Frank Henenlotter admits to being fueled by Jolt Cola during the filming of [ Frankenhooker (1990)\ and this film, to the point where Jolt Cola agreed to sponsor them, with there being publicity photos of the freaks drinking Jolt Cola and wearing Jolt Cola brand clothing.
For years, Frank Henenlotter was adamant that there could be no sequel to Basket Case (1982) because the audience knew what was in the basket, all of the doctors had been killed and Duane and Belial were dead.
Director Frank Henenlotter said in an interview that his original idea for this sequel was to have the character Duane Bradley from the original Basket Case (1982) have a small part and have the film focus more on the freak aspect. He also wanted to call the sequel "House of Freaks." Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment wanted to call the film "Basket Case 2" and insisted Duane Bradley's character have a much larger part. Despite this, Henennlotter was given the freedom to put the freaks in a very different situation instead of just basically redoing the first film. Because of this he has admitted that he likes this sequel because it is a different film than the original.
Kevin VanHentenryck has stated that he sees Duane as "damaged" after his fall from the Hotel Broslin at the end of the first film.
One of the paper's headlines hanging on the wall in the editor's office reads "Woman's Severed Head Lives" and shows a still shot from The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962). Jason Evers, who plays the editor, starred in that film.