The script of the film was written by the newcomer screenwriter Kevin Williamson. After watching the news stories of the serial murders in Gainesville, Williamson was inspired to complete the 18-page script outline of the film in only three days.
Producer Cathy Conrad found that the script of the film was exactly what Emperor Gate Pictures needed. At that time, the newly established Emperor Gate Pictures had already released several horror films and planned to continue to focus on horror films. As the price of scripts has risen repeatedly, many producers have withdrawn from bidding, leaving only Oliver Stone of Cinergi Pictures and the Weinstein brothers of Emperor Gate Pictures. In the end, the latter bought the script for $400,000. Williamson said that he chose Emperor Gate because he believes that the company will immediately shoot and will not cut a large number of violent content in the script.
