

Which former Andy Warhol superstar plays disillusioned scientist Audrey White in Night of the Comet?

Mary Woronov danced with the Exploding Plastic Inevitable and played Hanoi Hannah in Chelsea Girls before becoming a cult star in Roger Corman films.

Night of the Comet reunited two stars of which 1982 Paul Bartel black comedy about a murderous married couple?

Eating Raoul gave Robert Beltran his breakthrough as the title character, two years before he and its leading lady met again as Hector and Audrey.

Who wrote and directed Night of the Comet after the studio at first resisted handing over the director's chair?

Thom Eberhardt won out because Atlantic was keen to invest quickly, though his two producers clashed with him and early on tried to have him replaced.

The director of Night of the Comet later guided Kurt Russell and Martin Short through which 1992 sailing comedy?

Captain Ron cast Russell as a sailor with a checkered past, hired by a family to bring their yacht through the Caribbean.

Night of the Comet's director later cast Michael Caine as a sham Sherlock Holmes in which 1988 comedy?

Without a Clue flips the stories: Ben Kingsley's Dr. Watson is the real detective, and Holmes is an actor he hires to protect his reputation as a physician.

Which dancing star of 1930s Hollywood musicals inspired the heroines of Night of the Comet, by the director's account?

Ginger Rogers was the model for the film's strong female leads, an idea the director merged with his love of post-apocalyptic stories set in empty cities.

Teenage girls interviewed for Night of the Comet saw a downside to the apocalypse only when which subject came up?

Dating was the one topic that dimmed their enthusiasm; otherwise they saw the end of the world as an exciting adventure, which kept the script lighthearted.

Atlantic Releasing backed Night of the Comet hoping to repeat the success of which 1983 teen film it had released?

Valley Girl, directed by Martha Coolidge, was a surprise success that turned Atlantic from arthouse imports towards small-budget independent films.

Which studio hired Roxanne Benjamin in October 2018 to write a remake of Night of the Comet?

Orion Pictures had her script by April 2019, and in January 2023 she said the project was still alive but moving slowly through the studio.

Which future fantasy novelist reviewed Night of the Comet for Imagine magazine, calling it witty and thought-provoking?

Neil Gaiman ranked it among the most amusing and imaginative films he had seen that were made with no budget, while also calling it cheap exploitation.

Variety likened Night of the Comet to which 1971 Charlton Heston film about a survivor of a pandemic?

The Omega Man, based on Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend, was one of several end-of-the-world films the trade paper heard echoes of in this one.

Which singer of the 1978 hit What You Won't Do for Love recorded Never Give Up for Night of the Comet?

Bobby Caldwell wrote his signature hit in two days after label executives said his debut album lacked one, and he later sang on several film soundtracks.