One of several vampire movies made by the Coppola family. Embrasse-moi, vampire (1988) stars Nicolas Cage (Nicholas Coppola) and features Marc Coppola; Dracula's Widow (1988) was co-written and directed by Christopher Coppola and also co-stars Marc Coppola; and Francis Ford Coppola produced and directed Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) with also Anton Coppola conducting and Roman Coppola as second unit director and visual effects director. Many years later, Nicolas Cage starred in Renfield (2023).
Writer/director Christopher Coppola originally wanted Isabella Rossellini to play Vanessa. Joanna Pacula was his second choice. Nastassja Kinski, Valérie Kaprisky, Gloria Estefan, Sonia Braga, Maria Conchita Alonso, Hanna Schygulla, Isabelle Adjani, and Maruschka Detmers were also considered for the role.
After Detective Lannon visits Raymond in jail, the camera pans over the Hollywood Walk of Fame star of Francis Ford Coppola, the uncle of this film's director, Christopher Coppola. However, the star shown is not real. Francis Ford Coppola did not receive his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame until March 21, 2022, when it was placed at 6667 Hollywood Boulevard in front of Musso & Frank Grill.