The story is fictional, but the character of Captain J.W. Shaw (Russell Johnson) does mention some then-current serial killers such as The Zodiac Killer (never apprehended) in San Francisco, the Skid Row Slasher (later discovered to be Vaughan Greenwood) in Los Angeles, and "that nut down in Houston" (referring to Dean Corll, who killed a staggering 27 boys before being shot dead by his accomplice Wayne Henley).
The killer in the movie is loosely based on Ed Kemper "the Co-Ed Killer", whose killing spree ran from 1964 to 1973.
Director Irvin Berwick's first R-rated movie.
The film's ad campaign was purposely misleading, making the movie seem like a fun Crown International hot-chicks-and-cars caper, rather than an intense, very violent thriller about a serial killer.