Tarker's Mills, where the action takes place, is a fictional town within the Stephen King universe. It borders locations of other King's works also adapted to film, such as Chester's Mill (Under the Dome (2013)), Derry (It (1990)) and Castle Rock (Needful Things (1993), Cujo (1983) and Pet Sematary (1989)), among others.
According to director Daniel Attias, Gary Busey ad libbed a great deal, for instance when Uncle Red is in the gun shop. Attias checked with Stephen King, who said OK for these ad libs to be included.
The werewolf dream sequence utilized a total of seventy extras that were divided up into four groups with various levels of make-up and costume. These ranged from approximately ten principal actors used for close-ups and action shots, having the most refined looks, while the remainders were just made to appear menacing and fill up the rest of the church to give it a full house appearance.
Producer Dino De Laurentiis was very unhappy with the werewolf used in the film. He was disappointed in both the way it looked and the way the costumed actor moved. This proved to be a bit of an insult to the actor wearing the suit as he was an accomplished modern dancer and was hired specifically for his movement skills.
Shooting started without a proper werewolf suit.