The movie was shot in fifteen days.

In his tribute to Michael Parks, Kevin Smith mentioned that the fake voice that Howard uses while speaking with Guy Lapointe (Johnny Depp) was entirely Parks' idea. Originally as scripted, Parks would have performed a French-Canadian accent but Parks didn't want to use that accent, having already done it on Twin Peaks (1990). According to Smith it was like "watching two wizards do battle and you can't figure out who the bad guy is" and that Parks was ecstatic over being allowed to "chew the scenery" around a major movie star that was "also chewing the scenery."

Quentin Tarantino was offered the role of Guy Lapointe, but turned it down, saying he dug the script and "couldn't wait to watch Michael Parks let loose his internal Kraken". Kevin Smith said in an interview that Tarantino thought he was being offered the role of Wallace, not Guy Lapointe, and that's why he turned it down, which led to Johnny Depp being cast.

The first film in Kevin Smith's Canada-based trilogy. The second is Yoga Hosers (2016), based on Smodcast episode #288. The final installment will be Moose Jaws.

According to Kevin Smith, most of the budget was used to obtain the rights to use the song "Tusk" by Fleetwood Mac.

Factual errors

The flag in the border office is not the right size - a Canadian flag is twice as long as it is wide.

The bilingual shoulder badge of the border guard says "Duanes", instead of "Douanes". Actual badges of Canadian customs officers show the terms "Services frontaliers - Border services" since 2003, not "Customs ? Douanes."

Lapointe mentions that he requires his "Double double, with eight sugars and a dash of cream." A "double double" is a common way of ordering coffee in Tim Hortons (a very popular coffee chain in Canada) and refers to wanting your coffee with two creams and two sugars. The addition of "eight sugars" therefor makes no sense.

When visiting Howard in Lachute, Guy Lapointe introduces himself as an "inspector for the S?ret? du Qu?bec ". SQ inspectors wear standard issue brownish policeman clothes with a badge in plain sight, they do not wear civilian clothes much less berets.

Guy Lapointe says that 'the bodies had no sexy time done to them.' However, in the same scene, he tells Ally and Teddy that a torso was found clogging the sewers, and mentions other body parts that were found as being all that were left of victims; It is practically impossible to conclude that no sexual abuse occurred with victims, from mere body parts being recovered from this serial killer.