Katt Shea said in an interview that she researched the film by talking to several homeless person who she hung out with for awhile. She met a girl who was a heroin addict and that's who she used as a basis for Dawn.
Katt Shea said Christina Applegate was only 16 when she filmed this, including the partial nude sex scene.
Since the sit-com Married with Children (1987) was a huge hit at the time, director Katt Shea was often asked why they didn't give this film a wide release to cash in on the popularity of Christina Applegate. Shea said that producer Roger Corman never gave his films a wide release. She also heard rumors that Fox, who produced Married, had contacted Corman warning him not to do it. They didn't want Applegate playing a homeless drug addict to tarnish her character on their show.