The movie was written and shot about a mile down the road from Spahn Ranch, the western movie ranch where Charles Manson and many of his followers lived throughout much of 1969. It was here that Manson directed Linda Kasabian, Charles 'Tex' Watson, Susan Atkins, and Patricia Krenwinkel to "make it look witchy" the night they murdered Steve Parent, Jay Sebring, Voytek Frykowski, Abigail Folger and Sharon Tate. Due to the proximity to Spahn Ranch and the content of the screenplay, the filmmakers felt it was appropriate (though perhaps in poor taste) to variously reference the Manson crimes throughout the movie.
The entire project was written, shot, edited and scored in less than 48 hours for the 2015 Los Angeles 48 Hour Film Project. All entries to the festival were required to include the following: An orange as a prop, a character named Les or Liz Bootley (a contractor), and the line of dialogue "Is that the best you can find?".
Screenwriter Ryan Stockstad wrote the script in about 5 hours while movies played in the background, occasionally taking loose or direct inspiration from things that occurred in those movies. The three movies that played while the script was being written: Eyes Without a Face (1960), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), The Six Degrees of Helter Skelter (2009).
The photo of Les Bootley's pregnant victim is a carefully staged recreation of the famous crime scene photograph of Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant at the time of her murder. Actress Somya von Eames was seven months pregnant at the time of shooting.
The names of places written on the photos of Les Bootley's victims all start with the letter 'B', while the actresses in the photos all have first names that start with the letter 'S'. This was not at all intentional or by design, as some location names were written on photos that didn't make it on camera, and some actresses were asked to participate who couldn't make the shoot.