The story is loosely based on the 1997 murder of Yasuko Watanabe, who was a senior economic researcher at TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company), but was also a prostitute at night in the Shibuya district of Tokyo.
Director Sion Sono and former swimsuit model Megumi Kagurazaka (who plays Izumi Kikuchi) married after production wrapped in 2011.
This is the third part of Sion Sono's "Hate" trilogy (Love Exposure, Cold Fish)
The director and film has been subject to accusations of misogyny.