Hong Kong actress Yu Sin Man was actually sexually violated during the filming of the rape scene in the movie. According to director and star Eric Tsang, an actor was called in last minute to play a Filipino soldier who would rape Sin Man's character. To give more realism to the scene, Tsang told the actor to rip Sin Man's clothes off, pull out his penis and force himself on her. But the actor misunderstood and tried to penetrate her with his penis, until the cameraman stopped him. Even after all that, Tsang still included the scene in the final cut of the film, but without the more explicit details. Sin Man reportedly had nightmares following her sexual violation and ended her short-lived acting career soon after.
Fatal Vacation marked a major change of direction for star, writer, director and producer Eric Tsang. To that point known largely as a comedic actor thanks to popular turns in the likes of the hit My Lucky Stars (1985) and countless other madcap Hong Kong genre outings of the period, the Category III rated film saw him venturing into far more violent and visceral territory.
In August 2010, over 20 years since the film's original release, The Manila Bulletin noted that the film's plot was echoed by a recent event in the Philippines, where a discharged policeman took a tour bus and its occupants hostage, writing "it's quite uncanny how this movie shares 3 elements from what recently happened in the local news; the Philippines as the setting, Hong Kong tourists as characters, and a hostage crisis as plot. I know it shouldn't be a subject for entertainment, but it really makes you think, is life imitating art?"