Aaron Eckhart said in a podcast that after he went to see the film in theaters, an angry woman came up to him and slapped him across the face saying: "I hate you!" Eckhart tried to reaffirm that it was his character that she hated but she replied with "No! I hate YOU!"
According to writer-director Neil LaBute, his script began with the line "Let's hurt somebody" and developed from there.
Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 25 Most Dangerous Movies." (In the description for the list, the magazine stated, "These are movies about which you could say, "That's Not Entertainment." They're not "rides" or "diversions." They are galvanizing experiences that place squarely in your face all the stuff Hollywood usually presumes you go to the movies to get away from. Films that rearrange your head, that challenge your bedrock ideas about life and love and the big sleep. Consciousness-expanders, in other words, but rarely in a pleasant way. Thank God for them.")
Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 25 Most Dangerous Movies".
Stacy Edwards (Christine) originally could not star because she was getting married at the time the movie was scheduled to start shooting. The producers pushed back the schedule to accommodate her.