Originally the film was not set to take place in the 80's, and was a much more serious story. A couple days into filming, director Shane Ryan re-watched J.J. Abrams' Super 8, and decided to set the film in the late 80's, and turn the story into more of a bizarre and comical adventure . The actor, Mars Mohamed, who plays a filmmaker in Guerrilla, would have been about the same age that Ryan was in 1989. Ryan began making movies as a child in the mid 80's. Most of the props used in the film were actually items Ryan had bought in the 80's and stored away. The rest of the props were either owned by the actors or found on location.
The star, Mars Mohammed, is a filmmaker in real life, specializing in claymation stop- motion short films. He and Ryan attend a bad movie night weekly event where they watch bad action and horror movies from the 80s and 90s, which had a big influence on the making of Guerrilla. Co producer Jacob Gustafson created and hosts the event.