Brigette Nielsen was cast after she met director Jim Wynorski at a party. At the party, the two of them played a round of pool together with a wager: if Nielsen won, Jim would "put on a maid's outfit and clean her house" but if Wynorski won, Nielsen would work on the film for one day.
At the beginning of the movie, when Laurie runs into the school auditorium, we see a sign promoting the school's production of Faust, directed by "Joe Bob Briggs", with "Roger Gorman" listed as the head of the drama department (or some similar title). Joe Bob Briggs (real name: John Bloom) hosted a late-night b-movie program, and Roger Gorman is a reference to famed movie director Roger Corman.
Mindy Seeger, who plays the nurse at Robin's school, was also in the original 976-EVIL as a victim of the evil phone service.
Robert Englund was originally considered to return to the director's chair for this entry before Jim Wynorski took over. Englund's idea for 976-EVIL 2 would have involved a cursed crisis line.
Both the films shown during the TV scene were used mostly because they were public domain movies at the time. It's a Wonderful Life is no longer in the public domain while Night of The Living Dead still remains as such.