Both Kristoffer Polaha and Neal McDonough admitted neither of them knew what Angel Studios was before agreeing to play in the film.
Despite voluntarily not watching many of his own film and TV work Neal McDonough, stated one of his fondest experiences of this film was watching it with his family in theaters and afterwards having a discussion with his son about the story, which was something he joked he couldn't have done with Justified (2010).
Neal McDonough explained in a promotional video that his goal in playing the Benefactor was, "I want to make sure that by the end of this piece... that you really despise me. I want the audience to really understand and hate the devil."
Sean Astin expressed in an interview that he had read the script three times before filming but still had trouble understanding the story until the director explained it to him.
Neal McDonough was so proud of the finished film that in a promotional interview he expressed, "When you have projects like 'The Shift' out there, it makes me feel like I'm doing the right thing."