The signal detected is similar to the the "Wow!" signal, a strong narrowband radio signal received on 15 August 1977 by Ohio State University's Big Ear radio telescope, though that was 72 seconds instead of 42.
The sound effect for the aliens screaming is the same sound effect created for the velociraptors in the film Jurassic Park (1993), which was released three years prior.
Skeleton Man Ángel de la Peña places emperor scorpions in Ilana Lindsay Crouse's room, but they are quite harmless (except for people with allergies), and are often kept as pets.
Even though this movie failed at the domestic box office (partially because the highly advertised Independence Day (1996) would come out one month later), it fared much better abroad, where Charlie Sheen still enjoyed quite some popularity. A direct-to-video sequel called The second Arrival - Die Wiederkehr (1998) was released in 1998, directed by Kevin Tenney, starring Patrick Muldoon as the brother of Sheen's character in this movie. David Twohy, director and writer of the first Arrival, was given no credit for the sequel.
The film was originally titled "Shockwave", and director David Twohy wrote the main part specifically for Charlie Sheen, with whom he had worked in Tödliche Geschwindigkeit (1994).