Originally, the film was written by Henri-Georges Clouzot. He began filming in 1964, with Romy Schneider and Serge Reggiani in the main roles. Due to the health problems of Reggiani and Clouzot himself, he was never able to finish L'enfer (1964). Claude Chabrol acquired Clouzot's screenplay and adapted it, updating it for the 90s, for his version.
It is said that Claude Chabrol valued very much a good sense of humor in his actors and that his collaboration with Emmanuelle Béart in this film was a difficult one because she was completely devoid of it.