Filmed simultaneously with Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2 (1979) in the summer of 1979, and even reuses some of the same sets, but that film was released five months earlier.
Although never listed in the UK as an official video nasty, the pre-cert video was seized by Cambridgeshire Police and the dealer was tried under Section 2 of the Obscene Publications Act 1977, though eventually found not guilty. The film was released fully uncut in 2000.
Most of the music used in the soundtrack was from singer/songwriter Nico Fidenco's Emanuelle e gli ultimi cannibali (1977) soundtrack.
Ian McCulloch has stated on many occasions that he enjoyed making this movie more than Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979).
For the film's US release under the title "Doctor Butcher, M.D.", the artwork for posters and other advertising featured an image of iconic artist Salvador Dali, as he appears in the cover photo from the April, 1980 issue of ARTnews magazine.