During a post-premiere audience Q&A at Fantastic Fest, director Demián Rugna said he got the idea for When Evil Lurks from a series of news stories about farm pesticides in his native Argentina causing widespread health issues. He suggests that corporate apathy about the workers' health, and the way the issue occured "out in the middle of nothing," where it's easy for profiteers and city-dwellers to ignore the impact of their choices, started him thinking about the idea of lurking evils given free rein to spread.
The movie was nominated for four awards at the Dead Meat Horror Awards: Best Practical Effects, Best Kill, Best Director, and Best Original Film. It won all four awards.