Sam Raimi used his pay from Tanz der Teufel 2 - Jetzt wird noch mehr getanzt (1987) to fund this film.
Some of the main characters are named after important people involved in the horror movie industry: Raimi - Sam Raimi, Savini - Tom Savini, Cmdr. Carpenter - John Carpenter. Among these listed, the Captain also includes of soldiers that they have lost which include Romero (George A. Romero) and King (Stephen King).
It was shot over an entire summer, and a cumulative four years to fully complete. It took another year before it saw any kind of release.