This film is based on a 2015 short film of the same title, The Founder Effect (2015), which was also directed by Justin MacGregor. MacGregor had always envisioned revisiting the story in order to explore its themes in greater detail.
Shot extensively in and around Hope, British Columbia, The Founder Effect takes inspiration from the film Rambo - Programado Para Matar (1982), incorporating several of the same landmarks and landscapes captured in the 1982 classic.
While filming at a remote fishing lodge in British Columbia, the cast and crew found themselves temporarily trapped after a major storm caused a nearby river to overflow, cutting off running water and electricity, as well as flooding out the only road access. They had to wait for the river to retreat before help could come to the rescue.
In October, 2023, The Founder Effect won four awards at the inaugural Jesup Film Festival in Jesup, Georgia. The film was awarded Best Film Overall, Best Feature Film, and Best Cinematography. It also won the festival's Best Actor award for Rick Edwards' performance as Jack Rooney. Rick Edwards was present to accept the awards in person.
Vince Walzak, who portrays Wittmeyer Father, was originally the villain in the 2015 short, The Founder Effect (2015), upon which this feature is based. The farmhouse his Wittmeyer character inhabits is the same location where his darker character lived in the short.