The computer game sequences in this part of the film were generated on an ACS1200 and cost so much that it nearly bankrupted the production.
The movie was originally made for network television, but deemed "too intense". Extra footage was then added and it was released theatrically.
These stories were rumored to be originally written and filmed for the anthology series Darkroom (1981), but were deemed too intense by Universal and thus culled into an anthology film for theatrical release. However, executive producer Andrew Mirisch later debunked those rumors, and clarified that the film actually began life as a pilot for an unnamed anthology series for NBC before becoming a theatrical feature for Universal Pictures.
According to an article in the May 1984 edition of 'American Cinematographer', video game special effects company Bo Gehring Associates, who produced computer graphics for the film's segment "The Bishop of Battle", achieved an output in record time. Bo Gehring claimed that his firm set a record for the rate of producing computer imaging, stating that four and half minutes of animation were completed in just nine weeks.
Lee Ving, the lead singer of punk band Fear, appears in the segment "Terror in Topanga." One of the songs that J.J. (Emilio Estevez) listens to in the segment "Bishop of Battle" is actually "I Don't Care About You" by Fear. Also on this episode is "Let's Have a War" by FEAR.