Ability over Appearance: Martin Kove was up for the role of Krug, due to his intimidating size. However he opted to play the smaller role of the Deputy, recommending his friend David Hess for the part.
Amateur Cast: The majority of the cast were inexperienced or first-time actors, with the exception of Richard Towers, Eleanor Shaw, and Sandra Peabody who were all soap opera regulars and had prior film roles.
Banned in China: The film was banned in the UK, labelled as one of the Video Nasties. It didn't get released uncut there until 2008.
Creator Backlash: Fred J Lincoln (Weasel) has gone on record to say that he considers this the worst movie he ever did. Sandra Peabody (Mari) and Lucy Graham (Phyllis) also shy completely away from discussing the film in interviews, convention panels, documentaries, or otherwise having any fan or public presence. Jeramie Rain (Sadie) mentioned at a panel that it was because the filming and subject matter were difficult for them, especially for Peabody.
Dawson Casting: 23-year-old Sandra Peabody as 17-year-old Mari Collingwood. 20-year-old Lucy Grantham as the similarly-aged Phyllis Stone. Marc Sheffler's birthday is unknown, but it can be pretty hard to take his character, Junior, seriously, as he looks about the same age as his father.
Deleted Scene: A scene of Mari's parents finding her clinging to life long enough to tell them about her attackers was shot but cut from the movie.
On the special edition DVD actors commentary track, the actors playing Krug and Weasel claim they terrorized the actresses playing Mari and Phyllis, right down to hinting during the filming of the rape scene that they'd go ahead and actually commit the act if they didn't think the actresses' performances were convincing enough.
The part where they make Phyllis pee her pants? For real.
Mid-Development Genre Shift: The film was originally written as a transgressive pornographic film before Lucy Graham (the actress playing Phyllis) suggested early during production that the story was strong enough to work without the hardcore scenes.
Real-Life Relative: Wes Craven's son Jonathan Craven cameos as the little boy who gets his balloon popped by Krug's cigar.
Stillborn Franchise: Vestron tried making a sequel (directed by Danny Steinmann) in the 1980s. Ultimately, the proper permission to create a sequel was never secured.
The original script had a scene of Sadie cutting off Phyllis' breasts and eating them, but it was never filmed, as Jeramie Rain refused to perform it.
Sadie was originally written as a 40-year-old woman, the wife of Krug, and mother of Junior, before 21-year-old Jeramie Rain auditioned. So desperate was the production in finding actors willing to work on the film, she was cast anyway, and the role rewritten accordingly. Rain says she still would have played the original version of the character if necessary.
Wes Craven originally wanted Mari's father to kill Krug by slicing him multiple times with a scalpel during the climatic fight. Sean Cunningham insisted that the fight be more explosive and voted to have Krug killed with a chainsaw instead.
Working Title: The film's working titles included Night of Vengeance, Krug & Co., and Sex Crime of the Century.
The 2009 remake:
Approval of God: Wes Craven was a producer on this film, having been keen to remake his original with a bigger budget and an expanded story.
Blooper: Bruises can be seen on Mari and Paige's legs in the hotel room scene. This was because those scenes were filmed after those in the forest, and the actresses sustained the bruises doing their own stunts.
Contractual Purity: Invoked. The filmmakers wanted to cast an actress with this - so that no one could find any Fanservice in the rape scene. Sara Paxton fit the bill, coming from Disney and with a string of family-friendly credits to her name.
Creator Breakdown: As filming went on, performing the scenes where the girls are tormented took a bit of a toll on the actresses' mental health. Heartwarmingly, the producers sent Sara Paxton, Martha MacIsaac and Riki Lindhome to a spa for the weekend to give them a break.
Dawson Casting: The teens were played by Sara Paxton (21), Martha MacIsaac (24) and Spencer Treat Clark (22) as Mari, Paige, and Justin respectively. Given that the former two would have to endure a graphic rape scene and get stripped to their underwear, casting older actresses was arguably necessary. Paige at one point sells beer to a customer and is able to sell cigarettes to Justin, meaning the character is possibly over 21.
Riki Lindhome from Garfunkel and Oates and Another Period plays Sadie, Krug's psychotic wife.
To a lesser extent, Sara Paxton, who had mostly done family friendly comedies and played various airheads and Alpha Bitches.
Also, Tony Goldwyn, who, despite having a fairly prolific career, was still probably best known as the sleazy jerk who got Patrick Swayze killed in "Ghost." Here, he gets to play a hero, albeit a dark one.
Early drafts of the script had added supernatural elements, but they opted to stick closer to the spirit of the original.
Eli Roth was the first choice to direct, but he turned it down to focus on Hostel II. Dennis Iliandis was chosen based on the strength of his Short FilmHardcore.
The film was going to be released Direct to Video, but positive reactions from test screenings led to a theatrical release. It grossed a respectable $45 million.
The role of the foul-mouthed detective murdered by Sadie and Francis in the opening was originally intended as a Remake Cameo for David Hess (the original Krug), but he proved unavailable.
Writer Revolt: The director spared Mari and Justin, and went for a more hopeful ending, wanting to distance himself from Torture Porn that was happening at the time.
