Quiz

This film is known for its excellent use of live segues, in which scenes change within a single camera shot; in this case, shifting in back and forth through time in the same location.

According to John Sayles, the broken drive-in screen at the end of the film had to be built as none existed in the area, costing 50,000$, a substantial sum considering the film's independent low-budget nature and the prop's use in only one scene. As it was also the last scene to be shot before wrapping the production, the crew screened the last dailies on that very same screen, adding a silver lining to the expense.

The old squatter town of Perdido that was abandoned when the lake was created has an ironic name. In English it translates as "Lost".

The hands seen laying out the bones in this movie belong to David Glassman, a forensic anthropologist at Southwest Texas State University.

Joe Morton, who plays Ron Canada's son, is actually 18 months his senior.