Director Harry Kümel was a passionate admirer of Orson Welles and had him in mind for the role of Cassavius right from the beginning. According to him, it was pretty easy to convince Welles to take the part, once they assured to pay him the salary he asked for. Looking forward to meet and direct his idol, Kümel was pretty nervous when walking onto the set - just to find out that Welles was in a bad mood and drunk. He later stated in interviews that he personally got along well with Welles during the rest of the shoot but the majority of the crew didn't and tried to get out the grumbling Welles' way most of the time.

First screened at Cannes at 99 minutes. The Director's Cut runs 119 minutes.

Featured in Forgotten Scares: An In-depth Look at Flemish Horror Cinema (2016)