Trivia

"First Strain" marks the debut of Hunter Peacher in a leading role. He had a small role in the short film, "Clean Up on Aisle 7: OVERKILL! (2020)" but was not the main lead and was meant to be a throwaway appearance, (the role wasn't even written for Hunter Peacher originally).

The film was shot guerrilla-style from May-June 2020, during the COVID-19 Pandemic shutdown in the U.S. with a skeleton crew. Towards the end of the film, there are multiple shots of downtown Dallas at night, eerily empty, which were taken around 8pm-9pm one night in the Summer, further showcasing how quiet and empty the streets were at the time.

Despite the film dealing with a virus strain, the film has no connection or reference to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is when this film was shot. It just so happened there was a pandemic going on.

The short film features several vocal cameos including Lauren Craig, who starred in the web-series "TALIA" another production of Rene Garcia . Other names include Anne and Lee Peacher, (parents of Hunter Peacher). Lee Peacher provides the voice for Richard Lee, the Doctor who calls Caleb when the hospital is attacked. Anne Peacher provides the voice of a reporter during the ending credits. Dakota Charleston, who is an actual Entertainment News Reporter based in Denver, CO., portrays the News Anchor heard towards the end of the film when the outbreak occurs. Rene Garcia also has a vocal cameo during the ending credits.

The film's main theme, ("Exanimate" by Jose Estrada), is the first original piece of music created for a Rene Garcia short film. While the rest of the film utilizes royalty free soundtrack, this is the first project ever to feature an original piece of score in a Renefilms Production. Jose Estrada, who portrays the Decaying Zombie at the beginning and ending of the film, composed the song.